Since the regular season ended, the coaching carousel hasn’t stopped spinning. Nine franchises — nearly a third of the league — have conducted coaching searches, and just when it seemed things were slowing down, two more openings occurred this week as the Pistons and Raptors both dismissed their coaches.
When the Hawks introduce Lloyd Pierce at a press conference Monday, they will become the fifth team to officially hire a coach. Let’s take a quick look at those franchises and the new men in charge:
- Hawks, Pierce — Nobody understands rebuilding better than someone who has endured “the Process.” Pierce joined Brett Brown’s staff in Philadelphia in 2013 and went through some dismal seasons while the team collected young talent. He inherits another young roster in Atlanta, which will have four draft picks in the top 33.
- Hornets, James Borrego — A longtime assistant, Borrego comes from one of the NBA’s top organizations, spending 10 seasons with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. He also has brief head coaching experience, taking over for 30 games with the Magic when Jacque Vaughn was fired in 2015. He has a veteran roster that could be broken up as Charlotte has a new GM in Mitch Kupchak and pressing salary cap issues.
- Grizzlies, J.B. Bickerstaff — He’s not new in town, as Bickerstaff held the job for most of this season, but the interim title has finally been removed. He took over a team ravaged by injuries to Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and Tyreke Evans, and even though his record doesn’t look good at 15-48, the front office was happy with how Bickerstaff developed the team’s younger players. A healthier roster should give him a better chance to compete next season.
- Knicks, David Fizdale — The hottest free agent on the coaching market landed in New York. Fizdale was a highly respected assistant in Miami before getting the head coaching job in Memphis, which resulted in one playoff appearance and a 19-game stretch this season before being fired. He’ll get a shot at redemption in New York, but walks into a difficult situation with uncertainty about when Kristaps Porzingis might return from a torn ACL.
- Suns, Igor Kokoskov — He made his reputation as coach of the Slovenian national team before coming to the NBA as an assistant in 2000. Kokoskov has prior experience in Phoenix, helping to guide the organization to some of its best seasons with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. He will take over a roster that already has one young star in Devin Booker and owns a 25% shot at landing the top pick in the lottery.
We want to get your feedback on all the coaching moves. Considering their respective rosters and their expectations for the future, which of the five teams made the best hire? Please share your opinion in the comments section below.
Borrego might be the best higher. If he can implement some of the San Antonio ball movement in Charlotte and help get all the pressure off of Kemba Walker then the team will be successful. Get Batum back to the way he played in his first season as a Hornet as a do-it-all wing who can guard multiple positions and help MKG develop a jumper. It’s imperative he works on developing Charlottes current and incoming youth (Bacon, Monk, Hernangomez, Kaminsky, incoming picks).
Wait…so he ONLY has to get a non playoff team to play like the Spurs, keep Batum healthy and back to where he was, teach a veteran how to shoot, and make all it’s young (not so great) players good?
You sir are an optimist.
Not exactly like the Spurs just implement some more ball movement so all the offensive pressure isn’t on Kemba.
I said nothing about Batum’s health. It is a possibility Borrego can bring back Batum from 3 years ago.
MKG is only 24 so it’s not like he can’t still develop.
I’m not saying he’s going to turn the young players into all stars but he can at least help in their development.
alphakira hits it on the head. Borrego may have the most potential to be the best coach of the lot, but with the roster he has, he won’t be able to show it.
Outside of Kemba, it’s an ugly roster that won’t win without making some big moves. Pop himself could not make this team a serious playoff contender.
Igor is the call for me, think he’ll be able to make the biggest impact on his roster.
I like Fitz. Never thought Memphis should’ve fired him to begin with