The most attractive coaching position?
What’s the hottest NBA coaching job available right now?
With reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that neither Scott Brooks (Washington Wizards) nor Stan Van Gundy (New Orleans Pelicans) will return as head coach of their teams, one-fifth of the league’s teams are now looking for bench replacements. That group includes three playoff teams: the Wizards, Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.
Because those teams are looking for different types of candidates, prospective coaches won’t always, or ever, have their pick of jobs. Still, let’s rank each vacancy based on current roster potential, front office stability and path forward, with a particular emphasis on the new ones created in New Orleans and Washington, D.C.
Portland Trail Blazers:
The Blazers are replacing Terry Stotts, one of the longest tenured and most successful coaches in team history (only the legendary Dr. Jack Ramsay won more games as head coach in Portland). President of basketball operations Neil Olshey recently said that the Blazers’ first-round elimination, their fourth in the last five seasons, “was not a product of the roster.” And, unless you’re Chauncey Billups, star Damian Lillard is on record as wanting someone else as coach (Lillard endorsed Billups and Jason Kidd before the latter withdrew his name from the coaching search).
Washington Wizards:
While Brooks’ replacement isn’t approaching the same type of expectations that Olshey created in Portland, there are some similarities between these two situations. With Bradley Beal a year away from hitting unrestricted free agency and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook turning 33 in November, there is a great sense of urgency for Washington to win now with the potential for more changes if that doesn’t happen.
On the bright side, the Wizards’ next coach inherits a team that seemed to figure things out over the course of the season with the benefit of improved health for Westbrook. Washington closed the season at 15-5 to reach the play-in tournament as the eighth seed, they posted the NBA’s fifth-best net rating (plus-6.9 points per 100 possessions) during that span, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
There won’t be the same learning curve for this Wizards roster next season, one that was prolonged by an early outbreak of COVID-19 that scarred the team for nearly two weeks in January. Washington’s top five players in minutes per game during the playoffs are under contract for 2021-22, leaving centers Alex Len and Robin Lopez and guards Raul Neto and Ish Smith as the team’s biggest question marks.
As a result, the Wizards are poised for an improved campaign as long as their stars can stay healthy.
Boston Celtics:
As disappointing as the Celtics were this season, they are a clear choice as the most favorable landing spot for a coach among the current vacancies. Start with Boston’s remarkable stability in the front office and on the bench. This will be only the third Celtics coach in a span of 18 seasons, as many as Pacers and Pelicans will have in the last three. And neither of Boston’s last two coaching changes has been a firing, as Doc Rivers sought a trade to the LA Clippers, while Brad Stevens resigned to replace veteran Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations.
Better yet, the Celtics have their long-term core in their wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Putting the right pieces around them will be a challenge for Stevens, but Boston has already done the hard work of finding young All-Stars. And with Tatum just beginning a rookie extension while Brown enters the second season of his four-year contract, the Celtics don’t face the same pressure to keep them from leaving as they do with older stars.
Replacing Stevens while he reports to him will be an interesting situation for Boston’s new coach. Nevertheless, the Celtics should have their pick of options.
