After the Philadelphia 76ers fired Doc Rivers, that brought the NBA coaching vacancies to five. The Milwaukee Bucks are finalizing a deal for Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. The Philadelphia 76ers have finalized a deal with former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse. And then there were three. Phoenix, Toronto, and Detroit are still without a head coach. The Raptors and Pistons are lottery teams, while the Suns are a playoff team looking to contend. Here’s an outlook on the 2023 coaching carousel.
Coaching Carousel Continues to Turn
Two Vacancies Filled
Griffin was an assistant under Nurse for the last four seasons in Toronto, including the 2019 championship run. Griffin will have NBA Finals-type expectations, especially if the core stays intact. Milwaukee was upset by the 8-seeded Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.
Nick Nurse won the title in his first season as a head coach. His ability to make in-game adjustments could lead to Philly finally getting over the hump. There’s familiarity between Nurse and 76ers GM Daryl Morley as they worked together in Houston. With this hire, it will be interesting to see what James Harden will do with his contract. He can opt out and become a free agent this summer, at the same time, Philly must figure out the core around MVP Joel Embiid. Nurse was hired to make a run at the conference, it’s up to Morley to build the roster to accommodate.
Young Teams with Proven Scorers
The Raptors ended the season 41-41 and lost their play-in tournament game to the Chicago Bulls. Shortly after, Nick Nurse was relieved of head coaching duties. Fred VanVleet has the option to opt out of his contract, making him a free agent in July. VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are both former all-star players playing their best basketball. This team has an identity on defense led by OG Anunoby. The Raptors were 27th in the league in field goal percentage this season, spacing the floor should be the primary focus.
Detroit has a young backcourt that could be great for years to come. Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey will be healthy and on the court complimenting one another. Their combined shooting and athleticism can provide mismatches to opposing defenses. The Pistons were last in the playoffs in 2019, only winning 17 games this season. There are far more areas of concern for the Pistons than any other team currently dealing with a coaching vacancy. The Pistons ranked last in the association in field goal shooting. The Pistons have the No. 5 pick in next month’s draft to help with that.
Title Contender
Phoenix made a blockbuster trade at the deadline to acquire two-time finals MVP Kevin Durant. They lost some key rotation players in Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges, the latter averaged 26 points per game after the trade. Bridges wasn’t going to have that type of scoring output in Phoenix but his two-way play was valuable on that roster. Since Durant’s arrival, it’s been about him and Devin Booker and that’s about it. The lack of consistency from role players led to the dismissal of coach Monty Willams.
The Suns finished 4th in the west this season and beat the Los Angeles Clippers in five games in the first round. The Denver Nuggets beat them in six games in the semis, that series exposed something off with DeAndre Ayton. He was bullied by Nikola Jokic throughout the series, he seemed uninterested in playing. Chris Paul is another question mark at age 37 with his injury history. Some retooling must occur in Phoenix, but the team will still be expected to compete for a title. With KD and Booker still operating at a high level, those expectations are reasonably fair.
The Search is On
Phoenix had talks with Nick Nurse before he ultimately chose Philly to work with Embiid. J.J. Reddick interviewed for the Toronto Raptors. Steve Nash has also been a name floating around. Former Suns coach Monty Willams has been a name linked to Detroit’s coaching vacancy. This is the NBA; anything can happen. Each of these three teams can offer something different to their perspective coach. It’s about the direction the organization wants to go, and what fit is right for that coach.
