Karl, Wittman firings headline coaching carousel

The end of the regular season brought three new head-coaching vacancies around the NBA on Thursday.

Here's a recap of the firings - and the rumored replacements - for three teams who head into their respective offseasons looking for a new bench boss:

Timberwolves

Fired: Sam Mitchell (interim)
Rumored replacements: Scott Brooks, Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy, Dave Joerger
2015-16 record: 29-53

Mitchell took over following the death of head coach Flip Saunders, and led the Timberwolves to a 13th-place finish in the Western Conference. Despite young stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns both petitioning for the organization to keep Mitchell, the front office opted to make a change.

Kings

Fired: George Karl
Rumored replacements: Kevin McHale, Mark Jackson, Vinny Del Negro, Nate McMillan
2015-16 record: 33-49

Karl was hired by the Kings on Feb. 17, 2015 and was almost fired in November following a dispute with DeMarcus Cousins. Sacramento went just 44-68 during Karl's tenure, and now the front office is on the lookout for its fifth head coach since 2012.

Wizards

Fired: Randy Wittman
Rumored replacements: Scott Brooks, Jeff Hornacek
2015-16 record: 41-41

Coming off back-to-back second-round appearances, the injury-plagued Wizards missed the playoffs due to a 10th-place finish in the East. Wittman was the casualty of a lost year, getting shown the door after eight seasons (five as head coach) and a 178-199 record with the organization.