Washington Wizards: Flip Saunders Fired, Randy Wittman Takes over for Now

After winning only two games (2-15) so far this season (versus the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder) and getting blown out last night on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers (not the first time), the Washington Wizards decided to make a coaching change.

This move could be the first of more to come as the team looks to make changes that will allow them to compete in the Eastern Conference sooner rather than later.

Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news this morning. Saunders was in his third year of a four-year contract with the Wizards, but it appeared that the players were not listening to him anymore, and changes were required.

The report said that head coach Phil “Flip” Saunders was relieved of his coaching duties and will be replaced by assistant coach Randy Wittman on an interim basis.

The Wizards have lost seven games by double digits and things have become tense in the locker room. The younger players on the roster have yet to win on the road, and it's a roster with more young players than experienced veterans.

The Wizards need to make some changes. Point guard John Wall is the team’s franchise player but needs help for the team to win on a regular basis.

It got to the point that with the losses piling up, there was a lot of tension building between the players and Saunders. The Wizards were mentally fatigued and even though some of their mistakes were immature, they should know how feuding affects the team altogether.

Hopefully with Wittman on board things start to change for the better, but it will take an effort from both coaches and players.