It’s one of the tried-and-true traditions in pro sports: When things turn ugly the coach is always the first to go. So with that in mind, it’s not altogether surprising to see a slew of NBA teams in various degrees of disarray currently saddled with coaching vacancies.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers took the axe to Mike Brown on Monday afternoon, the number of coach-less clubs grew to seven: the Cavs, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks.
While the Knicks are reportedly close to signing Steve Kerr, the former player and GM, and current TV analyst (just about everything in basketball except, of course, coaching), the others, well, aren’t. And with the NBA Draft and free agency just around the corner all of these clubs will be looking to find their next head coach sooner rather than later. (Fair reader reaction to prior sentence: Duh, y’think?)
There are no shortage of intriguing candidates, from the the highly qualified to the prospective first-timers like Kerr. So without further ado, here are some of the names you can expect to hear in rumours and discussions as the hiring process plays out:
KEVIN OLLIE
Who? Before this year, Ollie was best remembered mainly as a backup point guard who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, most recently with the 2010 Oklahoma City Thunder.
Coaching resume: After retiring, he took an assistant coaching gig on Jim Calhoun’s staff at UConn; replaced Calhoun, who had been the Huskies head coach since ’86, in 2013; won the national championship with UConn this past March.
Best fit: Thunder. OK, so they still have a coach and have a shot at returning to the conference finals for the third time in four years. But current coach Scott Brooks has been under fire recently, while Kevin Durant has openly endorsed Ollie, having formed a bond when they played together. Crazier things have happened. Much crazier.
GEORGE KARL
Who? Colby Karl’s dad, that’s who.
Coaching resume: Head coach for five NBA clubs since 1984; took the Gary Payton/Shawn Kemp-era Seattle Supersonics to the NBA Finals; earned his first Coach of the Year award in 2013 with the Denver Nuggets; seventh all-time in regular season wins by a coach.
Best fit: Jazz. Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Enes Kanter and the young Utah team would certainly benefit from someone with Karl’s experience. Burke, in particular, could learn a lot as Karl has helped the development of numerous successful point guards including Payton, Sam Cassell and Ty Lawson. The ex-coach has said recently he wants to “get back in the gym” and that he expects to hear from the Lakers. Karl and L.A. GM Mitch Kupchak were roommates when they played for the UNC Tar Heels.
ETTORE MESSINA
Who? The Italian basketball icon whose name appears annually when there are coaching vacancies, though no NBA team has rolled the dice yet.
Coaching resume: Coached four Euroleague champions; two-time Euroleague Coach of the Year; won a title last year with CSKA Moscow.
Best fit: Lakers. Messina is a proven winner, a pre-requisite for whomever will be taking control in Lakerland, and actually served as a consultant for the club two seasons ago. The biggest benefit? Messina and Kobe Bryant, who is famously fluent in Italian, could openly badmouth their dysfunctional roster without any of the other Lakers knowing.
ADRIAN GRIFFIN
Who? The 39-year-old who played small forward in the NBA for 10 seasons on five different clubs, most notably as a rotation player on the Nash/Nowitzki/Finley Dallas Mavericks teams of the early ’00s.
Coaching resume: Following his last season as a player, Griffin joined the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff; was named an assistant to Tom Thibodeau on the Chicago Bulls in 2010, where he’s been a big part of carving the team’s stellar defensive identity.
Best fit: Cavs. It barely took an hour for Griffin’s name to be tossed around in the wake of the Mike Brown firing. Griffin is said to be a “leading candidate” for a club that was barely middle-of-the-pack defensively last season.
STEVE KERR
Who? Remember the guy from the intro of this story? Oh, and in 1997 he “bailed out Michael Jordan. Again.“
Coaching resume: N/A. He’s never coached, but Kerr had a fairly successful stint running the Phoenix Suns front office and played on five championship teams in Chicago and San Antonio.
Best fit: Warriors. A perimeter-happy, offensively-oriented roster in Kerr’s native sunny California. But it appears that Kerr to the Knicks, working under his former coach Phil Jackson, is a done deal and he’s been reportedly already finalizing a contract.
MARK JACKSON
Who? Long-time NBA point guard, most notably with the Knicks and Pacers (and briefly the Raptors), Jackson is second all-time in assists in NBA history.
Coaching resume: Made the leap from TV analyst to head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2011; ended Warriors’ six year playoff draught in 2012.
Best fit: Pistons. When Jackson took the G-State gig he inherited a dysfunctional team with some promising pieces and turned them into an exciting peripheral contender. Despite Josh Smith’s contract, there is still some intriguing talent on the Pistons roster, and it will just take the right guy and the right system to bring an air of optimism back to the Motor City.
FRED HOIBERG
Who? Former NBA role player who spent four seasons each with Indiana and Chicago before finishing his career in Minnesota.
Coaching resume: Was hired by his alma matter, Iowa State, after retiring from the league in 2010; took the Cyclones to their first tourney appearance since 2005 in ’11; was named 2012 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
Best Fit: Timberwolves. Hoiberg has been linked to this gig before, and he showed with the likes of Melvin Ejim and Georges Niang at Iowa State these past few seasons that he is able to effectively utilize versatile inside-outside forwards. Hey, Minnesota has one of those!
STAN VAN GUNDY
Who? You know, this guy. No, wait, sorry. This guy.
Coaching resume/qualifications: Parlayed a gig coaching the NCAA’s Wisconsin Badgers into a position on the Miami Heat bench in 1995; reached the conference finals with Miami as head coach; reached the NBA finals as head coach of the Orlando Magic.
Best fit: Warriors. A big-enough name for Dubs fans to quickly get over the season-long Mark Jackson debacle, Van Gundy is good at recognizing and playing to his players’ strengths and disguising their weaknesses. That should benefit the current roster, which is unlikely to dramatically change before next season.
That being said, he’s reportedly close to signing with the Detroit Pistons, where he’d become head of basketball operations as well as head coach, giving him the power to remake a flawed roster to best suit his vision for the team.
MIKE D’ANTONI
Who? The guy from the Pringles can.
Coaching resume: Was a two-time champion as coach in the Italian League; named 2005 NBA Coach of the Year; orchestrated the SSOL Phoenix Suns offence.
Best fit: Cavs. A player like Kyrie Irving would be incredibly fun to watch in D’Antoni’s fast-paced offence, and while Cleveland will look to make roster moves in the off-season, their current young pieces seem suited to that style as well. D’Antoni already has a relationship with new Cavs GM David Griffin stemming from their days working together in Phoenix.
LIONEL HOLLINS
Who? The sixth pick of the 1975 draft, Hollins played for five teams over 10 NBA seasons, including a meaningful role on the ’77 champion Portland Trail Blazers.
Coaching resume: A Phoenix Suns assistant under Cotton Fitzsimmons; three stints with the Grizzlies organization dating back to their days in Vancouver; took Grizzlies to four straight playoff appearances and one conference final, and set franchise record in win percentage in 2011–12.
Best fit: Pistons. Hollins was let go in Memphis last year in favour of what was supposed to be a higher-tempo, more offensive-minded coach, but in his time there he proved his worth as a premier defensive mind in the coaching ranks. His successful work with the Grizzlies front-court could translate well in Detroit.
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Other notables who could fill vacancies: Alvin Gentry, Jeff Van Gundy, Sam Cassell, Patrick Ewing, David Fizdale (Heat assistant), Tyronn Lue, Nate McMillan, Derek Fisher
