Scott Brooks Reportedly Not on Hot Seat Despite Wizards' Poor Start

The Washington Wizards are planning to stay the course despite their 1-5 start.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported the Wizards currently have no plan to fire head coach Scott Brooks despite the team's dismal performance. 

"We have a lot of talent on this team. Coach is putting us in position to succeed. It's not on him. I'll tell you that right now. It's not on Coach Brooks," Wizards guard Austin Rivers said Sunday. "I'm new here and I'm looking at that right now. Everybody's saying something about Coach Brooks, but it's not on him."

The Wizards are hoping the return of Dwight Howard will help fortify their defense. Howard has missed the first six games with a gluteal injury. 

Washington currently ranks 26th in defensive efficiency. The offense has barely fared better, ranking 23rd, and the Wizards have already been subject to some infighting.

Bradley Beal and John Wall both publicly criticized teammates for having their own agendas.

"Sometimes we have our own agendas on the floor, whether it's complaining about shots, complaining about playing time, complaining about whatever it may be," Beal told reporters. "We're worried about the wrong (expletive) and that's not where our focus needs to be and it's just going to continue to hurt us."

"Everybody on their own agenda," Wall said. "We showed glimpses when we do stuff as a team, we show how good we can be, and then we go back to trying to do it individually, and that's mostly on the defensive end."

The Wizards seemed like a team teetering on the edge of change coming into the season. The Wall-Beal backcourt has not risen to the top of the NBA despite their own proclamations, and the franchise is capped out with three max-level contracts. They added Howard on a low-cost deal and traded for Rivers in an attempt to revamp a stale rotation, but the results have not been there yet.

If things don't improve with Howard back, odds are Brooks' job status will be far murkier.