If Patrick Ewing retires as expected, he’s a good bet to join the Wizards as an assistant coach. A report out of Washington said he’s already interviewed with the Wizards about a position.

It’s clear Ewing will retire as soon as he finds something else. Ewing’s final year of his contract was bought out by the Magic Thursday, as he became a free agent. Orlando GM John Gabriel admits he didn’t have any inquiries about Ewing during the season or this summer.

Despite their need for a defensive center, the Knicks don’t think he can help and probably feel he’d be a distraction. They already have a big-man coach in Herb Williams. A more likely scenario is Ewing coming back to New York in a visible front-office role. But Ewing has an offseason home in the Washington area, where he played at Georgetown, and his high school star son, Patrick Jr., plays at an private school there.

His agent, David Falk, said at the Dikembe Mutombo press conference that Ewing doesn’t want to play for an also-ran.

“I’ve told him I need to know soon because I need more than a few days before the season to find him another job,” Falk said.