Randy Wittman Reportedly Won't Return as Washington Wizards Head Coach | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Washington Wizards beat the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, 120-111, but that does little to erase the stain of a disappointing, playoff-less season in the nation’s capital. As a result, head coach Randy Wittman won't return next season. 

Continue for updates.

Wittman Reportedly Fired

Wednesday, April 13

Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reported Wittman will not be back in Washington following this season's struggles. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical confirmed the report. 

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com appeared on Tony Kornheiser’s ESPN 980 radio show on Monday, and Rashad Mobley of ESPN.com shared his headline-making quote: “Randy's [Wittman] probably 99 percent getting fired on Thursday morning.”

Wittman assumed the Wizards' interim coaching spot during the 2011-12 season after Flip Saunders was fired and finished with a disappointing 18-31 record in 49 games. Things didn’t get much better in 2012-13, when he went 29-53, but he improved in each of the next two seasons with 44 wins and 46 wins, respectively.

Washington lost the Eastern Conference Semifinals in six games in both of those campaigns, but there were high expectations in place entering the 2015-16 season with a playoff-tested core that featured John Wall, Bradley Beal and Marcin Gortat. What’s more, the Eastern Conference is not exactly loaded with world-beaters behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.

However, Washington has been one of the league's most disappointing teams in 2015-16 and finishes the season with a 41-41 record.

To be fair to Wittman, the poor record and lack of a playoff appearance are not all his fault. Beal is the team’s second-leading scorer but has only appeared in 55 games this season because of various injuries (and has never played in more than 73 contests in a single season).

Still, James Herbert of CBSSports.com said this season for Washington “has been embarrassing any way you look at it.” Herbert also noted the Wizards “lost their identity” during the campaign, which does not reflect well on the leadership of the head coach.

Considering Wall is 25 years old and Beal is only 22, the Wizards still have the pieces in place for a bright future. However, this was a wasted year of Wall’s prime, and Albert Lee of SB Nation's Bullets Forever wondered whether owner Ted Leonsis would make any marquee free-agency moves this offseason following the disappointing effort.

Kevin Durant is a native of the Washington, D.C., area, and speculation surrounding the possibility of the former Texas Longhorn returning home has run rampant for years. However, Lee pointed to other impact players such as Nicolas Batum and Harrison Barnes as other potential targets if Washington misses out on Durant.

The question now becomes who will be the team’s head coach if and when it pursues those free agents during the offseason. Wall is a promising playmaker and one of the league's better point guards, but it was clear this season he needs more help for the Wizards to reach elite status in the Eastern Conference.

Some of that help will likely come in the form of a new coach.