2024 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker

With another regular season in the books, multiple teams around the NBA are making head coaching changes in advance of the 2024/25 campaign.

In the space below, we’ll provide regular updates on the head coaching searches for each club that has yet to give anyone the permanent title. Some of these searches could extend well into the offseason, so be sure to check back often for the latest updates.

You’ll be able to access this page anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu.

Updated 5-9-24 (4:05pm CT)

Active Searches

Los Angeles Lakers

• Previous coach:
  • Darvin Ham (dismissed)
    
• Reportedly receiving consideration:
  • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
  • Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (story)
  • Former NBA head coach James Borrego (story)
  • Former NBA head coach Mike Budenholzer (story)
  • Celtics assistant Charles Lee (story)
  • Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue (story)
  • ESPN analyst J.J. Redick (story)

Shortly after the Lakers’ season ended, a pair of reports from ESPN and The Athletic classified Ham’s job as being in serious danger and pointed to several specific reasons why. It was clear at that point that Ham wasn’t going to be back in his role as head coach, but the team took three more days to make it official.

As they seek a new head coach to lead a team they still feel is capable of contending, the Lakers reportedly have serious interest in the guy coaching their cross-town rivals. However, the Clippers are said to be highly motivated to retain Lue, so it’s unclear if the Lakers will get a real chance to pursue him.

If Lue is off the table, the Lakers are expected to focus on a handful of former head coaches like Atkinson, Borrego, and Budenholzer, as well as promising potential first-timers such as Lee and Redick.

Phoenix Suns

• Previous coach:
  • Frank Vogel (dismissed)
• Reportedly receiving consideration:
  • Mike Budenholzer (story)

In his first season as the head coach in Phoenix, Vogel led the Suns to a 49-33 record and a top-six seed in a competitive Western Conference. However, the club was quickly eliminated from the playoffs, failing to win a single game against the Timberwolves in the first round.

With little flexibility to make major moves affecting their roster this offseason, the Suns decided to make a head coaching change, dismissing Vogel just one season into the five-year, $31MM contract he signed with the franchise last spring.

The Suns’ search for a new head coach to lead their veteran roster is expected to move faster than last year’s and to be focused on a smaller group of candidates.

Washington Wizards

• Previous coach:
  • Brian Keefe (interim)

An April 19 report indicated that the Wizards’ head coaching search was getting underway, but it has been awfully quiet on that front so far, with little indication as to which candidates the team is eyeing or interviewing.

What do we know? Well, like the Hornets, the rebuilding Wizards will be focused on hiring a player development specialist. And like in Charlotte, this will be the first head coach hired by Washington’s current front office (president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins), so the expectation is they’ll take their time to get it right.

For what it’s worth, multiple reports have stated that Keefe will receive consideration for the permanent job after taking over for Wes Unseld Jr. in January, but it would be somewhat surprising if Winger’s and Dawkins’ first head coaching search ultimately circled back to the assistant who was promoted midway through the season — especially since Keefe’s record (8-31) was only marginally better than the one Unseld posted in the first half (7-36).

Completed Searches

Brooklyn Nets

• New coach:
  • Jordi Fernandez (story)
• Previous coach:
  • Kevin Ollie (interim)
• Other finalists:
  • Former NBA head coach Mike Budenholzer (story)
  • Suns assistant Kevin Young (story)
• Also reportedly considered:
  • Former NBA head coach James Borrego (story)
  • Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant (story)
  • Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie (story)
  • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)

After parting ways with former head coach Jacque Vaughn in February, the Nets launched their head coaching search well before the regular season ended, though they did so in relative secrecy. While they reportedly cast a wide net, considering – and interviewing – many candidates, there were few leaks until word broke on April 13 that it was down to Fernandez, Budenholzer, and Young.

With Budenholzer’s contract demands said to be quite high in terms of both years and dollars, the Nets turned to a first-time NBA head coach, picking Fernandez over Young. While Fernandez has never led an NBA team, he’s not entirely without head coaching experience — he coached the Canton Charge in the G League from 2014-16 and is the current leader of the Canadian national team, which won bronze at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Nets general manager Sean Marks has gone through several head coaches during his tenure in Brooklyn, but this was his most exhaustive search process since he hired Kenny Atkinson back in 2016. Atkinson took over a rebuilding club and got them back to the postseason in his third season. With more foundational pieces in place this time around, the Nets are hoping Fernandez can turn things around even faster.

Charlotte Hornets

• New coach:
  • Charles Lee (story)
• Previous coach:
  • Steve Clifford (transitioning to front office position)
• Reportedly interviewed:
  • Nuggets assistant David Adelman (story)
  • King assistant Jordi Fernandez (interviewed before being hired by Nets)
  • Kings’ G League head coach Lindsey Harding (story)
  • Rockets assistant Royal Ivey (story)
  • Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga (story)
  • Lakers assistant Jordan Ott (story)
  • ESPN analyst J.J. Redick (story)
  • Former Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse (story)
  • Suns assistant Kevin Young (interviewed before being hired by BYU)
• Also reportedly considered:
  • Heat assistant Chris Quinn (story)
  • Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter (story)

The Hornets were able to get a head start on their head coaching search when Clifford announced during the first week of April that he would be stepping down from his role at season’s end. The team has changed ownership and revamped its front office since Clifford was hired in 2022, so this was new management’s first opportunity to hire a head coach.

The Hornets ultimately chose a familiar face. After being mentioned most frequently as the frontrunner for the job, Celtics assistant Charles Lee agreed to a four-year deal to become Charlotte’s new head coach. Lee, who has received consideration from several teams seeking head coaches in recent years, was an assistant with the Hawks from 2014-18. New Hornets head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson was in Atlanta’s front office at the time, while co-owner Rick Schnall was a minority stakeholder in the Hawks beginning in 2015.

Charlotte, which is building around young players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, was said to be seeking a first-time head coach who specializes in player development to lead its young squad. Lee, 39, fits that bill and also has some championship experience under his belt, having served as an assistant with the Bucks during their 2021 championship run.