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2021 NBA Head Coaching Carousel Recap

August 25th, 2021 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the last few weeks, 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, several teams completed another major offseason change that shouldn’t be overlooked — over a quarter of the NBA’s clubs named a new permanent head coach.

One of the eight teams that named a new permanent coach this offseason simply retained a familiar face. Nate McMillan took over as the Hawks‘ interim coach halfway through the 2020/21 season, and the job he did the rest of the way, leading Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals, ensured the team wasn’t going to seek out a replacement.

The other seven teams, however, will have a new face on the sidelines to start the 2021/22. Here’s a recap of this offseason’s head coaching changes and a brief look at how they played out:

Boston Celtics

Hired: Ime Udoka (story)
Replaced: Brad Stevens (story)
Contract details: Multiyear deal (specifics unknown)
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Jerome Allen, Chauncey Billups, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Jay Larranaga, Charles Lee, Joe Mazzulla, Scott Morrison, Jamahl Mosley

The Celtics didn’t follow the usual script when making their head coaching change. Rather than being fired by the team, Stevens actually received a promotion to president of basketball operations, putting him in the unusual position of hiring his replacement.

Boston considered a mix of internal and external candidates before landing on Udoka, a former NBA player who was an assistant on Gregg Popovich‘s staff in San Antonio for seven years before also spending time with Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Udoka’s experience on Team USA’s staff at the 2019 World Cup worked in his favor, since he got to know Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart during that event.

Dallas Mavericks

Hired: Jason Kidd (story)
Replaced: Rick Carlisle (story)
Contract details: Four-year deal
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Jamahl Mosley, Terry Stotts

The Mavericks took another step forward in 2020/21, improving their regular season winning percentage for a third straight season. Although Dallas’ season ended with another first-round loss to the Clippers, those positive strides made it a little surprising that the team ended up making major changes to both its coaching staff and front office. Carlisle stepped down and the team parted ways with longtime president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.

The searches for a new general manager and head coach occurred simultaneously, with owner Mark Cuban leading the process. He chose Nico Harrison to head up the team’s basketball operations department, and they quickly zeroed in on Kidd – a former All-Star and NBA champion with the Mavericks – as the choice for head coach.

The Mavs are hoping that Kidd learned from some of the mistakes he made during previous head coaching stints with the Nets and Bucks and will form a strong connection with franchise player Luka Doncic, who wasn’t always on the same page as Carlisle.

Indiana Pacers

Hired: Rick Carlisle (story)
Replaced: Nate Bjorkgren (story)
Contract details: Four-year, $29MM deal
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Steve Clifford, Brian Shaw, Terry Stotts

The Pacers’ head coaching change in 2020 looks like one of the worst moves of that offseason in hindsight. The team dismissed Nate McMillan due to his lack of success in the playoffs, but his replacement – Bjorkgren – was unable to even get the team to the postseason during his lone season at the helm.

After Bjorkgren’s brief and disastrous tenure, the Pacers will seek stability by bringing back Carlisle, who coached the team from 2003-07 and has recorded the 15th-most wins of any coach in NBA history. He’ll assume control of a veteran squad that looks capable of bouncing back and potentially securing a top-six spot in the East with better health luck in 2021/22.

New Orleans Pelicans

Hired: Willie Green (story)
Replaced: Stan Van Gundy (story)
Contract details: Multiyear deal (specifics unknown)
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Charles Lee, Jacque Vaughn, Fred Vinson, Teresa Weatherspoon

Like Bjorkgren in Indiana, Van Gundy proved to be a poor fit for his new team and lasted just one year before receiving his walking papers. When the Pelicans launched a search for their new head coach, they prioritized finding a candidate capable of connecting with the young players on the roster — especially Zion Williamson, who will be playing for his third coach in three years.

New Orleans initially appeared focused on Vaughn, but the Nets assistant withdrew from consideration in order to remain in Brooklyn. At that point, the Pelicans’ search narrowed to Green and Lee, with the Suns associate head coach ultimately winning out.

Green only has five years of experience as an assistant under his belt, but appeared in the NBA Finals in four of those five seasons with Golden State and Phoenix. And the fact that he’s only six years removed from being in the NBA as a player should help earn him some respect from a young Pelicans team.

Orlando Magic

Hired: Jamahl Mosley (story)
Replaced: Steve Clifford (story)
Contract details: Four-year deal
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Chauncey Billups, Jarron Collins, Mike D’Antoni, Willie Green, Becky Hammon, Penny Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Charles Lee, Terry Stotts, Ime Udoka, Wes Unseld Jr.

It didn’t seem as if the Magic were particularly eager to move on from Clifford, but the veteran coach wasn’t enthusiastic about embarking on another rebuild, so the two sides mutually agreed to parted ways a few weeks after Orlando’s season ended.

While some of the candidates reported to be on the Magic’s radar had previous head coaching experience, most were assistants who had a strong record of player development and wouldn’t mind growing along with a young, lottery-bound team. Orlando eventually chose Mosley, who was an assistant for the Nuggets and Cavaliers before spending the last seven seasons under Rick Carlisle in Dallas.

Portland Trail Blazers

Hired: Chauncey Billups (story)
Replaced: Terry Stotts (story)
Contract details: Five-year deal
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Jerome Allen, Brent Barry, Mike D’Antoni, Becky Hammon, Jason Kidd, Dawn Staley

Unable to get the Trail Blazers over the hump despite a long track record of regular season success, Stotts was let go by the Blazers this spring.

After reports stated that Damian Lillard would have a voice in Portland’s hiring process, the All-Star guard expressed public support for Kidd and Billups. When Kidd withdrew his name from consideration, reportedly uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing the job following Lillard’s public endorsement, Billups emerged as the frontrunner and beat out finalists D’Antoni and Hammon for the job.

Billups, who had a decorated career as a player, has long been viewed by people around the league as a good bet to be a successful NBA coach. He’ll get his chance in Portland, though the team could’ve handled the hiring better from a PR perspective.

The Blazers, who faced some backlash due to a 1997 sexual assault case involving the former All-Star guard, told reporters they thoroughly investigated that incident and came away confident that Billups hadn’t engaged in any wrongdoing. Subsequent reporting suggested that Portland’s investigation may not have been as exhaustive as the team claimed. However, any blow-back to the poorly-handled process seems more likely to affect president of basketball operations Neil Olshey than Billups.

Washington Wizards

Hired: Wes Unseld Jr. (story)
Replaced: Scott Brooks (story)
Contract details: Four-year deal
Other candidates who reportedly received consideration or interest: Sam Cassell, Chris Fleming, Willie Green, Darvin Ham, Charles Lee, Jamahl Mosley, Scott Morrison, Ronald Nored, Chris Quinn, Kevin Young

Halfway through the 2020/21 season, Brooks looked like the surest bet among the NBA’s 30 head coaches to be let go at season’s end. A second-half surge and a play-in tournament victory earned the Wizards a playoff berth and made the decision a little more difficult, but the team ultimately decided not to bring back Brooks, whose contract expired this year.

The Wizards, whose search focused exclusively on assistants without prior head coaching experience, narrowed their list down to four finalists — Unseld, Ham, Lee, and Mosley. After Mosley opted to take the Orlando job, Washington chose Unseld over the two Bucks assistants.

It was a logical choice for the Wizards, who gave Unseld his start as an assistant in 2005 and who employed his father (Wes Unseld Sr.) for years as a player, coach, and front office executive. However, Unseld Jr. earned the job on merit, not sentiment — he spent 16 years as an assistant in Washington, Golden State, Orlando, and Denver, and the Nuggets lobbied hard for him to get a head coaching opportunity they felt he deserved.

Nerlens Noel Sues Rich Paul, Klutch Sports

August 24th, 2021 at 5:23pm CST by Eli Cohen

Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed a lawsuit against agent Rich Paul and the Klutch Sports agency, reports Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog.com.

The suit, which was filed in Dallas, Texas, claims that in a birthday party for the Klutch-represented Ben Simmons in 2017, Paul convinced Noel that he was a “$100MM man,” and that if Noel fired then-agent Happy Walters and signed with him, Paul would get him a max contract. Noel subsequently left Walters and signed with Paul.

As part of the same pitch, Paul allegedly told Noel to cut off negotiations with the Mavericks, who had offered Noel a four-year, $70MM extension, and instead sign his one-year, $4.1MM qualifying offer. After a season plagued by injury, however, his free agency proved unsuccessful, as he claims that no one from Klutch presented any ideas for how to pursue long-term contracts, and none were forthcoming on the market, leading him to sign a two-year, $3.75MM contract with the Thunder, which Noel claims was largely orchestrated by Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, rather than by Rich Paul.

Finally, the lawsuit states that Noel learned that multiple teams, including the Sixers, Clippers, and Rockets informed him that they attempted to get in touch with Paul about offering Noel a contract, but were unable to make contact.

Noel left Klutch Sports in December of 2020, and is suing Paul and the agency for the loss of approximately $58MM stemming from the initial declined extension with Dallas.

Mavs To Hire Jared Dudley As Assistant Coach

August 24th, 2021 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

12:49pm: Dudley has agreed to join the Mavericks’ coaching staff, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

8:30am: The Mavericks are in advanced discussions with veteran forward Jared Dudley about hiring him as an assistant coach on Jason Kidd‘s staff, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Dudley, 36, has appeared in over 900 NBA regular season games since entering the league in 2007. He began his career in Charlotte, then spent time with the Suns, Clippers, Bucks, Wizards, Suns, Nets, and Lakers over the course of 14 seasons.

However, Dudley has seen his playing time decline significantly in recent years. In 2020/21, he logged just 81 total minutes in 12 games for the Lakers, and a report last week indicated that L.A. wasn’t expected to re-sign him. Now, it seems as if he’s prepared to move onto the next stage of his career.

While Kidd and Dudley never played together, they have plenty of history. Dudley played for Milwaukee in 2014/15 when Kidd was the head coach, and the Hall-of-Fame point guard was an assistant with the Lakers for the past two years.

Kidd’s coaching staff is still taking shape, but it appears he’s making it a priority to add at least a couple assistants with playing experience. J.J. Barea and Tyson Chandler are among the other NBA vets who have been mentioned as possible candidates.

Western Notes: Porzingis, Terry, Giddey, Grizzlies

August 22nd, 2021 at 8:03pm CST by JD Shaw

New Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes Kristaps Porzingis is in a good place both mentally and physically, as relayed by Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.

Kidd recently visited Porzingis in Latvia for three days. The 26-year-old Porzingis, who is Dallas’ second option on offense behind superstar Luka Doncic, averaged 20.1 points and 8.9 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game in 2020/21.

“I wanted to see where he lived, that is home for him,” Kidd explained. “Beautiful place. We always talk about family. Sometimes we need to show our care factor. I care. I wanted to let him know that I care.

“I know that he’s healthy. I know he’s excited. And then I just wanted to talk to him about things basketball-wise as well as off the court. We always talk about basketball, but I wanted to see where he was off the court. He’s in a great place.”

There’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Various members of the Nuggets front office expressed confidence that Jason Terry could have a serious coaching future, Townsend tweets. Denver recently hired Terry to coach its G League affiliate for the 2021/22 season. “Sitting down with [vice president] Calvin Booth and [president] Tim Connelly and [player personnel manager] Scott Howard, they firmly believe that being a bench coach or a head coach is in my near future,” Terry said. “You need that type of support and belief. The sky’s the limit for me. I’m ready for the opportunity.”
Thunder rookie Josh Giddey is representing a newfound hope and legitimacy for the NBA’s global academy, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman examines. Giddey was drafted by Oklahoma City with the No. 6 pick in July.
Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian takes a closer look at some of the Grizzlies‘ newcomers, exploring which are likely to stick around. Memphis recently acquired Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu as part of the trade involving Eric Bledsoe, with both players facing uncertain futures in the present day. The team also acquired Patrick Beverley in the deal, but has reportedly agreed to move Beverley to Minnesota in exchange for Jarrett Culver and Juan Hernangomez.

Mavericks Sign Feron Hunt, Carlik Jones

August 21st, 2021 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Hunt and Jones, per a team press release. The signings of Onu and Omoruyi were previously completed.

The Mavs training camp roster is now finalized at 20 players. Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re almost certainly Exhibit 10 contracts.

JULY 30: The Mavericks didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft, but they’ve been busy lining up deals with a handful of rookies who went undrafted in last night’s event.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Oregon’s Eugene Omoruyi and Louisville’s Carlik Jones have agreed to sign with Dallas, while Jeremy Woo of SI.com says (via Twitter) that Shawnee State’s EJ Onu has reached an agreement on a camp deal with the Mavs.

Omoruyi, who transferred to Oregon for his senior year after beginning his college career at Rutgers, averaged 17.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .473/.376/.765 shooting in 28 games (30.6 MPG) in 2020/21. The 6’6″ small forward earned All-Pac 12 First Team honors.

A 6’1″ guard, Jones also transferred for his senior year, making the move from Radford to Louisville. He put up 16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 19 games (37.5 MPG) for the Cardinals and made the All-ACC First Team.

Onu, a 6’11” forward who was the 24th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s list of undrafted players, helped lead Shawnee State to a NAIA championship this spring.

SMU’s Feron Hunt also tweeted that he’s joining the Mavericks, and his marketing firm congratulated him on signing with Dallas, but it’s unclear if that’s just for Summer League or if he’ll be with the club for training camp. Hunt, a 6’8″ forward, declared for the draft after a junior year in which he recorded 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 16 games (28.2 MPG).

Mavericks Sign EJ Onu

August 20th, 2021 at 8:53am CST by Arthur Hill

EJ Onu has signed with the Mavericks, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Details on the contract weren’t released, but it’s likely to be a non-guaranteed training camp deal with Exhibit 10 language.

A 6’11” forward, Onu played four seasons at Shawnee State. He averaged 16.9 points and 8.1 rebounds as a senior and helped the Bears capture the NAIA championship. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Mid-South Conference three times and was selected as MSC Player of the Year this season.

He played for Dallas in the Summer League, but had to leave Sunday’s game with a knee injury.

The signing brings the Mavericks to 18 players under contract, along with a reported deal for Carlik Jones. Teams can bring up to 20 players to training camp.

Kristi Toliver To Become Assistant Coach

August 19th, 2021 at 8:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks are hiring Kristi Toliver as an assistant coach, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Dallas had been seeking a female assistant for Jason Kidd‘s staff. Toliver, who remains an active player in the WNBA, spent two seasons in the Wizards’ organization.

Jason Terry Named Coach Of Nuggets’ G League Affiliate

August 19th, 2021 at 6:56pm CST by Luke Adams

6:56pm: The Nuggets have officially hired Terry as the Grand Rapids Gold head coach, according to a team press release.

2:39pm: Former NBA guard Jason Terry is finalizing a deal to coach the Nuggets‘ new G League affiliate, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Terry, a former NBA champion and Sixth Man of the Year winner, last played in the NBA in 2018. He joined the Texas Legends – Dallas’ G League affiliate – as an assistant general manager in 2019, then left the team to become an assistant coach at his alma mater of Arizona for the 2020/21 season.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who reported in June that Terry was in the mix for an assistant role on Jason Kidd‘s coaching staff, tweets that Terry spent some time in Las Vegas observing the Mavericks’ coaches and weighing the possibility of joining the team as an assistant. However, it seems Terry determined that becoming a head coach at the G League level will move him closer to his goal of eventually coaching an NBA team, notes Townsend.

The Nuggets, who had previously been one of the only NBA teams without an NBAGL affiliate, entered a partnership with the Grand Rapids Drive earlier in 2021 and rebranded the franchise, which will now be known as the Grand Rapids Gold.

Since the Gold are based in Michigan, it won’t be easy for the Nuggets to quickly shuttle players back and forth between Denver and Grand Rapids. But it will give the franchise an opportunity to assign players to the G League without having to worry about how another team’s affiliate will use and develop them.

Kleber Could Be Key To Markkanen Deal

August 18th, 2021 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks would be happy to acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Bulls if he would agree sign under market value so they could fit him into their $11MM traded player exception, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic. In that sign-and-trade scenario, the Mavericks likely wouldn’t have to give up a rotation player.

The alternative would be to offer Markkanen a three-year deal in the $44MM range. The Bulls have some interest in Maxi Kleber, Cato adds. Kleber has a base salary of $8.75MM next season and his 2022/23 salary is non-guaranteed. However, the Mavericks would be giving up a rotation piece and replacing him with a player with a higher salary.

The Mavericks are looking to add another assistant to Jason Kidd’s staff, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, who tweets that they’ve interviewed at least two female candidates with the aim of hiring one of them if the right candidate is found. Dallas had a female assistant last season in Jenny Boucek, who joined Rick Carlisle‘s staff in Indiana.

California Notes: Iguodala, Bledsoe, Metu, Longabardi

August 16th, 2021 at 8:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is excited to have veteran swingman Andre Iguodala back for his second stint with the club, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“He means the world to us,” Kerr told Poole, echoing a sentiment he recently expressed to The Athletic. “The last two seasons, we’ve been somewhat rudderless in many ways. I suspect we’re going to get our rudder back with Andre.”

Iguodala signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Golden State after spending the last two seasons with the Grizzlies (for whom he never played) and Heat.

There’s more out of California:

The Clippers‘ reunion with point guard Eric Bledsoe received an A-minus grade from Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Bledsoe was re-acquired in a trade this week that sent point guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and center Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies. Pelton praised the cost savings of the deal, which will amount to a reduction of about $30MM off L.A.’s luxury tax bill. Pelton also notes that the younger, more durable Bledsoe could prove to be an on-court upgrade for the Clippers as well, though he struggled in recent playoff appearances with the Bucks.
Fourth-year Kings center Chimezie Metu has been suspended for one Summer League game after punching two-way rookie Mavericks forward Eugene Omoruyi in the head during the fourth quarter of an eventual 86-70 win Sunday, per an NBA press release (Twitter link). Metu will miss the Summer League title game on Tuesday against the Celtics.
The Kings will be hiring Mike Longabardi as a front-of-bench assistant coach, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Longabardi, most recently an assistant with the Wizards since 2019, won the 2008 title as a Celtics assistant and the 2016 championship as a Cavaliers assistant.