Wizards fire general manager Tommy Sheppard after four seasons

The Washington Wizards fired general manager Tommy Sheppard — marking a major and surprising shake-up Wednesday for a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity. 

Sheppard’s dismissal comes after four seasons at the helm, but he had been with the franchise since 2003. Owner Ted Leonsis made the decision to move on after the Wizards had failed to reach the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Washington finished with a 35-47 record — the same as last year’s mark. 

“Failure to make the playoffs the last two seasons was very disappointing to our organization and our fans,” Leonsis said in a statement. “A search for new leadership will begin immediately for an executive from outside the organization.

“I would like to thank Tommy for his dedication to the Wizards organization and wish him the best in his future endeavors.” 

Despite the lack of success, the timing of Sheppard’s firing was unexpected. 

Sheppard said in a season-ending press conference this month that Washington’s win-loss record was “disgusting.” But the executive gave no indication that he thought his job was in trouble when he was asked about his status by a reporter.

“Myself?” Sheppard said when asked if he had met with Leonsis to see if he’d be returning next season. “That’s not even been a part of a conversation.”

The firing also marks a departure from how Leonsis has typically handled his team’s lead executive. Ernie Grunfeld, Sheppard’s predecessor, spent 16 years at the helm — nine of which were with Leonsis as the Wizards’ majority owner. With Leonsis’ Washington Capitals, George McPhee spent 17 seasons as general manager before his contract wasn’t renewed. Current Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has held his role since 2014.

But Sheppard wasn’t ultimately able to lift Washington to the heights it hoped when the team prompted him in 2019. Over four seasons, the Wizards made the playoffs just once (2020-21) — and that came when a 34-38 Washington team snuck in as the eighth seed and was eliminated in five games by the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Wizards were consistently mediocre under Sheppard’s watch despite a flurry of moves that attempted to bolster the roster. He notably traded point guard John Wall for Russell Westbrook in December 2020. Then six months later, after Westbrook helped lead Washington to the playoffs, Sheppard dealt Westbrook for a package of Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and other pieces as part of a complex five-team trade.

The deals received praise at the time, though didn’t ultimately make Washington a viable contender. Sheppard also made other moves on the margins, whether it was flipping Dinwiddie and shooter Davis Bertans for Kristaps Porzingis or trading Caldwell-Pope for point guard Monte Morris and wing Will Barton. 

Sheppard’s biggest flaw perhaps was his inability to hit on high-end talent in the draft. In Sheppard’s four years, the Wizards held the ninth, ninth, 15th and 10th overall picks — which Sheppard used to take Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert and Johnny Davis. Of those players, only Kispert started the majority of Washington’s games this past season. Hachimura was dealt to the Lakers in January. 

Sheppard also famously gave star Bradley Beal a five-year, $251 million contract last summer, a deal that includes a no-trade clause. Beal emerged as one of the league’s top scorers in Sheppard’s first two years as general manager, but the three-time All-Star has struggled to stay healthy since as Beal has been limited to just 40 and 50 games because of injuries the last two seasons.

It’s unclear how Sheppard’s firing might affect the futures of Kuzma and Porzingis — two likely free agents this summer who the executive expressed interest in retaining. Washington’s core of Beal, Porzingis and Kuzma played only 35 games last season and went 16-19. Sheppard and others maintained that was too small of a sample size to accurately judge the group’s potential. 

Regardless, by hiring outside the organization, the Wizards will have someone completely new running their basketball operations since 2003 — when Grunfeld and Sheppard were hired. Sheppard served as Grunfeld’s vice president of basketball operations before he took the top job. 

Though Sheppard was fired, coach Wes Unseld Jr.’s job is reportedly safe. ESPN reported that Leonsis is a “strong advocate” of Unseld and the coach will return for a third season.