Mike Budenholzer and four other candidates for Wizards' HC opening

Brian Keefe will serve as interim HC, and the Wizards can also get started looking for a full-time replacement. Here are a few candidates.

Mike Budenholzer (former Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks HC)

This is easy, right? Budenholzer, by a country mile, is the top free agent NBA coach after the Bucks did him dirty -- as evidenced by their decision on Tuesday to fire his replacement after only 43 games, and then bring in an objective downgrade in Doc Rivers.

Budenholzer's ousting in Milwaukee was due to playoff shortcomings, but the Wizards won't have to worry about that anytime soon. What "Coach Bud" excels at is building structure and identity for his teams, and for a Wizards squad that glaringly lacks those things, he'd be exactly what they need.

At his first stop in Atlanta, Budenholzer took over a middling Hawks team and within two years won 60 games and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Then in Milwaukee, he turned an underachieving bottom-half playoff team into the best regular-season club in the NBA in year one. He may not be able to work that same magic with this Wizards roster, but he'll at least get them on the right track.

If Budenholzer isn't the Wizards head coach by this summer, the only reason should be that someone else bid higher for his services. In which case...

Kenny Atkinson (Golden State Warriors assistant, former Brooklyn Nets HC)

Atkinson is another name with head coaching experience who deserved better at his last gig when he took the Brooklyn Nets out of the league's cellar and into the playoffs before stepping down in 2020 -- likely in large part because of friction with Kyrie Irving.

He's been with the Golden State Warriors for the past few years and has turned down head coaching opportunities to remain there. However, with the Warriors seemingly at the end of their road as contenders, it may be time for Atkinson's next reclamation project with a Wizards team that's in a similar position to the one the Nets were in when he took over them.

Sam Cassell (Boston Celtics assistant)

Given their young, rebuilding core, it would be understandable if the Wizards want to go the first-timer route -- or, perhaps for a better choice of words, are not seen as an appealing destination for veterans like Budenholzer or Atkinson. In that case, it seems like Cassell, one of the league's top longtime assistants, would be the desired choice.

Cassell was with the Wizards previously between 2009 and 2014 and has bounced around the league since then, making stops with the Clippers, 76ers and now Celtics. The Wizards were in a rebuilding phase the last time Cassell was in town, and they markedly improved throughout those years as they developed their backcourt tandem of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Perhaps Cassell has some unfinished business in D.C.

Terry Stotts (former Portland Trail Blazers HC)

The Wizards can probably aim higher than Stotts if they are going for experience, but given that he's currently out of a job after abruptly resigning as an assistant with the Bucks this past October, he's a name they could get a head start on negotiating with.

Stotts made the playoffs every year between 2014 and 2021 when he coached the Trail Blazers, who have crumbled ever since his firing, culminating in finally trading Damian Lillard and embracing their rebuild this season. If the better options are snagged by other teams, Stotts would be an acceptable consolation prize who could eventually take Washington back to the postseason.

Brian Keefe (interim Wizards HC)

The next three months will be Keefe's audition for the full-time gig, so he has to be considered in the mix almost by default. He's an experienced assistant who has been in the league since 2007, working with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, L.A. Lakers, Nets and Wizards.

What will be the most telling about Keefe's head-coaching prospects is whether or not he can fix the recurring problems that were definitive of Unseld's tenure. Washington shouldn't expect to suddenly start winning much, but if Keefe can conduct more sensible rotations while getting his squad to play disciplined basketball, then there might be something here.