Report: Former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek a candidate for Wizards job
Apr 13, 2016, 8:59 PM | Updated: Apr 14, 2016, 3:11 pm
Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek gestures as he shouts in the direction of an official in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Dallas. The Mavericks won 91-78. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Coach Jeff Hornacek may not be out of work for long after being fired by the Phoenix Suns in February.
According to sources of The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Washington Wizards have Hornacek on their short-list of candidates to replace Randy Wittman, who was reportedly fired Wednesday night after he led the team toa 41-41 year.
Another candidate looming strong on the Wizards short list, sources tell @TheVertical: Jeff Hornacek.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) April 14, 2016
Former Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks is also a “strong” candidate to replace Wittman, Wojanrowski reports.
If Hornacek was offered and accepted the Wizards’ coaching job, he would be reunited with former Suns forward Markieff Morris, who Phoenix traded two weeks after Hornacek was replaced by interim coach Earl Watson.
Morris’ topsy-turvy season with the Suns came to a head when he threw a towel at Hornacek during a game in December, but the forward said he didn’t intend to hit his coach and apologized. Morris continued to defend his relationship with Hornacek after the Suns fired the head coach.
In Washington, Hornacek would also inherit a team with a young backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. Washington also has former Suns center Marcin Gortat on the roster — he was traded to the Wizards just as Hornacek arrived as Phoenix’s coach in 2013.
The Suns and Wizards are joined by the Rockets, T-Wolves, Nets and Knicks as teams searching for coaching replacements this summer. They could be joined by other head coaching openings, as rumors of coaching changes in Milwaukee, New Orleans, Chicago, Sacramento have circulated.
