Teams usually don’t fire coaches until they’re almost ready to hire, but most of these teams are waiting on candidates who might be busy with the playoffs.
If you listen to the buzz, there would be eight openings had the Bucks lost to Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
This year is also unique in that, because of the high number of openings, the odds of a woman securing one of those jobs is greater than ever.
It’s not often a team that has traveled deep into the postseason over the last four years, boasts a young superstar is looking for a new coach.
There isn’t a single star on the team, though a few players have the potential to be good at some point, so Orlando needs a coach who specializes in developing young players.
Can you imagine how that conversation went between Griffin and Pelicans ownership when Van Gundy was shown the door? The organization has much invested in All-Star forward Zion Williamson, for obvious reasons.
Meaning: Can you earn his confidence — and that of ownership and the front office — throughout the duration of your first contract as coach and also fulfill all the expectations that come with coaching Luka? This is a risk/reward job that comes with high stress and also a high success rate if everything falls into place.
Any trade of Beal and/or Westbrook would certainly signal the end of playoff contention and the start of a rebuilding process, and the new coach must be willing to sign up for either scenario.
The Pacers tapped into their past and hired Carlisle to lead the team — a place he coached at from 2003-07.
It’s a tricky situation, especially if the job goes to a first-time coach, but at least the new coach won’t have to deal with the pain of rebuilding right away.
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