HoopsHype.com Rumors

I’m shocked Flip Saunders’ name has yet to surface as a candidate to succeed one head coach or another in job jeopardy. New York Post

Coaching, Flip Saunders 

Grunfeld believed that the players had stopped listening to Saunders and he also wanted to establish a different identity for the team. “Flip is a very good basketball man. He’s a good friend. It’s always very difficult, but I felt like at that point, we needed to get a different voice and do things a little different than we’ve been doing them,” Grunfeld said. “I think we’re playing a more uptempo style, offensively and defensively. We’re pressuring the ball more. We’re taking advantage of our size and our length and our athleticism, probably a little bit better than we had earlier.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Ernie Grunfeld, Flip Saunders 

Michael Lee: John Wall spoke to Flip: "Me & Flip had no problems. He just wanted me to play basketball. I told him that I was sorry that happened to him" Twitter

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

Michael Lee: John Wall's reaction to Flip: "Probably shock...It was tough to see him go. I just wish we would’ve played harder, did the right things." Twitter

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

Craig Stouffer: John Wall said he called Flip Saunders yesterday, told him he was sorry about what happened to him. #Wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

A league source said the Wizards realized within the first few months of his first season that (Saunders) probably wasn’t the right fit for the supposedly playoff-ready team they had assembled. Several players on that team felt that Saunders failed to handle potential problems within the team before they became unmanageable. It all came to a head when Gilbert Arenas brought guns to the locker room, forcing the franchise to change course. And, with Leonsis set to take over after the death of the late Abe Pollin, Grunfeld was under orders to purge the team of its big contracts to make it more attractive for a sale. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders 

American Airlines Center will be filled with bling tonight. That's because the Dallas Mavericks will receive their gaudy rings from owner Mark Cuban for winning last year's NBA championship. The ring ceremony will take place 15 minutes before the game against J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cuban said he spent between $1.4-$1.5 million on the rings, which will be awarded to players, coaches, support staff and front office personnel. In all, more than 140 full-time employees will receive rings, with players and coaches getting the more expensive version. "I just want everybody to enjoy it," Cuban said. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders 

Michael Lee: A player agent told me he understood firing Flip Saunders, but not hiring Randy Wittman: "Witt is Flip without the accomplishments" #wizards Twitter

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

Michael Lee: Defining quote of the Flip Saunders #wizards era: "Don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can." Twitter

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders 

Flip Saunders: "It’s disappointing never being able to finish the job. It’s always disappointing when your won-loss record isn’t there, so changes in this situation are not unusual. It happened this morning. *I thought we showed some progress, not in the win and loss column, but some of our young players, and as you know, in this business, improvement comes in small and very painful increments. A lot of times, it’s not seen immediately, but more over time. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders 

*I’ve been spent a lot of time with John and those young players and I’ve seen them improve, and the fruits of those improvements are going to be with someone else down the road. *I was disappointed. When I took this job, there were very much unique challenges. Usually the focus was, I believe we had the opportunity to coach a veteran team that had a chance to make a run into the playoffs. That job description changed drastically, when we experienced the gun in the locker room situation. We went from a job with a totally different challenge, to all of a sudden survival mode, then immediately after that, into a developmental situation. I felt comfortable because I’ve developed a lot of young players over my career and it’s extremely challenging to develop so many players at the same time. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders 

Shortly after it was reported Flip Saunders was fired as head coach of the Washington Wizards, power forward Andray Blatche joined the “Mike Wise Show with Holden Kushner” to discuss his reaction to Flip’s dismissal. Although Andray and Flip had problems in the past, Blatche still showed a lot of respect for his former coach. “Even though me and him had tough times together as player and coach, I still look at him as a great coach.” CBS Washington

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Andray Blatche, Flip Saunders 

Dan Steinberg: More Blatche to 106.7: "If we come out and we’re still playing the same way, then maybe it’s the players." Twitter

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Andray Blatche, Flip Saunders 

“He’s not a bad coach,” Blatche said. “It’s just that as a team, as players and him, we couldn’t get things together and win. Even though me and him had tough times together as a player and a coach, I still look at him as a great coach. He’s had great players and he’s done great things in his career. It’s just unfortunate the way the season is going. I can take some of the blame, the way I’m playing. I couldn’t even help him to keep his job or to get wins. So I just feel bad for him.” Then Blatche was asked if it was harder for Saunders to deal with a team filled with youngsters. “To me, he was just put in a tough position, dealing with the situation of rebuilding with young players,” Blatche agreed. “There’s gonna be rainy days before sunshine. We’re definitely playing better basketball; we’re actually playing good basketball, except for last night against the 76ers. We’ve just got to figure out how to close games now. Flip did a great job teaching the young players, trying to keep everybody together. Like I said, it’s unfortunate what happened to him.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Andray Blatche, Flip Saunders 

Why he disagreed with Saunders in the past: “I mean, me and Flip had our problems in the past, but most of our problems came from miscommunication or something he thought I said or done. We had meetings and talked and it ended up not being the case. So between me and him there was nothing ever personal.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Andray Blatche, Flip Saunders 

Whether he was being critical of Saunders after the first game: “Definitely not, definitely not. I was just saying to help us win in that situation, at that point of time in the game, I should have stayed closer [to the basket]. I’m not saying the plays that he had for us was wrong. I was just saying that I wasn’t feeling it that night, maybe we should try something else. And after that, that’s when I believe everything for me just went south.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Andray Blatche, Flip Saunders 

After a 2-15 start, the Washington Wizards fired coach Flip Saunders, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Wizards have talked to assistant Randy Wittman about taking over as the interim head coach, but no agreement has been reached. Yahoo! Sports

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

Jeff Zillgitt: League source confirms @Adrian Wojnarowski report that Wizards have fired Flip Saunders. Source also said Randy Wittman will be interim coach. Twitter

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

The Washington Wizards, owners of an NBA-worst 2-15 record, have fired coach Flip Saunders, league sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. Assistant coach Randy Wittman will take over as coach. The Wizards, who have lost seven of their last eight games, host the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. ESPN.com

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman 

The Wizards have fired Coach Flip Saunders after a 2-15 start. A league source confirms that he has been replaced by lead assistant Randy Wittman. Saunders was said to be safe when the Wizards started the season 0-8, but they have failed to make much improvement since then. John Wall has had a disappointing second season, other players have failed to develop chemistry and the offense has sputtered. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Randy Wittman