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Nov 21, 2013

COACH WATCH


     The start of this season found 13 teams under new a new head coach, nine of which had never been a head coach in the NBA prior. The landscape of the league this year has made for very interesting goals and initiatives for these fresh coaches to face. While no front office has outright copped to it there is a contingent of teams tanking for a high pick in what is predicted to be the best draft in over 10 years. There are teams with aging superstars that see time slipping away and feel the need to capitalize while they are able. Falling into the middle of the pack would seem to be the worst place for a franchise, yet there are young teams looking to establish themselves hungry to make the playoffs and will fight until the end for the seventh or eighth seed in their conference. 
   
     Coaches have been shouldered with a tremendous amount of stress in making all these pieces fall into place, motivating players that are destined to fail, establishing team identities now and for the future, dealing with the demands of their market and everything else that comes with the position. With so many front office expectations and viable replacement candidates out there, George Karl and Lionel Hollins at the top of the list, we can only expect to see some of these coaches fall to the wayside. However, these tribulations are not exclusive to new hires, there are tenured guys out there that could be dealt walking papers as well. Here is a line on the rookie coaches and some of the more interesting positions in the league. All coaches have made it through their first ten games and I'll regularly update this as the season moves along.

Mike Budenholzer: Budenholzer served as the right hand man for Greg Popovich, the league's most tenured and well respected coach, for 18 seasons. Besides the fact that he obviously has learned from one of the best there ever was, after 18 years Budenholzer isn't going to leave for the first head coaching opportunity that comes his way. I believe he has been offered a fair amount of security with his position and will be given time to build the team he wants rather than make the best out of what he's been given, which is probably a big part of why Josh Smith is playing in Detroit now. It would seem Budenholzer is in Atlanta for the haul and will not be judged solely on his production this season.

Brad Stevens: Brad Stevens is in much the same boat as Budenholzer, if not better. While college coaches don't have a history of success in the NBA Brad Stevens will have a few years to develop himself and the team he wants. He as well left a very comfortable position as Butler's head coach in which he saw a lot of success. He is still young and has one of the league's elite points in Rajon Rondo to build around or use as a trade piece. The Celtics would seem to fall into the list of teams tanking so the front office and Boston fan base are well prepared for any record that Stevens delivers. 

Jason Kidd: Jason Kidd is probably in the toughest spot out of anyone on this list. Not only does he lack any experience coaching, he was playing in the semifinals six months ago, but he is leading the "new kids" (Pierce and Garnett are the old dogs chained to a stoop) on the block in one of the biggest markets in the world with a Russian oligarch basketball fetichist who has guaranteed a title in the next five years. The Nets have the league's highest payroll, almost double that of number two Knicks once taxes are figured in, and have thus far been riddled with injuries and lack luster performance. There are already memes conveying the bleakness of Kidd's run as a head coach and his players have had to stand up for him in the wake of a constant bombardment of media scrutiny. With assistants handling much of the offensive and defensive coordinating, Kidd has often times looked lost on the court. His position seems one of the most volatile in the league and his only saving grace is that he owns half of Jay Z's former 1.6 percent share of the team.

Steve Clifford: Clifford comes from the Van Gundy school of coaching, having been given his start in the NBA under Jeff and later coaching under Stan with the Orlando Magic. While both are great coaches neither won titles or had ceremonious endings in their last jobs. It would certainly seem that the Bobcats have low expectations for their season and a market that is not accustomed to constant success, they would possibly even fall into the list of teams tanking if it wasn't for the fact that owner Michael Jordan wasn't one of the most maniacal, blood thirsty, competitive minds to ever step on a basketball court. His front office decision making has proven less successful than his playing career but still seems rooted in the same soil. Steve Clifford can't expect much success either but also shouldn't expect much security, much sleep, much fun and probably no Christmas bonus.

Brian Shaw: Brian Shaw comes into the difficult task of following up behind last years coach of the year George Karl. He was seen as one of the favorites for the Lakers job both when Phil retired, went to Mike Brown, and after Brown was fired a little over a year later, which ended up going to Mike D'Antoni. He both played (99-04) and coached (04-11) under Phil Jackson with the LAkers and went on to be Associate Head Coach under Frank Vogel in Indiana so his pedigree is strong. Shaw has a decent roster with which to work in Denver but will have to work hard to develop the team's identity. With a fairly hands off owner Shaw will have freedom to experiment so he should be safe for this season at least.

David Joerger: Joerger caught attention after winning five titles in various minor leagues (3 in the CBA, 1 in the D League, and 1 in the IBA). Working as an assitant under Lionel Hollins for the last six years Joerger was moved up to the front of the bench upon Hollins' release after being swept out of the western conference finals last year. Joerger will surely be faced with high expectations, the Grizzlies have been a top contender for the past five or six years now, and has a roster capable of delivering. The Grizzlies have never reached the finals though so while there is expectation there is not an assumption of winning. It will be interesting to see what Memphis' front office expects out of Joerger in his first season.

Brett Brown: Brett Brown is another apprentice from the Greg Popovich tree of coaching. He came to Philadelphia after the team essentially quit on Doug Collins during last year's tumultuous season. The Sixers were the quintessential team to tank going into the season; expecting to sit star draft pick Nerlens Noel all season in order to repair his torn ACL, a team of only six NBA players during preseason, and trading away Jrue Holliday and perimeter shooter Jason Richardson remaining injured and overweight. However the Sixers have surprised everyone, due in large part to the play of Michael Carter Williams, beating both the Heat and the Bulls early into the season. The Sixers and Brown might be one of the rare cases of a team reluctantly exceeding expectations. Either way Brown would seem to come out of this season with his eyes set on the draft and what lies ahead.

Jeff Hornacek: Hornacek is in a very similar situation to Brett Brown, a team expecting to tank yet so far exceeding expectations. Delivering Portland one of it's only losses thus far and playing in close games against the Thunder, Spurs and Nets the Suns have surprised many out of the gate. After trading away big man Gortat, Shannon Brown and Kendall Marshall for the injured Emekah Okafor, whos contract expires at the end of the season, and a Washington's first round pick in 2014 (protected through top 12). These are all signs of a team ready to pass on the season so there can't be to much pressure placed on Hornacek to deliver at all.

Michael Malone: Running off the success of the white hot Warriors Malone was brought into Sacramento to help rebuild a new basketball culture for a team that has been in in limbo the past few seasons amid rumors of a move to Seattle and very little direction in regards to player and team development. The Warriors are one of the most enjoyable to teams to watch in the league with one of the liveliest fan bases so why not try and recreate that down the road with Malone who assisted under Mark Jackson the last two seasons. New Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was previously a share owner of the Warriors before selling off to become the majority owner in Sacramento. It would seem he knew what he was looking for when he brought Malone along with him. With the teams commitment to DeMarcus Cousins and trading away Tyreke Evans the Kings seem to have a direction in Mind. A rekindled fan base and Ranadive's understanding of his role within the organization could fair well for Malone and his young roster. Malone is the vision of the future for now but his production will be key over the next two seasons.

     The next six coaches have all been in their positions for over a year now but for various reasons seems suspect in the discussion pertaining to antsy front offices looking to shake up their franchise, some far more likely than others.

Mike D'Antoni: Mike D'Antoni's run as the Lakers head coach has been marred with controversy since the get go. With people's reactions to his hiring over basketball deity Phil Jackson ranging anywhere from supportive to puzzled to utter destruction D'Antoni has given Lakers nation reason to feel the gamut of emotions. He scared away Dwight, which was probably a good thing, he ran Kobe into the ground and destroyed Pau Gasol's confidence but he still garners the backing of Lakers president Jim Buss. His crowning achievement thus far was probably beating Dwight and the Rockets in their first meeting since the break-up. D'Antoni seems secure, but so did Mike Brown, and the slightest rumblings in LA can cause a tear, especially if he falls out of favor with Kobe at any moment.

Larry Drew: Drew comes to the fledgling basketball purgatory in Milwaukee after three years manning the ship in Atlanta with Josh Smith and Joe Johnson doing much of the heavy lifting for him. With a trip to the conference semis being the ceiling that one can expect from a team led by Josh Smith and Joe Johnson Drew is now trying his hand with a Bucks team in the "Larry Sanders era" with supporting cast of O.J. Mayon, Carlos Delfino, aging Caron Butler, ZaZa Pachulia, Gary Neal and rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo. The team jettisoned Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings and will be searching for their identity, trying to fit all their new pieces together to develop something. So far it has not been great with a record of 2-8, but they are in the toughest division in the league and will hopefully improve as they develop chemistry.  Owner Herb Kohl has cited Drew as the future and has stated that the Bucks will not tank, they will be one of the teams fighting to get one of the last spots in the playoffs. As long as the front office knows that and has realistic expectations of Drew and his team he should be fine through this season. 

Mike Woodson: Mike Woodson's speculative firing has been the most discussed out of all NBA coaches. Very much like Kidd, Woodson finds himself dealing with the New York media circus but has additionally had to deal with a fan base unwilling to accept anymore loss (two titles in almost 70 years), a billionaire owner who has said he expects a championship this year with frustrations so high he can't stand to watch his own cheerleaders, the albatross that is Amar'e Stoudamire, defensive anchor Tyson Chandler's 4-6 sidelining injury leaving Andrea Bargnani as the main rim protector, Iman Shumpert (their only wing willing to play defense) being in the midst of constant trade talks, J.R. Smith's five game suspension for violating league drug policy, having to play Melo 40+ minutes a night. It's so much I have to stop myself. Besides all the on court troubles the Knicks have had finding their identity as a team their roster, which is the second highest payroll in the league, is one of the more volatile in recent memory (J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Metta World Peace, Carmelo). With so many things going wrong for the Knicks and so much of it being placed under the microscope something will have to give and Woodson seems the first choice. It might seem that the only thing buying Woodson time right now is Chandler's injury which is too bad because Woodson is a good coach, but he can only do so much before something breaks.

Scott Brooks: This is certainly the most comfortable coach on this list but I remain skeptical of all activity in Oklahoma. Since the Harden trade the Thunder have been reeling to find an answer to get them over the hump. Brooks won coach of the year in 2010 and was the western conference all-star coach in 2012, the same year he coached the Thunder to the finals. It just seems like something will have to change for Oklahoma to make it over the hump and I'm not sure they're ready to admit it's their on court personnel or lack there of.

Tyrone Corbin: Corbin was the man left standing in the Jazz organization after the Deron Williams coup that saw Jerry Sloan resign along with assistant Phil Johnson and Williams shipped off to New Jersey. Since then the team has seen limited bursts of hope with Paul Milsap, Al Jefferson (both now gone, Milsap to Atlanta and Jefferson to Charlotte) and Gordon Hayward, whose contract extension was not picked up. Corbin as head coach has never seemed secure and it would seem that this will likely be his last despite having Sloan, who he coached under for seven years, now back in the fold as an official consultant. The Jazz wallow at the bottom of the league at 1-12 and seem to be unabashedly going down with lottery balls being the only thing in sight.

Randy Wittman: Despite all the tribulations coaches in New York are facing Randy Wittman is the betting favorite for first coach to be fired this season. The Wizard's seem to be one of those teams playing for the now, looking to establish their young talent in the league. They have traded away Okafor and next years draft pick (top 12 protected) in hopes of making the playoffs this year. The Wizards front office has dealt with it's fair share of hardships over the past few years, usually by way of Gilbert Arenas, and seem to be moving in a positive direction at present. While Wittman may not be around next season, first to go seems unlikely to me.


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