NBA: Top 10 candidates for Coach of the Year Award in 2017-18

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10. Scott Brooks

With the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics both potentially weakened by the Kyrie Irving trade, there’s an outside possibility the Washington Wizards could sneak in for a top-three — or possibly even top-two — seed in the East this year.

That possibility is what lands Scott Brooks, a former Coach of the Year winner, at No. 10. The Wizards already snagged the No. 4 seed last year despite a rough 3-9 start, and if the starting five stays as healthy as last year, Brooks could wind up being a dark horse in this category.

However, everyone’s attention will be out West, so even if the Wizards snagged the 1-seed (which is unlikely with a similarly ineffective bench and Markieff Morris already hurt) it might not be enough.