NBA AM: Some NBA Coaches May Have To Go, Who’s Got Next?

Who’s Got Next?:  There is a saying in the NBA that coaches are hired to be fired.

The reality is that it’s always easier to change a coach and a coaching staff than it is to completely re-tool a roster, even if the roster is what’s likely wrong. Coaches know that when they sign their contracts; their agents spend a lot of time understanding what the exit language on a contract looks like. It’s the unspoken promise when you sign your contract: You will be fired at some point. Most coaches get four years to figure things out if they are lucky. The average as of late has been a lot closer to two years.

Since 2012 the NBA has seen 21 coaches take over a NBA team. The longest tenured coach in the NBA is San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, who was hired in 1996. Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Dallas’ Rick Carlisle and Oklahoma City’s Scott Brook round out the next longest tenure tier, with all three hired in 2008.

This past summer saw one of the largest influxes of new coaching faces, with ten teams changing coaches this past year, and that number could still grow as some teams continue to struggle to find their way. That begs the question of who are the coaches sitting on the sidelines both physically and metaphorically waiting for a shot to lead a team? After talking with a few league executives about the subject, here are some of the names that were mentioned:

George Karl

Karl is arguably the highest-profile unemployed coach. He wants to get back into coaching and has the longest track record of any of the possible candidates. The challenge for Karl is he is a big personality and while he has amassed an impressive regular season record of 1131-756 in his 25 seasons as a head coach, his playoff record leaves a little to be desired.

Since leaving the Denver Nuggets in 2013, Karl has been active around NBA events and has been staying busy with media and radio work and staying current on what’s happening around the league.

Karl has been linked to the Sacramento Kings’ job after Mike Malone was fired earlier this year.

Karl says he wants to coach again and it’s likely that he’ll get some interest as teams begin the interview process this summer.

Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson is a tough one. His exit from the Golden State Warriors was marred by allegation of being tough to work with, especially with the Warriors front office. So much so that ownership took swipes at him in the media to such a degree that an apology was eventually issued.

Jackson has head coaching experience and a proven track record, although it’s somewhat small in contrast to others. Jackson is a name fans rally around because of the turnaround he was part of with the Warriors; however, there are real doubts that Jackson gets serious consideration this summer, but he is a name that will be thrown around.

Mike Malone

Like Jackson, Malone’s exit from the Kings was marred by allegations that he too was tough to work with, that he pushed back on team philosophies and did not put enough emphasis on player development.

One executive said that Malone might get something of a pass on his stint in Sacramento, because of how the Kings have floundered since his departure. There was some snark in the comment suggesting that had Malone been fired by a different team he might be viewed differently. But the fact it was the Kings and they still seem like somewhat of a mess organizationally, Malone might be spared some of the criticism.

Jackson unfortunately doesn’t get the same pass mainly because of how well the Warriors have done without him, with fundamentally the same cast of players.

There is a sense that Malone will get interviews if he wants them and while he has a reputation for being stern at times, some teams that are struggling with discipline and structure may give Malone a serious look.

Alvin Gentry

Gentry is currently the associate head coach of the Golden State Warriors. According to sources he is well compensated for his work there and has a tremendous amount of job security. That’s meaningful because it is not like Gentry is on the corner looking for work.

Gentry is well regarded as a solid NBA coach and it’s very likely that a team looking for an experienced leader gives Gentry a long look. The knock on Gentry is he has coached some bad teams. In 12 years as a NBA head coach Gentry has posted a record above .500 just three times and was fired mid-season twice.

So Gentry doesn’t come without wrinkles, but there is a sense that he might be the top “experienced” guy when the market place opens up this summer.

Nick Nurse

Nurse is currently on Dwayne Casey’s staff in Toronto and is highly regarded. He doesn’t have a ton of NBA coaching experience having joined the Raptors in 2013. But, Nurse has a substantial coaching resume that included stops all over Europe. Nurse was the British Basketball League Coach of the Year twice and spent a lot of time in the D-League before joining the Raptors.

Nurse is viewed as a guy on the rise by several executives and a dark horse hire for a young team. The lack of NBA experience may keep Nurse where he is, but he is a name to watch as executives speak highly of him.

David Fizdale

Fizdale is currently the associate head coach of the Miami HEAT, he also serves as their Director of Player Development. Fizdale has been with the HEAT since 2008 and is well regarded among executives. Unlike Nurse, Fizdale has been coaching in the NBA since 2003 and has a strong domestic basketball pedigree.

Of the bunch Fizdale may have the best resume of a young coach on the rise, having played a meaningful role in the Big Three era of the Miami HEAT while being groomed under Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra and winning some championships.

Fizdale is a name to watch as it seems he could be on the move this summer.

Monte Mathis

Mathis is currently on Rick Carlisle’s staff in Dallas and is basically the defensive coordinator for the Mavericks.

Mathis has served in almost every role a coach can, starting as a video coordinator with the Mavs in 2005 and working his way to a bench role in Dallas. Mathis has a ton of experience as an assistant and does a lot of the heavy lifting for Carlisle.

Mathis has strong background in player development and is considered a star on the rise.

If Dallas does well this postseason, Mathis could be another name to watch. Executives spoke highly of Mathis as a head coaching candidate

Bryan Gates

Gates is currently on Monty Williams’ staff in New Orleans and is considered one of the next up and comers in the coaching ranks. Gates joined the Pelicans in 2010 and has held a number of roles for the team. Prior to joining New Orleans, Gates spent a year in Sacramento, and prior to that was a D-League monster, posting one of the highest win percentages in the league’s history. He nabbed two Coach of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008.

Like Nurse, Gates could be a dark horse candidate for a head coaching job this offseason. He has the pedigree for serious consideration.

Kaleb Canales

Canales is also currently on Rick Carlisle’s staff in Dallas and considered one of the hardest working assistant coaches in the NBA.

Canales started his NBA career in 2008 with the Portland Trail Blazers and was named interim head coach in 2012. He coached the team for 23 games and got serious consideration to keep the job the following summer. The Blazers opted to hire Terry Stotts instead.

Canales has been with the Mavericks since 2013, but is a regular at events like the Eurocamp in Italy, and Adidas Nations in Long Beach each year.

Canales is one of the few assistant coaches with legitimate NBA head coaching experience and is considered a name to watch.

While this group of names is by no means the only names to know in the field, these were simply the names other executives mentioned when asked who they might interview if there was an opening on their team. There were several one-off names, names that were mentioned once or twice by the handful of executives polled. This list was more of a consensus of names mentioned to illustrate the possible field this summer.

Is Lionel In Trouble Or Not?:  Yesterday afternoon ESPN ran a story suggesting that Nets head coach Lionel Hollins was being “evaluated”, suggesting that maybe his current roster was tuning him out and the message was not getting through.

The initial response was ‘Yeah. That’s why guys like Deron Williams and Brook Lopez were being shopped so aggressively in trade and why neither were starting’. Neither were buying into what Hollins was asking or playing a big role. So absolutely some of the roster was tuning Lionel out; they were packing for the eventual trade that’s coming. No sooner than the ESPN story made its way around the internet that text messages started to flood in massively denouncing the rumor as completely untrue and stating in emphatic terms that Hollins is in no jeopardy at all. So how could this be so wrong?

First, it happens.

Sourced material is not always reliable and it’s based on the views and opinions of usually one or two people, usually people on the outside. This has happened here several times where a highly connected rival executives says ‘Hey, I hear they are looking to fire so and so,’ that starts the confirmation process and in modern journalism all you need is one more source to confirm that concept and most editors will let it fly.

The Nets were very aggressive in their denial of the report, which usually indicates a nerve was struck and someone said ‘What’s going on? If it’s not true get it out there.’ Hence the flood of texts to reporters in the space.

What is true is the Nets are actively fishing for a deal. One rival executive said they fully expected the Nets to revisit the Oklahoma City offer for Brook Lopez, suggesting that they were unlikely to get anything better. The Thunder were believed to have offered big man Kendrick Perkins and shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, but were turned away as the Nets sought a better offer. There have been reports that the Denver Nuggets have tried to pry Lopez out of Brooklyn, but were not offering much more than OKC in terms of real value.

The Nets have also been linked to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that would offload Joe Johnson in exchange for Gerald Henderson, Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams. However, sources close to the Hornets downplayed how far that conversation has really gone, especially on the heel of Hornets guard Kemba Walker requiring what’s expected to be season ending knee surgery on his left meniscus.

The Nets had conversations with both the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets about Deron Williams prior to his rib injury. The belief was both were open to taking on Williams in trade; however, the Rockets deal was said to contain nothing of real value, while the Kings were said to want Mason Plumlee. Neither deal got overly far as Williams went down to injury.

The Nets are currently 12-26 and have lost eight of their last ten games. There is a sense from within the organization that the team must make the postseason, especially with the team up for sale. So there is a sense of urgency to force some change before the trade deadline on February 19.