His top assistant, Brian Keefe, a veteran coach who joined Unseld’s staff this summer from the Brooklyn Nets, will serve as interim coach, the Wizards announced later Thursday morning. Keefe will coach the team Thursday night when they host the Utah Jazz.
The Wizards will conduct a search for Unseld’s permanent successor this offseason.
“After several thoughtful conversations with Wes, we determined together that a change was needed for the benefit of the team,” Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger said in a statement released by the team. “Wes embodies the characteristics we value in our organization, and his vast basketball experience will be an asset to the front office as we progress toward our long-term goals. We are thankful that he will continue his contributions to our organization and community.”
Although the move follows the Milwaukee Bucks’ sudden firing of Adrian Griffin on Tuesday just eight months into the job, it is highly unusual timing for the Wizards, a franchise that has shown patience with its coaches under previous leadership and is in the early stages of what will be a years-long rebuild under Winger, who was hired in May.
The announcement also came the morning of the second night in a set of back-to-back games — Washington lost Wednesday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Unseld is under contract through the 2024-25 season, and his “advisory role” is nebulous for the time being, a way to keep him connected to the Wizards while providing the team a new on-court leader amid a season in which Washington has seen improvement on an individual level but has not been competitive as a team.
“I am grateful to have served as head coach of the Washington Wizards,” Unseld said in the team’s statement. “I look forward to this new opportunity to work toward our organization’s continued progress.”
Transitioning to the front office means Unseld remains involved with an organization deeply connected to his family. Unseld’s father was the central fixture of the franchise’s most sustained run of excellence, led it to an NBA championship in 1978 and later served as its coach and general manager. The Hall of Famer first hired his son as a scout in Washington shortly after his graduation from Johns Hopkins in 1997.
The younger Unseld then worked his way through the ranks in various organizations before serving as an assistant coach for 16 years, crafting a highly respected reputation along the way.
His first two seasons in Washington fell far below expectations with rosters built around guard Bradley Beal, who was traded this past offseason.
The Wizards last made the playoffs in 2020-21 behind a pairing of Beal and Russell Westbrook in the team’s final season under previous coach Scott Brooks, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. They haven’t made it past the first round since 2017.
As interim coach, Keefe’s charge is to now manage a roster that will probably undergo further change around the Feb. 8 trade deadline after Washington already made a deal with the Detroit Pistons this month to acquire Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers in exchange for veterans Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari.
The longtime assistant arrived in Washington over the summer with expertise in helping young players develop. Keefe, 47, like Winger and General Manager Will Dawkins, has deep ties to the Oklahoma City Thunder and followed Sam Presti from the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 when the Thunder was still the Seattle SuperSonics.
With the Thunder, he worked extensively with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook before leaving in 2015 for the New York Knicks, with whom he helped develop then-rookie Kristaps Porzingis. After one year with New York and three with the Los Angeles Lakers, he returned for a second stint with the Thunder beginning in 2019, working closely with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, before spending two seasons with the Nets.
With the Wizards, Keefe has worked closely with rookie Bilal Coulibaly, helping to reconstruct the teenager’s shot and develop his defense.
