NBA: Ranking Mavs opening among head coaching vacancies around the league
Ranking the NBA head coaching vacancies: 3. New Orleans Pelicans
Stan Van Gundy was fired as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans after just one season, in large part because he failed to get this roster to the playoffs. The clock is already clicking on superstar forward Zion Williamson’s contract, especially after he has publicly flirted with the New York Knicks.
A new head coach will be expected to come in and immediately make the postseason. The good news is they will have Williamson at the helm to do so, already at least a top-20 player in the league after his second season. Brandon Ingram is under contract to join him on the forward line, and they have restricted rights on Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart and will likely bring one or both back.
The primary problem is that the Pelicans also owe money to Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams, to the tune of over $35 million for next season. Both had inconsistent seasons for the Pelicans, and it will be on David Griffin and the front office to construct a better roster around Williamson. This isn’t an elite job, especially not in a market such as New Orleans and with the immediate pressure to win. Yet few jobs offer a star as young or as dynamic as Williamson, and that makes this an attractive landing spot.
Ranking the NBA head coaching vacancies: 4. Indiana Pacers
If the expectations for a franchise such as the Los Angeles Lakers are to win a title every season, the expectations for the Indiana Pacers might just be to “try your best.” This is a team, under owner Herb Simon, that focuses on being good without trying to play the “be bad now to be better later” game.
A new head coach will almost certainly be an improvement on Nate Bjorkgren, who lost his veteran locker room within months of taking the job and oversaw a fumbling finish and an exit short of the playoffs.
The roster is solid at every position, and with reasonable health should make the postseason next year. On the flip side, the solid-not-spectacular label applies, as this team probably has five or six top-70 players but none in the top-25.
There seem to be reasonable expectations in place in Indiana, so despite the lack of a superstar and the small(ish) market, this is a good job for a head coaching candidate to take.