2014 NBA Coaching Carousel thread

I figure we have enough openings now that this merits its own thread rather than polluting the playoff thread.

Kevin Ollie to the Knicks is an interesting rumor. Supposedly Jackson likes Fred Hoiberg as well.

I read something that said Kerr would prefer to stay on the West coast, and as LTL said on the other thread, is eyeing the situation at Golden State and the Lakers as well.

 

I suspect there are some big names circling like vultures over Indiana, if the Pacers complete their collapse, just because of all the young talent there. Maybe a psychologist should be the head coach.

In actual open positions, Utah did not renew the contract of Tyrone Corbin. As in, he was canned without having to pay him a settlement. As for Hoiberg, now that Rick Adelman has retired, he seems like a natural fit for the T-wolves.

 

Yeah, it will be interesting if the NBA carousel livens things up on the college carousel.

I'm guessing UConn is scrambling to give Ollie the kind of contract that coaches who win titles get. Not that the NBA can't easily top that, but it might make it a little tougher for him to leave.

Good for Utah for actually being able to get rid of a coach without having to pay him for the next few years. That's pretty rare in the NBA these days.

 

Another hot candidate is Jim Boylen, a San Antonio assistant who once was Tom Izzo's top assistant. It's all the rage these days to hire ex-Spurs assistants, what with Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta and Brett Brown in Philadelphia. One thing you can say about each of those teams is that they play hard -- even Philly, which was actively trying to lose. Boylen may well end up in Utah.

I suspect if the Spurs go deep, there will be more interest in their assistants. Most of them have been around the NBA awhile.

 

The Spurs are the last team I would look to for assistants... Popovich is kind of the Belichick of the NBA and as great of a run as the Spurs have had, they've had tremendous talent with players, who, by NBA standards, are very low maintenance.

 

Timberwolves want a college coach and Donovan is at the top of the list...

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24534936/report-wolves-interested-in-floridas-billy-donovan-for-coach

I can't imagine Donovan going to Minnesota.

 

I can see him going there for a couple of days.

 

I don't understand why any big-time college coach would go to a second-tier lottery dweller. Unless dealing with the egos of NBA players is now easier than dealing with the egos of AAU coaches/player agents.

 

Some aren't that much older than AAU kids, thanks to one-and-done.

The Golden State situation is very much a mystery to me. Not sure if Lacob is overestimating the talent, or thinks someone else can take it to the next level. And firing assistants this time of the season is straight out of bizarro world (although it sounds like the latter's exit is more HR-oriented).

Another factor: Within the last 24-36 hours, the Warriors threw in the towel on their planned waterfront arena (Piers 30-32) for a 12-acre site in the Mission Bay area, a bit south of AT&T Park. Barring another calamity, not only will they be in a new arena by decade's end, I can forsee a return of San Francisco to the team's name.

 

Hoiberg and to an extent, Ollie, make sense to bolt for NBA openings. Neither has gotten a huge payday and aren't that removed from playing in the NBA.

Donovan makes almost $4 million a year and other than Coach K or Izzo probably has better job security than any college coach in the country. I don't see him bolting for the NBA unless it's a team that is on the verge of contending for a title.

 

1. Money.

2. NBA coaches don't have to recruit.

 

NBA coaches probably have the worst job security of any coach in any sport. Other than Popovich, what is the longest any current NBA coach has been with their team?