Over the last couple months, NBA teams have been overhauling their rosters, signing free agents, making trades, and locking up their draft picks to contracts. Prior to the draft and free agency though, a handful of teams completed another major offseason change that shouldn’t be overlooked — four NBA clubs named a new head coach.
Here’s a recap of this offseason’s head coaching changes and a brief look at how they played out:
Charlotte Hornets
Hired: Steve Clifford (story)- Replaced: James Borrego (story)
- Contract details: Three-year deal (two guaranteed seasons, third-year team option)
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Kenny Atkinson, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Charles Lee, Terry Stotts, Sean Sweeney, David Vanterpool, Frank Vogel
While it didn’t receive as much fanfare as some of this spring’s other head coaching searches, the Hornets’ hiring process was easily the most eventful of the bunch. After dismissing Borrego due to Charlotte’s defensive shortcomings and a failure to make its first and only play-in game competitive in either of the last two seasons, the team embarked on a hunt for an experienced replacement.
Atkinson, D’Antoni, and Stotts were reported to be finalists, with the decision coming down to Atkinson and D’Antoni. The Hornets offered Atkinson the job and he accepted, but eight days later, word broke that he had reneged on the agreement between the two sides, sending Charlotte back to square one.
Rather than returning to D’Antoni or Stotts, the Hornets pivoted in another direction, opting for a reunion with Clifford, who coached the club from 2013-18.
By hiring not just a former NBA head coach but one who coached the Hornets only four years ago, the organization certainly opened itself up to criticism for going the “retread” route. But Clifford had more success in his five seasons in Charlotte than any other head coach has in recent team history. Since reentering the NBA in 2004, Charlotte has made the playoffs just three times since then, and two of those postseason berths came during Clifford’s tenure.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Hired: Darvin Ham (story)
- Replaced: Frank Vogel (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Kenny Atkinson, Adrian Griffin, Mark Jackson, Charles Lee, Terry Stotts
Vogel’s firing had been rumored since the first half of the 2021/22 season, so it came as no surprise when he was quickly let go following the end of the regular season. He led the Lakers to a championship less than two years ago, but the team’s 33-49 showing in ’21/22 was so disappointing that he became an obvious fall guy.
The Lakers were linked to a number of high-profile candidates during their search – they reportedly had interest in Nick Nurse, Doc Rivers, Quin Snyder, and Juwan Howard – but eventually focused on a handful of more realistic options.. They narrowed their finalists to Ham, Stotts, and Atkinson, then chose Ham, the only one of the three without any prior head coaching experience.
A veteran assistant who was on the Lakers’ staff from 2011-13 and then plied his trade under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Milwaukee, Ham should bring a fresh perspective to a roster that didn’t mesh well last season. L.A. will be hoping he can make the same sort of immediate impact that former players and first-time head coaches Ime Udoka and Willie Green did last season in Boston and New Orleans, respectively.
Sacramento Kings
- Hired: Mike Brown (story)
- Replaced: Alvin Gentry (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Steve Clifford, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Will Hardy, Mark Jackson, Charles Lee
Gentry, who replaced Luke Walton during the first half of the 2021/22 season, previously stuck around following interim stints in Detroit and Phoenix to become those teams’ permanent head coaches. But after leading the Kings to an underwhelming 24-41 record to close out the season, he was unable to replicate that feat in Sacramento.
One report early in the Kings’ search process indicated they were seeking out a candidate who had experience turning a lottery team into a playoff club and who could improve Sacramento’s defense. The team ultimately landed on Brown, who achieved the first of those requirements in Cleveland and has a reputation as a defensive-minded coach.
Brown’s previous head coaching stints have been a mixed bag. He led the Cavs to an outstanding 272-138 (.663) regular season record from 2005-10, but the team only made two deep playoff runs during that time — once to the Eastern Finals and once to the NBA Finals. He then had brief stints with the Lakers (71 games) and Cavs again (82 games) before serving as an assistant in Golden State for several years.
His time spent honing his coaching skills as part of the Warriors’ championship teams will be put to the test in Sacramento, where he’ll be tasked with getting the Kings back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
Utah Jazz
- Hired: Will Hardy (story)
- Replaced: Quin Synder (story)
- Contract details: Five-year deal
- Other candidates who reportedly interviewed or received consideration: Jerome Allen, Johnnie Bryant, Sam Cassell, Adrian Griffin, Alex Jensen, Charles Lee, Joe Mazzulla, Chris Quinn, Lamar Skeeter, Terry Stotts, Sean Sweeney, Jason Terry, Frank Vogel, Kevin Young
Speculation about Snyder’s future began well before the Jazz were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but he didn’t formally step down until June 5, over a month after Utah’s season came to an end.
Getting a late start on their coaching search didn’t dissuade the Jazz from exercising a patient approach and casting a wide net. Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik interviewed 14 candidates for the position, reportedly focusing on coaches who were highly regarded for their player development skills and defensive acumen.
Utah’s eventual choice was an interesting one. Hardy came from Ainge’s old team in Boston, though the two didn’t overlap at all — Hardy only joined the Celtics’ coaching staff in 2021 after serving as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for several years.
The 34-year-old Hardy becomes the NBA’s youngest active head coach and received a five-year contract, the longest deal of any of this year’s new head coaches. The long-term agreement signals the Jazz have confidence in him to lead the team for years to come, even – or perhaps especially – if they pivot to a rebuild by trading not only Rudy Gobert but Donovan Mitchell.
Clifford may have the best team of the 4 this season, while the Lakers, Kings, and Jazz will be fighting for a play in spot.
Top 5 Coaching HOT SEATS (IMO):
1)Mike Budenholzer
2)Steve Nash
3)Tom Thibodeau
4)Tyronn Lue
5)Stephen Silas/Dwyane Casey
Doc Rivers should be number one on that list.
Budenholzer won a title just one year ago. He won’t be fired unless they exit 1st round.
The rest makes sense. I might consider Donovan with the Bulls on the hot seat too if the team does poorly.
Should be an interesting year for all four of these teams.
If the Kings still keep losing then it might be more of a culture mindset coming from ownership or the front office? Ownership, to eliminate this possibility, should take a real hands-off approach this season. See what happens.
The Lakers could be better or they could be the same. Ham sounds like he’s saying the right things, but the Lakers can’t seem to decide if they want Westbrook or not. Ham first said he was confident he could help Westbrook get back to where he was with Washington and OKC. However, everything after that has been rumors of him being traded. Maybe that was after he didn’t take a paycut and instead opted into his large final year of his $46?M contract. Health and distractions will be the biggest roadblocks for this team. They also potentially got worse by losing Malik Monk and not being able to make any trades.
The Hornets get a familiar coach back instead of going with a new coach. They have better players overall now. That should help him win more games than he did before. Hard to say if it’ll change anything. They still have an oft-injured Hayward eating a big hole in their salary cap. Another big contributor might be going to jail. I don’t see them as being any better but possibly worse than last year.
Then there’s the Jazz…
The Jazz brought in a new coach. Will Hardy just got done with an NBA Finals run with the Celtics. He appeared to be the main assistant coach talking to Udoka on the sidelines. Makes me think that he has lots of good ideas that helped them get that far. If so, and based on how smart he comes across in interviews, I think he could help this Jazz team be better than what is currently being projected.
Why? So far, the Jazz lost Gobert and Royce from the starting lineup. Both were primarily defensive players and rebounders. Both made a noticeable impact on defense, but mostly Gobert made the most impact; especially at the end of games. He’s made many game-saving blocks.
On offense, Royce was hesitant to shoot 3’s but hit them at a high % when he did. Gobert provided screens for the pick and roll and converted around rim on rolls. Neither was very predictable on offense, but Gobert did average 14+ppg this past regular season. Good but very replaceable.
The playoffs were very strange and the Jazz looked very dysfunctional. The new coach Will Hardy is a new voice. Snyder said the team needed that. We’ll see how they respond to him.
The other players the Jazz lost were end of the bench players. Solid but replaceable, possibly with better players. The Gobert trade certainly did replace them with better players. 4 solid rotation guys (3 could start) and rookie Kessler (could start) this year (draft picks come later) vs 2 starters and 3 non-rotation guys. They were sometimes rotation guys but not constantly because of injuries or Snyder maybe didn’t like young players.
House got more time later in the year but him arguing on the bench wasn’t a good look. Paschall whining all the time probably limited him. Forrest was getting concussions left and right from not having a jumpshot. Not bringing them back isn’t a bad thing at this point.
Will the Jazz be better than last year?
The first part of the year, no. The second part of last year, yes. Snyder clearly lost control of the team after January. The team spiraled after that.
Will Hardy sounds like he’ll value output more than age. If a young player outperforms an older player then I don’t predict he’ll hold them back. He was brought in mainly as a developmental guy. Can’t do that with the young guys on the bench.
The Jazz have already brought in through trade and FA many young guys with much more talent than they had last year. They also have a lot more versatility. This should help them matchup better with more variety of opposing teams. They also have brought in a lot more scorers and athleticism than they had last year.
On offense, they’re clearly going to be much better. Most of these new players they’ve brought in have a jumpshot and aren’t afraid to shoot. Some have a post game and can drive.
Defense in some areas will need development, like C. However, if they keep Beverly then they actually improved their defense on the perimeter. Beverly, Vanderbilt, Kessler, Bass, and even Beasley and Fonntecchio are better defenders than what the Jazz have had. Conley isn’t a bad defender, but he’s limited on who he can guard. Donovan just needs to commit and be more focused/vocal on defense.
If the Jazz keep their current lineup, then in ways they’re going to be much better. At C, they’re going to need time to try different lineups to see what they have against the various beasts in the NBA.
I’ve already said they should use Paris Bass at C against many teams. Then use Kessler then Doke, in that order. Doke is actually the best option but he can’t stay healthy and doesn’t seem to be a good communicator. Your center on defense needs to be that vocal anchor. Both Gobert and Draymond are very vocal on defense. Doke doesn’t have that yet.
Overall, I could see this Jazz team be a 6th seed in the playoffs. They could be better or they could be worse. It all depends on the roster they keep and how good of a defense Will Hardy implements. Offense won’t be the issue, at least later on in the season. Most of that will be good spacing and lots of movement. Could try zones on defense. Will be interesting to see, regardless.