Wizards hire Michael Winger as new president and general manager
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correction A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Michael Winger was hired as president and general manager. He will just be the president. The article has been corrected. After the Washington Wizards missed the playoffs four of the past five seasons, Ted Leonsis made the first move Wednesday to take his team in a new direction. The Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO has hired Michael Winger as the president of Monumental Basketball, according to two people familiar with the move.
Winger comes to the franchise having served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers since 2017 and will step into a more powerful role than the one former general manager Tommy Sheppard occupied until he was fired April 19 — one that represents a reshuffling of the way the Wizards will operate.
Winger, whose hiring was first reported by ESPN, will oversee the Wizards, Mystics and Capital City Go-Go. Specific to the Wizards, he will be tasked with crafting an identity and setting a fresh direction for the team, including hiring a general manager-type figure to work under him and focus specifically on the roster.
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The Wizards have spent the past few years building around Bradley Beal, who has four years and more than $200 million remaining on a contract signed in July, but Winger will have carte blanche to overhaul the roster.
Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma’s futures with the Wizards are also up in the air — Kuzma is set to hit free agency this summer but said he was open to returning to Washington. Porzingis holds a player option for the 2023-24 season and also had been open to negotiating a contract extension with the Wizards.
Winger will also be empowered to make changes to the coaching staff, including the head coach. Wes Unseld Jr., who is set to begin his third season, has a strong reputation throughout the organization and enjoys Leonsis’s support, according to multiple people familiar with Leonsis’s thinking.
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But before he hires an executive to run the Wizards, before he decides whether to trade Washington’s stars, Winger will run the team’s draft room June 22. The Wizards hold the eighth, 42nd and 57th picks.
That, at least, will be familiar ground for Washington’s new head honcho. Winger, 43, has a good reputation among his Clippers colleagues, spent his six years in Los Angeles as a crucial voice in a collaborative and deep front office and is regarded as a broadly experienced executive and fair negotiator ready to lead his own organization.
Winger previously interviewed for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ general manager position in 2019, but he opted to return to the Clippers, where he functioned as the lead deputy to team president Lawrence Frank, helping craft the franchise’s long-term plans and taking an active role in trade talks with other organizations and contract negotiations. During owner Steve Ballmer’s tenure, the Clippers have consistently been one of the league’s most active teams, acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in 2019 and often swinging significant trade deadline moves.
Though Winger did not hold a public-facing role in Los Angeles, he is said to be a strong internal communicator who excels at distilling complex concepts, including the particulars of the collective bargaining agreement, into layman’s terms.
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“He’s really good at seeing the whole board,” one executive who has worked with Winger said. “He’s super organized and really smart. Process-driven to the nth degree. He won’t be reckless or let his team make big mistakes.”
Before joining the Clippers he spent seven years in Oklahoma City as an assistant general manager and team counsel under General Manager Sam Presti. Before joining the Thunder, he spent five years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Because Winger’s background is in strategic management, it’s possible he will look to tap a general manager from the scouting world.
Winger’s hiring is the result of a low-key, methodical search for a president that Leonsis conducted without the use of a third-party hiring firm, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, interviewing candidates in the privacy of his own home. Leonsis also interviewed New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon.
With the draft squared away and the experience to manage free agency in July, Winger will have the ability to take his time in hiring a head of Wizards basketball.
Ben Golliver in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Source: The Washington Post
