Bulls appoint veteran NBA head coach as their top assistant.
Wes Unseld Jr., the former Wizards head coach, has agreed to join the Bulls as Billy Donovan’s top assistant, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Unseld finished 77-130 in two and a half seasons as Washington’s head coach.
Before taking over as head coach in Washington, Unseld was a long-time NBA assistant. He began his coaching career as an assistant with the Wizards from 2005 to 2011, before joining the Warriors for one season. Unseld then went to the Magic from 2012 to 2015.
After that, he worked as an assistant in Denver before being promoted to associate head coach in his final year, 2020-21. Unseld helped the Nuggets progress by letting Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. to grow and thrive.
Unseld was chosen Washington’s head coach in 2021, providing him the opportunity to lead the team for whom his father played a storied career while also completing his own professional journey. The Wizards were 35-47 in his first two seasons and missed the playoffs both times. This year, he went 7–36 before being relieved and replaced by Brian Keefe.
Unseld was not officially sacked this season. Instead, he was assigned to an advising position in the front office. As we reported in January, Wizards executive Michael Winger praised Unseld for the progress some players made in their growth during his stay.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Bulls PR has officially revealed the relocation. According to Johnson, the Bulls were looking for someone with head-coaching experience to work under Donovan, and Unseld was a candidate for the Chicago head-coaching position in 2020 before Donovan became available.
Leave a Reply