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The Washington Wizards and head coach Scott Brooks have mutually agreed to part ways after the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday afternoon. Brooks contract was set to expire after this season.
The Wizards underperformed this season but also had to deal with a ton of injuries. Washington ultimately made the NBA play-in tournament and were able to make it into the 2021 NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed. The Wizards were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the No. 1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers in five games.
Brooks had coached five seasons in D.C. with the Wizards, compiling a 183-207 record in the regular season while making the playoffs three times, finishing 10-14 and failing to advance past the second round. The Wizards traded PG John Wall to the Houston Rockets for PG Russell Westbrook, whom Brooks coached from 2008-15. That moved was supposed to get the Wizards into a better spot to contend in the East. The issue ended up being injuries to Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown, Isaac Bonga and rookie Deni Avdija.
The Wizards join the New Orleans Pelicans, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic in the search for a new head coach. A few candidates the Wizards could consider include Sam Cassell, Chauncey Billups and Terry Stotts.