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On Wednesday, Leonsis, the Monumental Sports & Entertainment founder and CEO,
fired Tommy Sheppard. Days such as this don’t usually happen with the Wizards. Sheppard, who
signed a contract extension less than two years ago, was the Wizards’ president and general manager and had been with the team since 2003.
Even internal staffers, I’m told, were shocked by the news. They know as well as anyone that change doesn’t happen here.
The only evolution in D.C. comes from
the constantly remixed jerseys meant to milk a few more bucks from the last remaining die-hards. But there’s no change where it really matters. One season without 50 wins or an appearance in the conference finals builds atop the next. Mediocre stretches spiral into inferior eras. Ernie Grunfeld begets Tommy Sheppard. One blown draft pick morphs into another. And 25 years later, all that remains is a 1978 championship banner that hangs over a dead arena.
This season, Monica Dixon, the company’s chief administrative officer, worked out of the team’s practice facility at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Ward 8, multiple people told me. The idea of Leonsis sending his right-hand woman inside the Wizards’ workplace should feel significant.
Leonsis has a history of simply standing by and watching the franchise falter. He admitted his own need to “take responsibility” after he fired Grunfeld in 2019. Still, four years later, Leonsis doesn’t cut the image of a hands-on owner. He has been busy trying to buy the Nationals and possibly Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Having Dixon work at ESA on a consistent basis, observe the Wizards’ situation, recognize what is and what is not working and report back should have given Leonsis a better understanding of his basketball team. Wise move by the boss.
And this understanding led Leonsis to do something he has never done as the Wizards’ owner: finally slap a period at the end of the Grunfeld era.
The line about finding an executive outside the organization sent a signal for fans to buckle up and brace for real change. It also should have communicated a stronger message internally: If you are currently employed by the Wizards, you need not apply. If there’s any trace of the past 20 years of residue on your fingerprints, like orange Cheetos stains you can’t wipe off, this job is not for you.
Thank you for your service, all you Washington lifers and trusty Grunfeld lieutenants — or anyone who was in the room and signed off on drafting Johnny Davis with the 10th overall pick. But please, leave.
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And on the topic of executives and money, it’s time again to daydream about Tim Connelly or even Bob Myers, the foreman behind the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. Though Connelly’s name popped up immediately following the breaking news, the problem with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations is he already turned down the Wizards in 2019. Less than a year ago, he signed a five-year contract worth $40 million with Minnesota.
Though Myers is on an expiring deal, when he becomes available he will be worth more than Connelly’s number.
And Masai Ujiri? Let’s not even fool ourselves with that fantasy again. Leonsis said he didn’t interview Ujiri during the team’s 2019 search, and Ujiri, as the Toronto Raptors’ president and vice chairman, has the title and all the power he wants north of the border. There’s a reason in 2019 he proclaimed: “I’m here to stay.”
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Not on a long, drawn-out search process, as he did last time. No more world tours and interviews with Barack Obama, Billy Beane and a laundry list of other names. Last time, Leonsis tried something he felt was visionary in creating “Monumental Basketball.” He wanted to get it right, but it turned out to be completely unnecessary when, after all of that, Leonsis ended up with Sheppard — a symbol of the past who couldn’t last four full years on his own.
Leonsis just needs to spend the appropriate amount of money to land a smart and innovative basketball executive. It seems he finally has the motivation for a different voice. Let’s just hope this New Ted has replaced the old version, the long-suffering owner averse to change.
