Coaching Prospect: Wes Unseld Jr

He is THE hot name right now among assistants all of a sudden, with Denver unexpectedly making it to the WCF.

He is being HEAVILY rumored to the Bulls but hopefully gets a look from us.

He is the son of Wes Unseld Sr, a great player in his own right for the Washington Bullets, and a helluva man all around.

Jr. spent 9 years as a Scout for the Wizards, and then 6 years as an assistant with the Wizards, a year with the Warriors, 3 years with the Magic, and now 5 years with the Nuggets, building a culture under Mike Malone.

He is credited for instilling DEFENSE into the Nuggets and is largely responsible for that end of the court. Other coaches have lauded his "unbelievable work ethic" and that he is the quintessential "grinder".

quote:

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“He manages our defense. I trust Wes to do his job. Our defense in the last three games has been phenomenal,” Malone said. “To hold that team to 33 points in the second half? I think last game they scored 35 in the second half. Against the highest-rated offense in the first round of the playoffs? That’s unheard of.

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He has worked directly with Jokic, MPJ, and Murray in their player development and is credited with a large part of their evolutions as players. Murray in particular has gone out of his way to heap praise on Unseld on several occasions.

Malone summed it up a few days ago: "Wes Unseld should be a Head Coach."


Just an FYI, this may be an academic discussion. According to one blog I read, several Vegas sportsbooks have taken down odds on the Bulls job because too much money came in on Unseld.


But he would be a very interesting choice if we were to get him.