- Hornets forward Kelly Oubre Jr. should be monitored as a potential trade piece this season, an NBA executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. Oubre, 26, averaged 15.0 points on 44% shooting last season. If the Hornets look to improve their center position, it’s possible he could be included in a deal.
As we outlined in detail earlier today, four NBA teams made head coaching changes this offseason. Those changes were as follows:
- Charlotte Hornets: Hired Steve Clifford to replace James Borrego.
- Los Angeles Lakers: Hired Darvin Ham to replace Frank Vogel.
- Sacramento Kings: Hired Mike Brown to replace Alvin Gentry.
- Utah Jazz: Hired Will Hardy to replace Quin Snyder.
The Hornets and Kings, two young teams looking to get back to the playoffs, took somewhat similar approaches in their hiring processes, landing on candidates who have plenty of previous head coaching experience and who have led lottery teams to the postseason in the past.
Between them, Clifford and Brown have coached 1,200 NBA regular season games. And despite having underwhelming rosters in Charlotte and Orlando, Clifford has led his teams to the playoffs in four of eight seasons. Brown’s clubs made the postseason in six of his seven full seasons as a head coach.
The Lakers and Jazz, meanwhile, took a different path, hiring veteran assistants who are becoming head coaches for the first time.
It’s an interesting choice for the Lakers, given that they have a veteran roster and title aspirations, but they believe Ham – a former player himself – can command the respect of stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis and won’t back down from making tough, necessary rotation decisions.
As for the Jazz, their new head coach – who is known for his player development skills – will be the league’s youngest. Hardy’s hiring was perhaps the first obvious signal that the team would be charting a new course this summer. After trading away standout center Rudy Gobert, Utah is either headed for a full-fledged rebuild or intends to reshape its roster around young star Donovan Mitchell. Taking the former route would make some sense based on Hardy’s skill set and the fact that he received a five-year contract.
Based on what you know about these four teams and their new coaches, we want to know which of this offseason’s head coaching hires you liked the best. Obviously, the expectations won’t be the same for all four coaches, so we’re taking potential long-term success and tenure into account, rather than just projecting which team will have the best record in 2022/23.
Which of these four coaches will be the most successful in his new job? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
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.
The Knicks and Jazz have been back in touch about Donovan Mitchell within the past week, according to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic, who report that the two teams have had a “fresh trade conversation” about what a deal sending Mitchell to New York might look like.
As Charania and Jones explain, the Knicks and Jazz had serious discussions during the Las Vegas Summer League in mid-July about a Mitchell trade, but those talks reached an impasse and had been dormant for a few weeks.
Although the Knicks have made their interest in Mitchell “abundantly clear” throughout the summer, there’s still no serious traction toward a deal, per The Athletic’s duo. Sources tell Charania and Jones that the Hornets and Wizards remain among the teams in pursuit of Mitchell. Charania reported in late July that those two Southeast teams had recently engaged with New York.
Previous reports have indicated that the Jazz are seeking a return for Mitchell that’s similar to – or greater than – the haul they received from Minnesota in exchange for Rudy Gobert. Although the Knicks have a surplus of first-round picks from previous trades, it’s unclear whether they – or any other suitors – are prepared to meet Utah’s asking price.
According to Charania and Jones, the Jazz have conveyed that they’re comfortable keeping the All-Star guard on the roster this season, since he still has three years remaining on his contract (plus a fourth-year player option). For his part, Mitchell hasn’t made any sort of trade demand and is believed to be fine with with either staying in Utah or being dealt elsewhere, sources tell The Athletic.
We’re still six weeks away from the start of training camps and nine weeks away from opening night, so the Jazz have plenty of time to consider their options before the 2022/23 season tips off.
Christian Wood should thrive with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, Stephen Noh of the Sporting News writes. Noh, who examines how Wood will blend his talents with the Dallas superstar, also takes a closer look at how Donte DiVincenzo (Warriors), Bruce Brown (Nuggets) and De’Anthony Melton (Sixers) could benefit after a change of scenery.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA big man Kyle O’Quinn has signed with the Japanese team, SeaHorses Mikawa, according to a team press release. O’Quinn played in France and Turkey after his last NBA appearance, a 29-game stint with Philadelphia during the 2019/20 season.
- LeBron James, CJ McCollum, Jaylen Brown, Jerami Grant and Nikola Vucevic are among numerous notable players who are eligible to sign veteran extensions and are legitimate candidates to get them done. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines what those extensions, among others, might look like.
- Which 10 teams have improved the least this offseason? The Athletic’s David Aldridge takes his annual look at whether teams have gotten better or worse since the end of last season. The Spurs sit at the lowest end of the spectrum, with the Pacers, Hornets, Jazz and Lakers also in the bottom five.
The Wizards were among the worst three-point shooting clubs in the NBA in 2021/22, ranking dead last in attempts, 26th in makes, and 23rd in conversion rate. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examines to what extent the team may have addressed its long-range woes via its summer personnel moves, and how reasonable it is to expect incumbent players to boost their output going forward.
New additions Monte Morris and Will Barton are both solid three-point shooters on volume. Hughes speculates that development from young former lottery selections Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija could help the Wizards in 2022/23. Second-year small forward Corey Kispert nailed 38.6% of his long-range looks following the All-Star break last season following a slow start. Should that trend continue, the 6’7″ wing could help improve Washington’s collective triple tally.
Hughes notes that star shooting guard Bradley Beal slumped during an injury-plagued season last year, connecting on a career-low 30% of his 5.3 attempts from deep. Across 51 games split between the Mavericks and Wizards, sharpshooting center Kristaps Porzingis also had a career-worst three-point conversion rate of 31%. If either former All-Star can inch closer to his prior three-point level, the team would benefit.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets have a familiar face – Jordan Surenkamp – sticking around for a second season as the head coach for their NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, per Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “From an organizational standpoint, I’m very clear understanding the goals that the organization has for Greensboro,” Surenkamp said. “I’ve developed really strong relationships with the front office even going back to my days as video coordinator. So the lines of communication, clarity, all of that is there.”
- Assuming the Heat are unwilling to part with All-Defensive center Bam Adebayo, 2022 Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro could be the most appealing piece the team considers movable, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. All-Stars Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell, plus big men like Myles Turner, John Collins, Harrison Barnes and Jae Crowder, are still among Miami’s potential trade targets.
- In case you missed it, JD Shaw discussed the Heat‘s 2022/23 season prospects in a recent Community Shootaround.
A total of 18 NBA teams currently have both of their two-way contract slots filled, as our tracker shows.
That doesn’t mean those players will be locked into those slots for the rest of the 2022/23 season, or even until opening night, since two-way deals are low-cost contracts that don’t count against the salary cap, making them easy to replace. But it means those spots are unavailable for the time being.
That leaves 12 teams with at least one two-way slot available. Those teams are as follows:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Dallas Mavericks
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Washington Wizards
The Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, Rockets, Clippers, the Trail Blazers, and Wizards have fairly straightforward two-way situations at the moment — they’ve each filled one slot and have one open, with no reports indicating that any of those teams has reached an agreement on a two-way deal with a free agent or draftee.
The Nets and Bulls also have one two-way spot filled and one open, but each of them has a two-way qualifying offer out to a restricted free agent — David Duke for Brooklyn and Malcolm Hill for Chicago. If those players simply accept their QOs, neither the Nets nor the Bulls will have a two-way opening.
The Spurs also have one two-way player signed and one spot open, though a Shams Charania report last month indicated that undrafted rookie Jordan Hall will sign a two-way contract with San Antonio. If and when that happens, the Spurs will join the list of teams with both of their two-way slots occupied.
The Pacers and Pelicans are currently the only two teams that don’t have a single player on a two-way contract. A Charania report way back in June suggested that Dereon Seabron would sign a two-way deal with New Orleans, but it hasn’t officially happened yet.
The best candidate for a two-way contract with Indiana, meanwhile, could be 48th overall pick Kendall Brown, who is one of a handful of 2022 draftees still unsigned. Even if Seabron and Brown sign two-way pacts, the Pacers and Pelicans would still each have one slot available.
The Hornets have finalized the coaching staff under Steve Clifford, who is returning as the team’s head coach after a four-year absence.
Tyrone Corbin will be Clifford’s lead assistant, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Corbin, 59, has 16 years of coaching experience and spent three years on Clifford’s staff in Orlando. He has been a head coach with both the Jazz and Kings, compiling a career record of 119-167.
Also new to the staff in Charlotte will be Bob Beyer, Rex Walters, Bruce Kreutzer and Brian O’Connor.
Beyer was an assistant to Clifford during his first stint with the Hornets and most recently worked for the Pelicans. Walters is a former college and G League head coach who spent time as an assistant with the Pistons and Pelicans. Kreutzer served on Clifford’s staffs in both Charlotte and Orlando and has been a shooting consultant with the Sixers. O’Connor spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Georgetown and served as an intern with the Hornets five years ago.
Jay Hernandez, Nick Friedman, Norman Richardson and Marlon Garnett will be retained from James Borrego‘s staff last season.
Of the players who finished last season on an NBA roster and didn’t have a contract for 2022/23, there are still dozens of unrestricted free agents on the open market. However, the number of restricted free agents is far smaller.
As our list of current free agents shows, there are just eight restricted free agents still unsigned — four who received standard qualifying offers and four who received two-way QOs.
We’re already a month into the 2022 free agent period, but it’s possible that some of these restricted free agents will remain on the market for another month or two. Let’s take a closer look at the RFAs still available…
Standard RFAs:
- Miles Bridges (Hornets)
- Jordan Nwora (Bucks)
- Collin Sexton (Cavaliers)
- Joe Wieskamp (Spurs)
It’s no surprise that Bridges remains unsigned. He was arrested just before free agency began and now faces multiple felony charges related to domestic violence. The Hornets will certainly be in no rush to re-sign him as the legal process plays out, and Bridges’ $7.9MM qualifying offer won’t expire until October 1, so he’ll be in no hurry to accept it either. If and when Bridges is back under contract, the NBA would have the option of placing him on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.
The other three cases here look more like straightforward examples of how restricted free agency often works. In all likelihood, the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Spurs have made preliminary offers to Nwora, Sexton, and Wieskamp, respectively, and have encouraged them to explore the market to see if they can get a more lucrative offer sheet elsewhere. Until that happens, those teams are unlikely to bid against themselves by increasing their offers.
We know, for instance, that the Cavs have reportedly offered Sexton a three-year deal worth roughly $40MM. He’s believed to be seeking a salary closer to $20MM per year.
All three players would have the option of accepting their qualifying offers and heading into the season on a one-year contract, but that may be a more viable path for Sexton, who is coming off a lost season and has a QO worth $7.2MM, than for Nwora ($2.1MM). Wieskamp’s qualifying offer is also relatively modest ($1.8MM), but his NBA résumé is far more limited than Sexton’s or Nwora’s, so it’s unclear if he’ll get a better offer than that.
Two-way RFAs:
- David Duke (Nets)
- Malcolm Hill (Bulls)
- David Johnson (Raptors)
- Brodric Thomas (Celtics)
A report in early July suggested that Duke was hoping to earn a standard contract from the Nets, and following a Las Vegas Summer League in which he averaged 19.0 points per game in five appearances, there’s no reason to think his stance has changed. Brooklyn only has 13 players on standard contracts, so a promotion remains in play for Duke, but the team likely wants resolution on the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sagas before locking in those back-of-the-roster spots.
Once Goran Dragic officially signs, the Bulls will have 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts and just one on a two-way deal, so they’d probably like to see Hill accept his two-way qualifying offer to fill that second slot.
It’s unclear what the Raptors‘ plans are for Johnson. The team has filled its two-way slots with new signees (Ron Harper Jr. and Jeff Dowtin) and there will be stiff competition for a spot on the 15-man regular season roster — the team already has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus three with partial guarantees and second-rounder Christian Koloko still unsigned. We’ll see if Johnson gets a chance to vie for one of those roster spots.
There may be a cleaner path for Thomas to earn a place on the Celtics‘ 15-man roster. Only 12 of Boston’s regular season roster spots are accounted for so far, so Thomas could get the chance to compete to be the 13th or 14th man. The team has already filled both its two-way slots with new additions (JD Davison and Mfiondu Kabengele).
Appearing on The Rally (video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that trade talks between the Jazz and Knicks centered on Donovan Mitchell have “stalled out” and the two teams haven’t had contact for about two weeks.
According to Charania, Utah is continuing to discuss moving Mitchell, just not with New York. The Jazz have engaged with the Hornets and Wizards recently, Charania adds, but it doesn’t sound like a potential deal is imminent with either of those clubs.
As Charania observes, many around the league still peg the Knicks as the favorites to land the three-time All-Star guard due to their combination of draft capital and young players. However, with the caveat that things can change at any time, it appears as though nothing is happening on that front right now.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- On his Please Don’t Aggregate This podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype), Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report said he continues to hear that the Jazz don’t have much interest in trading for — and paying — Knicks wing RJ Barrett as part of a Mitchell package. Barrett is eligible for a rookie scale extension up until the start of the 2022/23 regular season, and if he’s unable to come to terms on an extension, he’d be a restricted free agent in 2023.
- Ian Begley of SNY.tv pushes back on the notion that the Jazz aren’t interested in Barrett, noting his report earlier this month that Utah actually initiated talks with New York with Barrett as part of the return package. Sources tell Begley the Jazz were trying to project what Barrett’s extension value might be at the time of those early discussions, which is only natural. It’s worth pointing out that these two reports aren’t mutually exclusive — the Jazz may indeed have interest in Barrett, but perhaps got a sense of what he’s looking for in an extension and then decided they didn’t want to pay him a large contract in the future. For what it’s worth, Begley says he would refuse to put Barrett in a possible Mitchell deal if he were the Knicks, as he believes that he’s worth more than extra first-round picks.
- On the latest Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said he doesn’t believe the Heat ever seriously pursued Hawks big man John Collins, but wonders if they might revisit that possibility before the season starts. “There has been some Miami, John Collins chatter,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “It’s old. It might be months old. I don’t think it was ever really serious at all. They might revisit that.”
- Fred Katz of The Athletic suggests that the return the Jazz received from the Timberwolves for Rudy Gobert may have stalled the trade market for stars like Mitchell and Kevin Durant. According to Katz, the Jazz are seeking a bigger package for Mitchell than they received for Gobert, and the Nets are certainly looking for a massive haul for Durant. That might be having a trickle-down effect not only on the teams that are interested in the two stars, but other teams who could be looking to make lesser deals, Katz writes.