NBA coaching carousel – Pros, cons, what’s next for every open job

Monday saw the NBA’s fourth head coaching job open when the Phoenix Suns fired Mike Budenholzer after the first year of a five-year contract. Before that, the Denver Nuggets moved on from Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth, with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Denver’s decision came less than two weeks after the Memphis Grizzlies fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins. Sacramento, meanwhile, became the first franchise to fire its coach this season when the Kings dismissed Mike Brown amid a losing streak in late December.

Will more jobs open over the next several weeks? Last season, seven teams changed coaches, including three — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lakers and Suns — that did so after making the playoffs.

Here’s our annual look at the NBA’s coaching carousel, with the pros and cons of each vacancy and who could fill them:

Phoenix Suns

• 2024-25 record: 36-46 (No. 11 in West)

• Previous coach: Mike Budenholzer

• Lead executive: James Jones (hired in 2018)

Positive: Veteran talent

While owner Mat Ishbia’s proclamation less than a year ago that “26 out of 29” teams wouldn’t trade places with the Suns was way off base, the Suns still do — at least for now — have both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on their roster, which is a pretty good place to start in terms of evaluating a coaching vacancy.

Beyond its stars, Phoenix has solid veteran depth in Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Nick Richards and Royce O’Neale, plus a couple of rookie finds in Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro that could form the core of a decent NBA rotation.

Negatives: Instability, plus lack of roster, monetary and draft flexibility

Where do we start?

Phoenix is headed toward its fourth coach in as many seasons after firing Budenholzer, who was hired with great fanfare last spring. Ishbia has owned the team for a little over two years and has already fired three coaches — not exactly an inspiring track record for whomever replaces Budenholzer.

Overall, the Suns are stuck in a multitude of ways. The team has traded control of its draft picks for the next several seasons and is well over the dreaded “second apron” of the NBA’s salary cap, creating a wildly expensive roster with few tools to improve it. There’s a chance Durant is traded this summer, after Phoenix flirted with the idea at the trade deadline, but it remains to be seen how much value the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will have as he enters the final year of his contract. Durant will be looking for an extension at more than $60 million per season.

Who could get the job?

Let’s use the past two years under Ishbia as precedent. After firing coach Monty Williams, they hired Frank Vogel, a championship-winning coach. Last year, after firing Vogel, they hired Budenholzer, another championship-winning coach. That would, by extension, make Malone — a recently-fired championship-winning coach with Denver — a natural name to look at for this job.

However, with all the complications that come with taking on this job, it’s unclear who will be on the Suns’ radar in the coming weeks. But Ishbia has shown no fear of spending on every part of the organization, and the assumption is that whatever happens in Phoenix, it won’t be for a lack of aggression in finding the franchise’s next head coach.

Denver Nuggets

• 2024-25 record: 50-32 (No. 4 in West)

• Previous coach: Michael Malone (fired Tuesday; assistant David Adelman takes over on interim basis)

• Lead executive: None (GM Calvin Booth, promoted in 2020, was also let go)

Positive: Championship-level talent

These kinds of jobs rarely come available. Nikola Jokic might lose out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, but he’s nearly universally seen as the best player on the planet. Jamal Murray is an elite pick-and-roll partner and, after struggling in the playoffs, is back to playing at a high level — over the summer with Team Canada and at the start of this season. Aaron Gordon is a versatile defender who fits perfectly next to Jokic at both ends, and Christian Braun has come on and had a terrific season, putting him into Most Improved Player consideration.

While the Western Conference is deep with contenders, Denver still arguably was set to enter the playoffs as a favorite behind Oklahoma City before Tuesday’s shocking news of Malone’s dismissal after 10 years and unparalleled success with the Nuggets. Whoever walks into this job will believe they can win a championship immediately.

play

What do Malone, Booth departures mean for Nikola Jokic?

Brian Windhorst reports on the NBA’s reaction to the Nuggets firing Michael Malone and moving on from GM Calvin Booth and what it means for Nikola Jokic.

Negatives: Limited financial and roster flexibility

Denver has never been known to open the checkbook to pay for coaches and executives, but that’s a secondary concern to the long-term constraints on trying to keep this team at a championship level. Like most longtime championship contenders, this is a franchise that has traded away a lot of draft picks and is locked in on long-term contracts. The good part about that is the team’s core players are all under contract for at least a couple more years. The bad? The roster has few means to improve and might not be good enough to get where Denver wants to go now.

Who could get the job?

Adelman, son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, will get a chance to have the job on an interim basis, and, if he wins in the postseason, certainly could get it on a long-term basis. But with a job this appealing on the table, there will likely be a long line of coaches interested, and Denver should have its pick of choices.

Memphis Grizzlies

• 2024-25 record: 48-34 (No. 8 in West)

• Previous coach: Taylor Jenkins (fired March 28; assistant Tuomas Iisalo takes over on interim basis)

• Lead executive: Zach Kleiman (hired in 2019)

Positive: A promising young core

Despite suffering injuries throughout the season, the Grizzlies are still in the top five in the Western Conference standings, and with the league’s fifth-best net rating — trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.

With Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis’ core is entering its prime, which should give the Grizzlies runway to contend for the rest of this decade. Kleiman has shown that he can find talented second-round and undrafted players, giving Memphis a deep and versatile roster behind that star talent.

One NBA executive said this is a team that, if things break right, is reminiscent of the Cleveland Cavaliers last season before Kenny Atkinson came in and the franchise improved this season. That’s the kind of boost Kleiman and the Grizzlies believe is possible.

play

Shams breaks down what led the Grizzlies to fire Taylor Jenkins

Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to detail why the Memphis Grizzlies parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins after six seasons.

Negatives: Small market, recent instability

Memphis is far from an NBA glamour market, and this team has had a lot of friction and uncertainty over the past year.

The Grizzlies fired virtually Jenkins’ entire coaching staff last summer, bringing in — among others — Iisalo and Noah LaRoche to fill it out. Then, not only was Jenkins dismissed Friday, but so was LaRoche, who hired several player development coaches.

Now, on to the roster. In addition to numerous injuries, the Grizzlies have had some off-court issues with Morant over the years. The team had mitigated Morant’s absence thanks to its impressive depth and, until Friday, Jenkins’ work on the sidelines.

Now, on to the roster. In addition to numerous injuries, the Grizzlies have had a series of off-court issues with Morant over the years. The team had mitigated Morant’s absence thanks to its other two stars, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, its impressive depth and, until Friday, Jenkins’ work on the sidelines.

Who could get the job?

Although he has only an interim tag, the expectation around the league is that Iisalo will get a long look. The Grizzlies brought him from Europe last offseason and put him on Jenkins’ staff, and he will get a chance to show what he can do in the playoffs. If Iisalo is not the choice, it’s hard to know Memphis’ next step.

• 2024-25 record: 40-42 (No. 9 in West)

• Previous coach: Mike Brown (fired in December; assistant Doug Christie takes over on interim basis)

• Lead executive: Monte McNair (hired in 2020)

Positive: Veteran, ready-to-win talent

It’s hard to project Sacramento winning a title with its roster. But a coach taking over a team with Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk has a chance to be competitive in each game. That gives the Kings’ vacancy a boost, given the typical level of talent at open jobs.

With all of those players under team control for at least a couple of more seasons, there is some runway for them to play together, adding to the appeal for a new coach.

play

Shams: Kings felt Mike Brown had ‘underperformed’

Shams Charania details the factors that led the Kings to fire coach Mike Brown after a disappointing start to the season.

Negatives: Small market, decades of instability

Here’s all you need to know about the Kings: Since moving to Sacramento in 1984, two coaches have had at least one full season with a winning record: Rick Adelman, who did it for eight straight seasons from 1999 to 2006, and Mike Brown the past two seasons. Sacramento has made the playoffs in three of the 33 seasons not coached by Adelman, underscoring the difficulty of this job.

The departure of assistant general manager Wes Wilcox, who took the GM job for the Utah Utes earlier this month, also points to potential further destabilization this offseason, and at least the possibility of more changes in the Kings’ front office. Another drawback is the club’s unwillingness to pay into the luxury tax, something owner Vivek Ranadive has avoided.

Who could get the job?

Christie has long-standing ties to the organization, going back to being a starter on those iconic teams of the early 2000s under Adelman. Christie has done a solid job the past few months since taking over for Brown. Christie will likely get a look to remain as coach, but Ranadive has repeatedly hired big names over the past decade — including George Karl, Dave Joerger, Luke Walton and Brown — so there’s certainly a chance he pursues a bigger name this summer.