The Washington Wizards and head coach Brian Keefe haven’t gotten off to a great start. The Wizards are currently sitting at 1-11, and are only favored to win one game for the rest of November. The team has been a part of some of the biggest blowouts so far this season. With that, the closer games have told a different story. Those have fallen almost solely on bad coaching and poor late-game management. So, that begs the question: Is Keefe really the answer for a team building for the future?
Is Brian Keefe Really The Answer For Washington?
Keefe is currently in his second full season as head coach of the Wizards. While he’s still relatively new to the position, Keefe isn’t new to NBA coaching. He’s been a part of some great teams in his 17 seasons around the NBA. However, this season, Washington may find he’s not suited for the head job on a rebuilding roster.
Keefe’s Career
Keefe has been a part of five different organizations throughout his time in the league. The Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and now Washington Wizards have all found great uses of his coaching abilities. Keefe has been a part of some very successful seasons with these franchises.
He was in Oklahoma City when the Thunder made the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat in 2012. In his second stint with the team, he was a part of the tough, seven-game series in Orlando during the bubble with young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chris Paul against the Houston Rockets. Additionally, he was in Los Angeles during the rise of some of the best young players (at the time) in the league with Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and more.
So, one may ask, what’s different in D.C? Keefe hasn’t really seemed to get a grasp of how to fully manage a team, from bad clock management, poor rotation strategies, and overplaying veterans instead of prioritizing the young core. It’s all seeming like Keefe could be the next guy on the chopping block in the nation’s capital.
Rotation Issues
One glaring issue is how the lineup hasn’t included many of the young pieces outside the 2024 class trio and Tre Johnson. Young players who have potential haven’t seen many minutes in most games. AJ Johnson has only seen action in seven games, averaging only five minutes per contest. Justin Champagnie, who showed much promise last season, has only played over ten minutes in four games this season.
Moving to the rookies, Jamir Watkins and Will Riley have seen almost no minutes. With Watkins, it was expected, but Riley has only seen action in nine games, averaging around seven minutes. While these two weren’t expected to play significant time, both have the potential to be solid role players in the future. With that, their restricted playing time may be hurting them in the development of their skill sets.
Late Game Management
Washington hasn’t had many close games this season. However, when they have, the coaching staff has a lot to do with the blame for the outcome. Keefe has had a few major mishaps this season, particularly in crunch-time situations. In a game against the 76ers earlier in the season, the Wizards had a commanding 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, once Philadelphia began coming back, Keefe relied on the veteran leadership of CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton, instead of giving the young guys a chance to figure it out.
What was the result? Middleton and McCollum shot a combined 2-12 between the fourth and overtime, while guys on the bench like Cam Whitmore and Johnson, among others who were having good games, didn’t see the floor for the rest of the night after being pulled midway through the fourth. Washington was outscored by 18 points when McCollum came in for Whitmore with 10:15 left in the last frame. Instead of playing the younger players who helped build the lead, Keefe prioritized the vets, and the team suffered a horrifying loss.
The Pistons game was another brief example. Keefe had Kyshawn George foul down three in a late-game mishap. Keefe admitted in his post-game interview that it was a bad decision. He wasn’t aware of the difference between the two clocks, saying:
“At the end when the reset on the shot clock, Kyshawn [George] there at the end, fouling. We should’ve tailed off and just played out the nine seconds; I misjudged the clock. I told him to foul, that’s on me.”
The Last Word
Even in Keefe’s relatively small sample size, he hasn’t shown much promise as a lead coach. Fans across the social media world have started a trend: #FireBrianKeefe. However, fans have also pointed out that he’s an admirable “tank commander” and he’s doing exactly what the franchise needs to secure a top pick next season. Whichever way you fall, there should at least be a level of skepticism. Should Keefe be in Washington’s future? Time will certainly tell.
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