The Washington Wizards fired president Ernie Grunfeld after 16 seasons with the organization. Despite several key injuries, the team did not live up to expectations and will miss the playoffs, finishing the season well below .500.

Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis figured now was the right time to make a change in order to get the franchise back in the postseason in the near future. Paul believes that something had to be done to spur change after this miserable season in Washington.

“You had to figure that there had to be some type of change. Washington hasn’t really taken that next step for years,” Pierce said. “Some of their signings were questionable, so they just need a breath of fresh air. Although I thought Ernie (Grunfeld) was a great GM, he just ran into some bad luck.”