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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
Two star-studded NBA franchises are among those looking for new coaches this offseason.
On May 3, the Los Angeles Lakers waived Darvin Ham after LeBron James, Anthony Davis and others lost in the first round to the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The Phoenix Suns fired manager Frank Vogel on Thursday after the team that featured Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal was eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers and Suns are looking for new voices to continue their championship pursuit. For other teams with vacancies, such as the Washington Wizards, it will be important to find a coach who can grow with new management and guide the rebuilding process.
The Brooklyn Nets became the first team in the league to find a solution, naming former Sacramento Kings assistant and current Canadian national team coach Jordi Fernandez as their next coach. And on Thursday, the Charlotte Hornets signed Boston Celtics lead assistant Charles Lee to a four-year contract.
Who among the sideline newcomers will join them next season? Here's a look at the coaching jobs available across the league, the top candidates, and what's next for each franchise.
coaching jobs
phoenix suns
Franchise status: It's been an eventful 15 months for Suns owner Matt Ishbia. He embarked on two high-profile trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and now parted ways with two coaches: Monty Williams, who was fired after last season, and Vogel, who was wiped out of the team and fired. Timberwolves first round.
Still, Ishbia believes the team remains in an enviable position.
“If you ask the other 29 GMs, 26 of them would trade the entire team, draft picks and everything else as is,” Ishbia said in a postseason media interview earlier this month. told inside.
“The house is not on fire. … It's not hard to solve this. It's not like, 'We don't have enough talent to win a championship.'” There is enough talent.”
The Suns will return their star core of Devin Booker, who shot a career-high 43 percent from 3-point range this season, Durant, and Beal, and will take advantage of the defense that Booker and Durant put into it. Meanwhile, Grayson Allen signed an extension last month after leading the league in 3-point percentage (46.1). Starting big man Jusuf Nurkic is under contract for next year.
But Phoenix will enter the offseason with the league's highest salary — ESPN's Bobby Marks projects the Suns' salary will be more than $200 million next season, and the newly created 2. The second luxury tax apron is much higher. These salary cap restrictions, combined with the loss of draft capital from previous big trades, handcuff Phoenix from a roster construction standpoint.
Who can get the job: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that former Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said this. emerged as the most likely candidate In search of Sands. Budenholzer, who grew up northeast of Phoenix, won more than 60% of his games with Milwaukee and won the 2021 NBA championship. He sat out last season after being waived after the Bucks' shocking first-round loss to the Miami Heat.
Los Angeles Lakers
Franchise status: Since Phil Jackson retired after the 2010-11 season, the Lakers have hired six coaches, but none lasted more than three seasons. That includes Frank Vogel, the only coach to win a championship during that time. Under Ham, the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and then won four more regular season games in 2023-24. However, it wasn't enough to avoid being fired after two seasons.
The franchise's next coach will inherit a team that features one of the NBA's best star duos in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers could also be in the running to acquire a third star this summer to play alongside James and Davis, who has a $51.4 million player option for next season.
James and Davis played a combined 147 games this season, the most in their five years together, but it wasn't enough for Los Angeles to finish higher than eighth in the regular-season standings. Between top young teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder and rising teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, advancing in the West will be a challenge again next season. It will be.
And no matter who the team hires to replace Ham, the expectations and confusion that have defined the franchise for more than a decade will also likely return. But for a team that has appeared in the Finals 32 times and is tied with the Boston Celtics for the most titles in NBA history (17), it is expected to compete for titles for play-in position — especially with James on the roster. It is true that the name is listed in .
Who can get the job: ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported on two names to watch in the Lakers' coaching search: ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick and Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. Redick currently hosts a podcast with James and is interviewing for the Toronto Raptors coaching job in 2023. He spent more than a decade as one of the NBA's best shooters and has a bright and engaging personality. Lue, on the other hand, has championship history with James. They won the NBA title together in 2016 and reached the NBA Finals three times with the Cavaliers. However, Lue is under contract with the Clippers for one more season, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Clippers want Lue to extend his contract.
washington wizards
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2023-24 season record: 15 wins, 67 losses (14th place in the East)
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Former coach: Brian Keefe (interim, replacing Wes Unseld Jr. in January)
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Lead Executive: Michael Winger (joining in 2023)
Franchise status: The winger and general manager Will Dawkins, both of whom have deep roots with the Oklahoma City Thunder, will follow the same enthusiastic blueprint that Thunder executive Sam Presti has successfully pulled off twice in OKC. started. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is also seen around the league as one of the team's more patient players, indicating that no matter which coach takes over the franchise, this rebuild won't happen right away. You understand.
Not only is Washington's current roster lacking in talent, but this year's draft lacks the star power expected in future classes of 2025 and 2026. As a result, anyone taking the job would expect a focus on player development, which could create an uncertain future. Washington's other veterans, including Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma, each have three years left on their contracts.
Who can get the job: Keefe, who went 8-31 over the final three months of the season after replacing Unseld in January, is expected to be a candidate for the permanent position. Like Winger and Dawkins, Keefe spent time in Oklahoma City and worked with the Thunder from 2009 to 2014. Keefe, 48, went on to serve as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Wizards, before returning to the Thunder to spend the 2019-20 season under then-coach Billy Donovan.
hired job
charlotte hornets
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2023-24 season record: 21 wins, 61 losses (13th place in the East)
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Previous coach: Steve Clifford (retired after season, 7th time with franchise, 2nd time with the team)
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Lead Executive: Jeff Peterson (hired in March to replace Mitch Kupchak)
Franchise status: A lot has changed in Charlotte since a new ownership group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin took over last summer, with former owner Michael Jordan retaining a minority stake. The Hornets have proposed plans for a new practice facility to lure Peterson away from the Nets and acquire both future draft picks and young players such as former Oklahoma City Thunder guard Tre Mann before the February trade deadline. signed multiple contracts.
The Hornets are trying to grow mainly with youth. LaMelo Ball was an All-Star in 2022, but the 22-year-old guard has appeared in a combined 58 games over the past two seasons. No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Victor Wembaneyama and Chet Holmgren, averaging 17.3 points per game and shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range for Charlotte. is beginning to develop into the dual-wielding force that was expected. . Second-year center Mark Williams showed promise before being limited to 19 games this season due to back issues.
Charlotte is not immune to the challenges of building a small-market competitor, and its new owners have not made clear their intention to pay the luxury tax. The Hornets are one of two teams, along with the New Orleans Pelicans, that have never paid taxes.
The Hornets, on the other hand, have made the playoffs just three times since returning to the league in 2004-05, and their three playoff wins are the fewest of any NBA team.
Who got the job: Charlotte announced Thursday that Charles Lee, currently a top assistant under Joe Mazzula with the league-leading Boston Celtics, will replace Clifford as the team's head coach. Lee is one of the league's most prominent assistant coaches and has interviewed for several jobs in recent seasons, including Boston this year, where the Celtics had the best record in the NBA, and Mike Budden the past few years. He played a key role in Milwaukee under Holzer. , where the Bucks won the 2021 NBA title, and before that it was Atlanta. Budenholzer's tree includes several successful head coaches, including Quin Snyder, Taylor Jenkins, Kenny Atkinson and Darvin Ham, and Lee is looking forward to working with attractive young coaches. He'll get a chance to join that list with talent and a new coaching team in Charlotte.
brooklyn nets
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2023-24 season record: 32 wins, 50 losses (11th place in the East)
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New manager: Jordi Fernandes (former Kings assistant)
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Former coach: Kevin Ollie (interim, replaced Jacque Vaughn in February)
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Principal Officer: Sean Marks (joined in 2016)
Franchise status: Other than their poor performance this season, the Nets have a lot going for them. They are located in the league's largest market, have one of the wealthiest owners in Joe Tsai, and have a stunning arena at Barclays Center and a modern practice facility overlooking New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.
They acquired a series of draft picks from the aging and expensive Phoenix Suns and were able to reap future rewards. And unlike some of the other recruiting jobs this offseason, there is some current talent on the roster that could potentially compete right now for at least a spot in the play-in tournament.
Brooklyn, which was 15-15 on the morning of Dec. 27, appeared to be heading in that direction, but after the Nets elected to tank their home game against the Milwaukee Bucks that night, the Nets lost their final 52. He lost 17 wins and 35 losses in the match and fell. Rank.
Mikal Bridges is an All-Star two-way wing player who has played in every game of his career. But then the question arises. Cam Thomas is an attractive scoring guard, but one of the most polarizing players in the league. The team's starting center, Nic Claxton, is an unrestricted free agent, but Brooklyn is confident in re-signing the 25-year-old.
Who got the job: Fernandes is a head coach somewhere in the NBA this cycle for his work with Mike Brown in Sacramento and for leading Canada to its first international medal in decades, a bronze medal at last year's FIBA World Cup. He was widely expected to take the job. Fernandez also served as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets during his NBA career, and his hiring could help Brooklyn opt for a rebuild after a disappointing season or actively add veteran talent this summer. It gives you the ability to move in a variety of directions, allowing you to pursue specific goals. Trying to take a step forward. The presence of talented young players like Bridges and Claxton, along with upcoming salary flexibility and draft pick transfers, could allow Brooklyn to steer in different directions depending on what opportunities present themselves. Can be cut.
