The NBA head coaching fraternity should be more substantial, given the league’s 75-year history. However, the recent trend of coaching hires has led to recycling coaching names. Just look at the NBA head coaching retreads that happened this past offseason. Maybe it’s just laziness on the part of general managers. Hire the name guy. But, there was a reason that those names were available in the first place. Failed expectations. Bringing in retread players from old coaching stops. Set in their ways among an ever-evolving sport.
Monty Williams failed expectations in Phoenix. Toronto was going nowhere but down with Nick Nurse. The expectations in Los Angeles with future NBA Hall-of-Famer LeBron James are always championship or bust. Now, as the NBA season draws to a close, let’s see how the (old) new coaches are doing.
Fired Then Hired
Monty Williams had playoff expectations with New Orleans and was essentially a disappointment. Williams was later hired again as coach of the Phoenix Suns and, along with Chris Paul and Devin Booker, made a surprise trip to the NBA Finals—the first time since 1993 for the Suns. The expectations ballooned to superteam status with the addition of future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. Williams’ failure and subsequent firing didn’t deter the Detroit Pistons from offering him the richest coaching contract in NBA history. Detroit has a young roster, so the bar was low based on expectations. Monty must be good at limbo cause the Pistons are very much under the bar.
How about Frank Vogel, the guy who replaced Monty Williams in Phoenix? Himself a retread from the Indiana Pacers’ bench, Vogel won a championship with the Lakers during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. A championship is good for only two years of job security in LA, as he was released. Rehired again in the same division, those exact expectations are casting a shadow over his 8th-place Suns team.
Nick Nurse is back on the sidelines coaching current MVP Joel Embiid and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers. Expectations for the Sixers are a championship during possibly shortened prime years for Embiid (injuries again). I love what he has done, helping turn Tyrese Maxey into an All-Star, but Embiid is out again, and the Sixers have sunk to eighth in the East. It’s the kind of record that the Raptors were hanging around with after Nurse led them to a championship in his first season. Failing to Meet Expectations would be an appropriate comment if it was a report card grade.
Current Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder voluntarily left his Utah Jazz head coach position. That’s different from getting fired like the others, but the Hawks were expected to be much better. They made the conference finals a few years ago. Alas, they are currently wallowing almost ten games below .500. Nasty.
Success Stories
Now, there are a few success stories, if you want to call them that. Tom Thibodeau was fired from the Bulls and Timberwolves job. Now, as the New York Knicks coach, they are a fun team to watch, and they compete every night. Lucky for the Knicks, they had Jalen Brunson‘s father as an assistant coach. Otherwise, Brunson might still be in Dallas.
Speaking of Dallas, former Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd has led the Mavericks to ten games above .500. Superstar Mavs point guard Kyrie Irving hit a game-winner over 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic over the weekend.
Former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is cooking up something in Houston. A healthy Clippers roster, led by former Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue, is a contender. Another former Cavaliers coach, Mike Brown, has changed the culture in Sacramento. Current Nuggets championship head coach Michael Malone used to be the head honcho in Sacramento.
It’s a mixed bag for coaching success, with former head coaches leading the team.
The Head Retread
I’m sharing all this to discuss the mid-season Milwaukee Bucks hiring of head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers is the top dog among NBA head coaching retreads. His 25-year head coaching career includes stops in Orlando, Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. I would definitely buy an interviewing class from Doc Rivers if he offered one.
Rivers’ coaching is frustrating because all of his players love him. You hear mostly good things from the superstars down to the end of the bench guys. The issue is that expectations at every stop he takes over are championship or bust. He has one championship in 25 years. That Celtics team was on the brink several times to be in line for what some call a flash championship due to blockbuster acquisitions of Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Rivers did get to the Finals twice with the Celtics and once with the Magic. The Clippers’ tenure was marred by ownership at the time. His last stop was Philly, though (he was fired at the end of last season). Philly didn’t get anywhere with that expensive roster. What’s even worse is that Rivers completely lost Ben Simmons mentally. Simmons is now an oft-injured shadow of his former self, taking up cap space on the Nets bench.
That is all in the rearview mirror now. Milwaukee had the second-best record in the East when they dismissed head coach Adrian Griffin and brought in Doc. They are still second in the East after a rough start to his tenure. The Bucks won a championship in 2021, and after the blockbuster summer trade for superstar Damian Lillard, they expect nothing less than another championship run. Is Doc Rivers the man to do it? Many have their doubts because it’s during the playoffs when Rivers’ teams usually underperform. It’s a cycle of hell when your team loses heartbreakingly, but the entire roster loves playing for him anyway. Hopefully, he can prove everybody wrong and bring the Antetokounmpo brothers another championship ring.
Newbies Fare Well
General managers, take note! It’s okay to try new blood. Just look at the dramatic difference in play from the Orlando Magic, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pelicans and Cavaliers are fun to watch. Having these new faces dotting the top of the standings is a tremendous change of pace. The Celtics have been in title contention two years in a row under current head coach Joe Mazzulla.
How do you feel about NBA head coaching retreads? Would you want your team coached by a familiar name? Who you know clearly matters in NBA circles.
Photo Credit for featured cover image: Getty Images.
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