NBA Coaches: Ranking head coaches likely to be available this summer

Putting together a winner starts at the top. For NBA teams looking for a head coach, these are the best options

Each offseason, a new wave of NBA coaches picks up a role with a new team. Some coaches will be first-timers, but each year there are head coaches who are sliding over to new teams or coming out of a stint of a season or more away from leading.

Some coaches may have used their hiatus to join assistant coaching staffs to keep sharpening their craft while contributing to a winner. Tyronn Lue, a former NBA Finals champion head coach, spent this year on Doc Rivers’ coaching staff in LA, or for instance, Jason Kidd on the Los Angeles Lakers staff with Frank Vogel.

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Others may have been in the commentating game, still in the ecosystem of the sport but removed a bit, providing thoughts, critiques, analysis, and takeaways on the games for fans.

Let’s take a look at some of the clearest coaching candidates and rank them on a broad level. Since this list won’t take into account specific makeup of any individual teams or systems, some coaches may rank higher for specific opportunities than they do when ranked raw.

This listing will consider coaches who are reasonable options for open roles this offseason — either on a coaching staff now, rumored to be considered for a currently open opportunity, or recently let go from a head coaching position.

All of those listed here are great candidates, and specific fit must be considered for a role as important as head coach, but worst to best, who sits atop the available coaching options?

9. David Fizdale

While I believe David Fizdale has been unfairly been shown the door too early on in his tenure at each of his head coaching spots so far, the truth is that he’d probably be a risky hire right now.

The New York Knicks, while not a cohesive or well-run organization by any stretch of the imagination, let Fizdale go this season and saw relative success after he left. At first, the firing felt off. It seemed as if Fizdale was the scapegoat for the organization being run into the ground.

That may have been true, but the truth is that Mike Miller seemed to inject some sense of stability to the team in his short time as interim head coach, succeeding Fizdale.

Restructured lineups and rotations by Miller accentuated the youthful appeal of the Knicks and allowed some of that youth to develop on the fly.

Fizdale was fired partway through his second season with both the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks. I fully expect to see Fizdale back in the head coaching ranks soon, but it seems as though a cooling off period for at least a season might help his case given the outcome of both of his jobs so far.

Putting some time between his firing and the next gig would probably do him well.

8. Jason Kidd

Even just last year, I don’t think I’d even consider Jason Kidd to be an option if he was seeking employment coaching an NBA team, but here we are. It seems time heals all.

Kidd’s previous coaching stints were marred in controversy. In his lone season with the Nets, he was suspended for a DWI. Later in the season, he was fined for scheming an “accident” in which he spilled a drink on the court to create some time to draw up an offensive play.

Kidd turned things around a bit as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, leading them to the playoffs in his first year with the team.

After a 23-22 start to the 2018 season, the Bucks fired Kidd.

In truth, it might have been a bit too early for Kidd to embark on a coaching journey. When he started his coaching career with the Brooklyn Nets, he had just wrapped up his lengthy playing career the season before. Perspective is necessary in the head coaching role, as is respect from your roster, and the idea of playing under the tutelage of a player who had just retired probably doesn’t feel natural.

Kidd is still fairly young, less than a decade removed from his playing career. He could feasibly build a stronger connection with the roster.

According to Marc Stein, Kidd is on the Nets’ list of options:

Kidd could be a good option as one of the greatest Nets of all-time.