Tommy Sheppard Fired as Wizards GM; Missed Playoffs 3 Times in 4 Seasons

Tommy Sheppard's tenure as the general manager of the Washington Wizards is over after four seasons, as the Eastern Conference team decided to dismiss Sheppard on Wednesday.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news.

Washington promoted him to the full-time general manager position in July 2019. He was serving as the interim GM at the time after the Wizards fired Ernie Grunfeld.

Wizards governor Ted Leonsis issued a statement regarding the decision:

"Tommy Sheppard was relieved from his duties as General Manager and President of the Washington Wizards. Failure to make the playoffs the last two seasons was very disappointing to our organization and our fans.

"A search for new leadership will begin immediately for an executive from outside the organization. I would like to thank Tommy for his dedication to the Wizards organization and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

While Sheppard was the Denver Nuggets' senior director of team services and player relations early in his career, he had been with the Wizards in some capacity since 2003. The announcement of his 2019 promotion to full-time GM explained he held a number of responsibilities within the franchise and was seen as "as one of the league's most innovative and creative executives."

Those responsibilities included scouting, salary-cap management and the hiring of coaches and personnel.

Yet things did not work out as planned during his four seasons as general manager.

Washington finished with a losing record in all four years and made the playoffs just once, when it lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the first round in 2021. Overall, the team went 129-179 during Sheppard's tenure, including 35-47 marks in each of the last two seasons.

A number of moves, including trading for Russell Westbrook and then trading him away after a season, didn't lead to consistent winning on the court. Star player Bradley Beal has also struggled to stay healthy.

It may not have all been Sheppard's fault, as Sam Quinn of CBS Sports suggested when he wrote, "I don't think Tommy Sheppard did a particularly good job, but this feels a little ridiculous when the entire basketball universe knows he was just doing the bidding of an owner without a shred of ambition."

Alas, the NBA is a results game, and Washington remained outside the playoff picture for most of Sheppard's tenure.