Would Nuggets Wes Unseld Jr. be a better head coaching fit for Washington or Orlando?
When the Chicago Bulls were in pursuit of former Denver general manager Arturas Karnisovas, the Nuggets did everything in their power to ensure one of their own landed the job. From phone calls to mock interviews, Karnisovas was more than prepared by the time the real interview with Chicagos decision-makers came. Now, as the rest of the NBA continues to poach from the Nuggets tree, a similar process is playing out with associate head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who has emerged as a finalist for the head coaching vacancies in both Orlando and Washington, according to a league source. Nuggets coach Michael Malone and president Tim Connelly have made calls on Unseld Jr.s behalf, championing both his character and his basketball acumen. I dont know what more he has to do to be in the head seat, Connelly said. The guy did advanced scouting for a decade, spending time on numerous benches. One of the most hard-working guys in the NBA and one of the nicest guys in the NBA, too. Hopefully this is the offseason where we finally lose him.  An assistant to Malone for the past six seasons whose primary responsibility has been orchestrating the defense, Unseld Jr. has had numerous interviews for head coaching positions. But having advanced to this stage of the interview process with two separate franchises, he could finally be on the verge of landing one. Heres a look at the two jobs. Washington: The Wizards are accustomed to mediocrity. They havent gotten out of the second round of the playoffs since 1979, back when Wess father was at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career. Unseld Jr. has a longstanding history with the Wizards, where he began his NBA coaching career just days after graduating from Johns Hopkins University. Serving as both a scout and eventually an assistant, he was with the organization for 13 seasons. Its indicative of Unseld Jr.s reputation around the NBA that one of his former teams called. But if he were to land the Washington gig  hes up against Dallas assistant Jamahl Mosley and Milwaukee assistants Charles Lee and Darvin Ham, according to ESPN  the undertaking would be significant. Not only would he need to unlock a defense thats finished better than 20th in the NBA just once in the past five seasons, hed have to do it under the watchful (and impatient?) eyes of three-time All-Star Bradley Beal and future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook. Beal, 28, has a player option after this upcoming season, meaning those incessant trade rumors probably arent going away. Thats not easy for any coach, let alone a first-time one. But Unseld Jr. has a reputation for building a strong rapport with his players. Nuggets MVP Nikola Jokic has raved about him as both a person and a coach. Orlando: Unseld Jr. was an assistant with the Magic from 2012-2015 under then-head coach Jacque Vaughn. If he were to land the Magic job, emerging among assistants including Willie Green (Phoenix), Becky Hammon (San Antonio), Mosley (Dallas) and several current Orlando assistants, according to The Athletic, the priorities would be significantly different than in Washington. The Magic cleaned house at the trade deadline, flipping Nikola Vucevic to Chicago and sending Aaron Gordon to Denver for promising prospect R.J. Hampton, among other players. Though the Magic made the playoffs in two of the past three seasons, the deals indicated a full-scale rebuild. The Magic has picks No. 5 and No. 8 in this months draft. By virtue of Orlandos roster, the job would take patience and a heavy emphasis on player development. Build a culture from the ground up.