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Washington Wizards hire Flip Saunders as new head coach

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has named Flip Saunders as head coach. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

The Associated Press reports that the deal was for four years and $18 million.

“We’re very proud to bring a proven winner like Flip Saunders on board as our head coach,” said Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin. “After going through what was a very difficult season, I know our fans share in my anticipation of what we can accomplish with new leadership, a healthy roster and a renewed commitment to excellence.”

Saunders, who becomes the 22nd head coach in franchise history, owns a 587-396 (.597) record over 12-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota and Detroit.

“We clearly identified Flip as the top candidate for the job and were happy to find that our situation proved to be a good fit for him as well,” said Grunfeld. “We were able to move quickly as a result and we’re confident that this is a major step towards putting this team back among the Eastern Conference contenders.”

Saunders achieved seven 50-win seasons, led his teams to the playoffs 11 times and reached the Conference Finals on four occasions during his tenures with the Timberwolves and Pistons. He is one of only six coaches to be named head coach of the All-Star team in both the Eastern and Western Conferences and currently ranks seventh among active coaches in winning percentage (12th all-time) and eighth among active coaches in total wins (21st all-time).

“There were many factors that led to this being the right situation for me, but the most intriguing was the commitment of Mr. Pollin and Ernie to win a championship,” said Saunders. “I look forward to enjoying the great support and homecourt advantage from Wizards fans that I’ve always seen from the opposing sidelines and to making each game at Verizon Center an exciting event.”

Saunders comes to the Wizards after leading the Pistons to three straight 50-win seasons, three straight division titles and three straight appearances in the Conference Finals from 2005-06 to 2007-08. He finished with an overall record of 176-70 (.715), the highest winning percentage for any coach in franchise history. Saunders began his NBA coaching career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he compiled a 411-326 (.558) record from 1995-2005 and became the winningest coach in franchise history. He guided the Timberwolves to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 1997-2004, culminating in a trip to the 2004 Western Conference Finals.

Saunders began his professional coaching career in the Continental Basketball Association, where he won two CBA championships (1990 & 1992) and was twice named CBA Coach of the Year (1990 & 1992). He ranks third all-time in the CBA with 253 career victories (253-137, .649) during stops with the Rapid City Thrillers (1988-89), La Crosse Catbirds (1989-94) and Sioux Falls Skyforce (1994-95).

Antawn Jamison hated this season

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: “This is the worst season I’ve ever been a part of,” said Antawn Jamison, who went through a 17-win season in his rookie year with Golden State. “Even though we had a lot of injuries, we still thought we had enough talent to play better than what we’ve shown this year. But this is the worst season. Back then [2000-01 with Golden State], we had guys on 10-day contracts – six or seven guys. You were, I don’t want to say expected to be that bad, but… here, we’ve got a foundation here and some guys who have been here for an extended period of time. … It can’t get any worse than what we went through this year.”

Late Bosh 3 leads Raptors over Wizards

The AP reports: The Wizards were handed their 62nd loss, one short of the franchise record, when Chris Bosh made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left Monday night in the Raptors’ 97-96 victory. The Wizards must win their final game on Wednesday in Boston to avoid tying the 2000-01 team with a 19-63 mark… Bosh, who had 25 points and 15 rebounds, converted his first 3-pointer since March 6… Caron Butler scored 28 points and Antawn Jamison had 23. Butler, who gave Washington a 93-80 lead when he hit two free throws with 6:30 to play, missed all four of his shots in the fourth quarter. The final was when his layup attempt was smothered with 0.1 seconds to play.

Butler, Wizards edge Raptors 100-98

The AP reports: Washington Wizards coach Ed Tapscott wanted to give Caron Butler a breather in the fourth quarter. Butler had other plans. Butler made a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Washington a 100-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Butler added 21 points for the Wizards, who nearly blew a six-point lead in the final minute… Bosh had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, and Kapono added 20. Calderon had 15 points and 11 assists… Brendan Haywood had 15 points, five blocks and nine rebounds for the Wizards, with Dominic McGuire adding eight points and 11 rebounds.

Cavaliers beat Wizards 98-86

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 21 points before spending part of the fourth quarter on the bench playing air guitar and dancing as the Cavs avenged an embarrassing loss to one of the league’s weaker teams by thumping the rival Wizards 98-86 on Wednesday night to improve to 38-1 at home. The win lowered the Cavaliers’ magic number for locking up home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs to one. A Cleveland win on Friday night at Philadelphia or a Boston loss to Miami will give the Cavs (63-15) the East’s top seed… Mo Williams scored 14 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 rebounds for the Cavs, who for the first time in four years will not see the Wizards in the first round of the postseason… Nick Young scored 16 to lead the Wizards, who stunned Cleveland last week and handed the Cavs two of their 15 losses this season. Washington’s Gilbert Arenas didn’t play, choosing to rest his surgically repaired right knee. Arenas’ return had sparked the Wizards to their upset over the Cavs last week.

Heat hit 8 4th-quarter 3s in win over Wizards

The AP reports: Three long jumpers in less than 2 minutes, and a one-point lead was up to nine. Soon Michael Beasley, Dwyane Wade and Yakhouba Diawara joined the fun, contributing to a Miami Heat mark for 3s in a quarter in Saturday night’s 118-104 victory over the Washington Wizards… The Heat went 8-for-13 from 3-point range over the final 12 minutes and 14-for-32 for the game… Wade scored 33 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth, as the Heat remained a game behind the fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers in the jostle for postseason seeding in the Eastern Conference… Jermaine O’Neal and Diawara each added 16 points for the Heat. Miami played without forward Udonis Haslem, who cut his right thumb in Friday night’s win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Caron Butler scored 27 points, and Antawn Jamison had 23 to lead the Wizards, who were without Gilbert Arenas as part of the three-time All-Star’s plan to play in selected games during his comeback from knee surgery.

Worst beats best: Wizards top Cavaliers 109-101

The AP reports: In the closest thing they’ll have to a playoff game this year, Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards fed off a sellout crowd Thursday night and ended the franchise-record 13-game winning streak of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Washington recovered after blowing a 14-point second-half lead and held on for a 109-101 victory… Brendan Haywood, also playing his second game of the season and making his first start after recovering from a major wrist injury, added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Wizards also received the usual steady contributions from Caron Butler (25 points) and Antawn Jamison (19) and a surprising 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting from Darius Songaila as they snapped a three-game losing streak. MVP candidate James scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half and finished with six assists and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, but—how’s this for a statistical oddity—he was responsible for all five of his team’s turnovers until Daniel Gibson traveled in the final minute of the third quarter.

Gay scores 25, Grizzlies beat Wizards 112-107

The AP reports: Trailing 110-107 with just under 4 seconds left, the Wizards had the ball out of bounds with a chance to tie. But a steal of the inbounds pass by guard Mike Conley and his two ensuing free throws provided Memphis with a 112-107 victory over the Wizards on Wednesday night, giving the Grizzlies their first home win since the All-Star break… Rudy Gay scored 25 points and Conley added 22 to lead the Grizzlies. Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo scored 18 points apiece. Gasol grabbed nine rebounds, and Mayo had seven assists. Hakim Warrick had 12 points. Butler had 31 points for Washington, which lost its third straight, while Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Reserve Nick Young had 16 points and Crittenton finished with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Granger scores 31, Pacers beat Wizards 124-115

The AP reports: Brandon Rush is finally giving Indiana more than one consistent scoring option. Starting his third straight game, the Pacers rookie continued his late-season tear with 29 points and 10 rebounds Sunday night in a 124-115 victory over the Washington Wizards… Danny Granger finished with 31 points for the Pacers… Jarrett Jack added 19 points for the Pacers. Washington was led by Caron Butler with 31 points and 13 rebounds and Antawn Jamison with 29 points. Javaris Crittenton added a season-high 19 points for the Wizards… As expected, the Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas did not play… Indiana’s Troy Murphy, who sprained a knee ligament in a shootaround on Wednesday, also did not play for the third straight game.

Good Arenas game, but Pistons beat Wizards 98-96

The AP reports: Gilbert Arenas finished with 15 points on 3-for-12 shooting and 10 assists in 30 minutes, helping the Wizards rally from a 15-point, second-half deficit. After the two failed comebacks, he had been determined to make sure he was completely healthy before trying again, especially with Washington mired in last place in the East… Richard Hamilton, back after missing six games with a left groin injury, scored 16 of his 31 points in the third quarter for the Pistons, who broke a three-game losing streak and steered their tenuous playoff hopes—at least temporarily—back in the right direction… Antawn Jamison scored 21 points to lead the Wizards. … Butler returned after missing seven straight games with a sore left hamstring.