Every year was the same. You could expect future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James or future Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry to be in the NBA Finals. And the livelihood of the rest of the NBA’s head coaches always seemed to be collateral damage because results matter. Now that the era of the super team has (mostly) come to a close, coaching expectations have heightened, and tenures have shortened. It’s questionable if results matter as much from year to year because coaches are released despite having great seasons in previous years. There is an argument to be made that getting fired sooner rather than later is a benefit. You can reach the job market faster and grab a job opening as teams fire coaches. Look at this season’s NBA coaching carousel and what it means for each team.
Milwaukee Bucks
OUT: Mike Budenholzer
IN: Adrian Griffin
The Milwaukee Bucks, winners of the 2021 NBA Championship and atop the 2023 Eastern Conference standings, were bounced by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round. We were blessed with this all-time Q&A response by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
One of the steps to getting back to the mountaintop was relieving Mike Budenholzer of his head coaching duties. Budenholzer failed to make in-game adjustments in the Heat series and could have used timeouts in a more organized fashion.
Antetokounmpo said that he would prefer if a former NBA player coached the team, and Adrian Griffin fits the bill. He had a nine-year career, including a Finals appearance with the Dallas Mavericks in 2006. This will be Griffin’s first head coaching job after assistant coaching stops in Orlando, Oklahoma City, and the title-winning Toronto Raptors team in 2019. Speaking of Toronto…
Toronto Raptors
OUT: Nick Nurse
IN: Darko Rajakovic
Nick Nurse won the first-ever championship for the Toronto Raptors in 2019. After ousting NBA Coach of the Year, Dwane Casey, the Raptors gave Nurse the car keys to a talented roster and a superstar player (Kawhi Leonard). He responded with a championship, but the Raptors organization could not convince Leonard to stay in free agency. Nurse got the axe this year after failing to win in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Darko Rajakovic is 44 years old with nearly 30 years of coaching experience! Half of that experience was developed in his native Serbia (the home of NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic) and the other half in the NBA (Thunder, Suns, Grizzlies). As a first-year head coach, he has big shoes to fill and fill quickly. Nick Nurse was let go not long after winning the championship. Speaking of Nick Nurse…
Philadelphia 76ers
OUT: Doc Rivers
IN: Nick Nurse
Doc Rivers has had many stops in his coaching career, and Philadelphia may have been his most disappointing. Rivers took the Magic to the NBA Finals, won it with the Celtics, and ushered the Clippers through ownership turmoil. No excuses this time around, as Rivers was hand-picked to steer the 76ers to the conclusion of “The Process.” Yet despite enormous expectations and a wide-open playoff field, the Sixers never made it out of the semifinals during his tenure. Out goes the doctor, and in comes the nurse.
New 76ers head coach Nick Nurse is tasked with convincing superstar James Harden to stay in Philadelphia and not just be a booty call. Nurse was in the Rockets organization simultaneously with Harden and 76ers executive Daryl Morey so relationships matter. Establishing a relationship with reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid should also be near the top of his to-do list.
Phoenix Suns
OUT: Monty Williams
IN: Frank Vogel
Monty Williams was unceremoniously dismissed from his coaching duties despite making the NBA Finals in 2021. It was the Suns’ first Finals appearance since 1993, but the championship expectations are even higher now than they were then.
If you’re keeping score at home, every head coach who has appeared in the Finals in the last ten years has been released. The only exceptions are Eric Spoelstra, Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, and Michael Malone.
NBA superstar and future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns midseason, but they lost to the NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Coach Williams was gone shortly afterward.
Frank Vogel coached LeBron James and the LA Lakers to the 2020 NBA Championship in the pandemic Bubble. Still, the Lakers fired him two years later as expectations for another trophy grew beyond his capabilities. Imagine the expectations now as Vogel is tasked with coaching perhaps the last NBA super team for the foreseeable CBA future. Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Deandre Ayton form a loaded roster (read: NBA cap hell) with sky-high expectations.
Detroit Pistons
OUT: Dwane Casey
IN: Monty Williams
The NBA coaching carousel swings around again. This was the most expensive swing of the bunch, as Monty Williams signed the highest coaching contract in NBA history. Despite many recent losses, Detroit invested tremendous capital to turn things around.
Monty Williams replaces head coach Dwane Casey, who was beset by roster injuries and questionable draft decisions. Casey is now in the front office of the Pistons organization.
The NBA coaching carousel doesn’t stop there. Williams hired recently fired Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas as a lead assistant. This brings me to Houston…
Houston Rockets
OUT: Stephen Silas
IN: Ime Udoka
The Houston Rockets badly needed help looking like a professional team night-to-night. Stephen Silas came into the job expecting to coach professionals in former MVPs Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Before he knew it, Silas was coaching fundamentals to teenagers. If the Rockets did not let Mike D’Antoni coach out the last year of his contract (atypical of NBA teams not to extend or fire), maybe things would look differently. The Rockets hired Stephen Silas a year late and fired him two years too late.
Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka landed the job of improving the Rockets’ win column. Udoka led the Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance just last year, so how was he available? Poor judgment. The Houston Rockets have two gambles on their hands. One is that Udoka can turn these young draft picks into professionals. The other is that Udoka himself can be professional and has learned from his indiscretions.
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2 Comments
The Rockets you have an exciting season. Milwaukee should win the east again and make it to the ECF.
Great article, i usually dont care about the changes cuz Miami has the best coach in the league but this was a good one.