With the Los Angeles Lakers’ expected hire of Byron Scott, the nine NBA coaching openings will be filled. All of their predecessors lost their jobs after failing under tough conditions, but the offseason has provided change that each new coach hopes will help them turn their squads around.
The challenges ahead for the 9 newest NBA head coaches
Now that all of the NBA coaching vacancies have been filled, we can start comparing and contrasting the unique challenges each faces.
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Fired: Mike Woodson
Woodson’s tenure with New York probably won’t be looked upon as his fault. There was a roster that, after Carmelo Anthony, was built to fail, and Woodson did have a successful campaign in 2012-13. Woodson was a nice enough guy who handled the spotlight well, but that didn’t lead to great results.
Hired: Derek Fisher
The opportunity for Fisher to retire as a player and jump immediately to coaching was just perfect. Knicks president Phil Jackson got his second option after Steve Kerr, and with that he got a more malleable coach still wet behind the ears. Fisher won't be judged on his first season, as the roster changes in New York will take time to set in.
The big question: How does Carmelo Anthony in a triangle work?
Fired: Mike D’Antoni
Rough outlook for L.A.
Rough outlook for L.A.
Remember the Lakers' edgy hire of Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson? Well, it didn't go as planned. Nearly two years and two significant Kobe Bryant injuries later, D'Antoni's success mirrored that of the Los Angeles front office. It's hard to sell an offense-only coaching style when there's too much bickering within the roster or too little talent for a squad to follow through.
Hired: Byron Scott
As Tom Ziller wrote elsewhere on SB Nation, the outside perspective on the Lakers has little to do with Scott and everything to do with a roster that looks too similar to a 27-win club from a year ago. After Jeremy Lin, the three other upgrades come at the power forward spot -- Carlos Boozer, Julius Randle and Ed Davis are all replacing Pau Gasol.
The big question: Can Scott duck any outrageous expectations and at least make the Lakers a competent squad in the deep Western Conference?
Traded: Jason Kidd
Kidd’s power play didn’t work. Neither did his timeout-inducing drink spill. OK, so Kidd eventually put together a pretty solid season in 2013-14 considering the circumstances but did himself zero favors in helping most people remember that.
Hired: Lionel Hollins
In the media climate of New York, Hollins’ stoic stubbornness will be fun to follow, but the man also brings a lot of intrigue. He’s used to coaching up veteran clubs, after all, so this will be a fun project to watch.
The big question: Will he take advantage of either a healthy roster -- cross your fingers Deron Williams and Brook Lopez -- or squeeze the most out the replacements?
Fired: Larry Drew
It's not like the Bucks were realistic last offseason in thinking that signing O.J. Mayo and Gary Neal was going to keep them playoff contenders. Still, it's hard to defend Larry Drew for winning just 15 games last year, even if the hit of losing Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings -- nevermind Larry Sanders' forgettable season -- was a lot to handle.
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Hired: Jason Kidd
Kidd gets the benefit of joining Milwaukee in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s second season and Jabari Parker’s first. He’ll also get the leeway to grow with a young roster from the ownership group that yanked him away from the Nets. Last year, Kidd’s strength was connecting with a group of veterans, so it’s on him to now connect with a very different group of players this year.
The big question: How long can Kidd coach without controversy?
Fired: Mike Brown
The two-time former Cavs coach only lasted a season in his second stint after being hired by former general manager Chris Grant. Brown was seemingly part of a plan to bring LeBron James back to Ohio, but it never reached that point. But, hey, the Cavs got James anyway.
Hired: David Blatt
Blatt is the hottest hire of the offseason, and the adaptability with a Princeton-informed offense will be the thing to watch. Of course, having the league’s best player makes Blatt’s job a bit easier.
The big question: How much luckier can David Blatt get? *Checks Twitter for Kevin Love updates*
Fired: Maurice Cheeks / interim John Loyer
Cheeks joins this list as another victim of questionable front office decisions. Though the Pistons' collection of gunners seemed like a bad idea from the start, they should have been better considering their collective talent on paper. There should have been some sort of offensive organization in Cheeks' first season, and a better defensive blueprint could have been formed with an Andre Drummond-fortified frontcourt.
SVG took a young Dwight Howard to the NBA Finals. Neither Mike D'Antoni nor Kevin McHale have gotten anywhere close to that.
Hired: Stan Van Gundy
SVG took a young Dwight Howard to the NBA Finals. Neither Mike D'Antoni nor Kevin McHale have gotten anywhere close to that. So excuse anyone for being optimistic about him working the Pistons out of a hole.
The big question: Will Van Gundy be able to re-brand Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings as semi-efficient players?
Fired: Mark Jackson
Here’s the easy life lesson to take away from Jackson’s time with the Warriors: ticking off the boss will trump any amount of success a coach has, even if the coach was appreciated by his players.
Hired: Steve Kerr
It made sense that Kerr was in demand. He has experience as a general manager and was coached by two of the best basketball minds in the last two decades. Kerr has a fine roster to work with but any early struggles could come with a bit of scrutiny considering he replaced a coach who was doing pretty darn well (it doesn’t help Jackson has a great deal of support from his media pals).
The big question: How does Kerr take Stephen Curry’s game to another level?
Retired: Rick Adelman
Adelman stepped aside from a Minnesota team that has one big question mark and a lot of what-ifs from the past few seasons. The veteran head coach would have dealt with Kevin Love rumors if he’d stuck around, and if the forward is traded, Adelman would be stuck rebuilding. Doesn’t seem like a thing Adelman would want to do at this point in his career.
Hired: Flip Saunders
The good news is that Saunders hired himself as coach to guide the team through an uneasy time. He won’t find any conflicts from a managerial and coaching standpoint during this process, so that’s a good thing, at least.
The big question: If Kevin Love is traded as expected, what’s the next step?
Fired: Ty Corbin
It was always going to be a sour deal when Ty Corbin followed Jerry Sloan with the Jazz. It's hard for any head coach to step into a gig that's been so stable for so many years. Utah has seemingly drafted well, but since Deron Williams left it's been hard to find consistency in how Corbin developed a young roster.
Hired: Quin Snyder
Snyder's history would say he has versatility. Be it learning from Mike Krzyzewski, leading his own college program at Missouri or working in the D-League and overseas, the Jazz's new head coach has seen a lot of different types of basketball. Utah hopes a mix of developmental experience and leadership will help him grow Gordon Hayward and crew.
The big question: Forget Dante Exum for a second. Can Snyder help young NBA vets Enes Kanter, Alec Burks and Derrick Favors take major steps forward before they reach the age where potential is no longer attached to their name?
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