For nine years we’ve been talking to former NBA head coaches, current head coaches and future head coaches about the job that just 30 people in the world occupy: How is it changing? What did you know in Season 5 that you didn’t know in Season 1? What is the job fundamentally? We’ve asked current and former players for the qualities they most value in a head coach. We’ve asked front-office executives how where their team is in its life cycle dictates the profile of the coach they pursue. We’ve asked agents which trends they’ve noticed in the hiring process.
We’ve also identified potential prospects prior to their prime candidacies — those whose scouting reports suggested they had a good chance of succeeding as a first-time head coach. Steve Kerr in 2013, Quin Snyder in 2014, Ty Lue and Kenny Atkinson in 2015, Nick Nurse and Stephen Silas in 2016, James Borrego and Taylor Jenkins in 2018.
The coaching market moves in cycles, with some years more active than others. Insiders expect precious few openings this offseason. The Celtics surprisingly became available, with Brad Stevens moving from the bench to the front office in Boston, and Portland and Terry Stotts mutually agreed to part ways.
In recent seasons, the NBA head-coaching position has expanded in scope, a trend that has accelerated with the emphasis on areas like sports science and quantitative analysis. There’s a lot to do, and not much time to do it, particularly this past season with a packed schedule.
A head coach is now Multitasker-in-Chief — an executive in his own right who must understand how to manage up, down and sideways. Peek inside the training facility of a team with multiple superstars, and you’ll likely find an exhausted head coach in his office. Step inside the owner’s suite for a losing team, and the boss might be grumbling about how the basketball genius who charmed him at dinner during the interview process is a man of only average intelligence who couldn’t lead a team out of a paper bag. And coaches say the media piece is more challenging than ever in a world where everyone in the locker room and front office is running on the narrative treadmill.
As we do every year, we spoke about the state of the profession with dozens of league insiders in the months since last year’s Finals. Several common themes about the nature of the gig emerged:
Humble confidence
There’s a natural instinct among first-time head coaches to prove that they’re up to the task. But often, the most successful head coaches resist the urge to act like they know everything. In a league that’s more collaborative than ever, it’s not only OK but advisable to listen to developmental assistants, the seventh man, the medical staff and, yes, even the data geeks. Projecting openness will not only generate goodwill and strong bonds, but you might even pick up a good idea or two.
Big money for lead assistants
With coaching, video and performance staffs massively expanding, the job is now as much managerial as tactical. Vital responsibilities traditionally kept by a head coach are now delegated to top deputies, which means those assistants themselves must be exacting and creative.
At the same time, front offices are forever looking for ways to demonstrate they’re “first-class organizations.” Accordingly, more and more teams are luring assistant coaches they perceive as difference-makers with generous contracts. Sources say associate head coaches like Jacques Vaughn in Brooklyn and Dan Craig with the LA Clippers earned seven figures this season.
Front offices want a say
For many years, there was a tacit understanding that incoming head coaches had the prerogative to populate their coaching staffs as they saw fit. Today, executives are demanding a far louder voice. Front offices want to achieve a specific kind of equilibrium and, in a few cases, trust their taste in personnel more than the coach’s.
During their search in 2019, the Lakers insisted on a staff of veteran assistants with specific recommendations. Others, like New Orleans and New York, offered strong input in the hiring process. In the case of the Clippers, Ty Lue welcomed a cooperative approach, with the front office performing much of the scouting and intel on assembling the bench.
Coach MacGyver
Connecting with Gen Z players requires some creativity beyond the traditional analog methods like face-to-face meetings, and coaches have to meet players where they are. Some teams have even developed custom apps for their players and coaches to communicate. In 2021, it’s not unusual for a head coach to conduct a quasi-film session through such an app by sending a point guard a vintage clip of Steve Nash that includes a voice-over. Whatever the high-tech method, coaches must utilize technology to their advantage for players who simply aren’t inclined to engage in a one-on-one in an office.
There are dozens of plausible candidates for NBA head-coaching vacancies, particularly as the league has broadened its consideration of more eclectic backgrounds. While longtime NBA assistants are still popular choices, front offices increasingly value head-coaching experience, be it in the G League, international leagues, national teams and, of course, a previous tenure as an NBA head coach.
Here are 10 new coaching prospects league insiders say have the backgrounds and sensibilities to succeed as a head coach in today’s NBA.
Storied NBA career
Current example: Steve Nash (Brooklyn)
Chauncey Billups, LA Clippers assistant coach
From the moment he retired in 2014, the league speculated that Billups had the personal qualities to build a distinguished career as either an NBA executive or head coach. Billups sniffed around at potential opportunities — including lead executive positions in Atlanta, Cleveland and Minnesota — while working as a studio analyst and color commentator for ESPN and the Clippers.
After interviewing last season for the Indiana job that ultimately went to Nate Bjorkgren, Billups joined Ty Lue’s staff last fall, and has thoroughly impressed colleagues with both his gravitas and his willingness to listen –– even as an NBA champion who saw it all over 17 seasons. Now that he’s accumulating coaching experience under a boss with a reputation for preparedness, Billups is regarded by insiders as one of the likeliest candidates to receive a head-coaching opportunity sooner than later.
Journeyman NBA career
Current examples: Rick Carlisle (Dallas), Monty Williams (Phoenix)
Malik Allen, Miami Heat assistant coach
One of the most sought-after assistants during this past offseason, Allen opted to remain on Erik Spoelstra’s bench, where he’s furthering his graduate education. Whether it’s putting together a scouting report or patiently counseling Heat players on how to exploit the margins of the game, Allen has assumed an enormous workload in Miami, something the organization both demands from its staff and admires specifically about Allen.
According to those he has worked with in Detroit and Miami, Allen spends a lot of time not only on the granular details of X’s & O’s, but also thinking about the more holistic needs of “the whole” — judiciously weighing the needs of every player, staffer and the organization. It’s this range of qualities that inspires those peers to believe Allen has a very promising chance to succeed in the first chair.
Willie Green, Phoenix Suns assistant coach
There’s a combination of presence and humility you’ll frequently find in former players who scrapped their way into an NBA career. They understand how to impart knowledge, but they aren’t know-it-alls. They can identify when a player needs to be confronted, but they know the frequency to best get the message across.
Green, in his fifth season as NBA assistant, receives universal praise for his comportment and character. While some assistant coaches are men in a hurry, Green is enjoying the process of learning the trade — first under Steve Kerr and now Monty Williams. In a league where buy-in from players is the most valuable currency, it’s just a matter of time before Green receives strong consideration for a head job.
The Renaissance coach
Current examples: Chris Finch (Minnesota), Quin Snyder (Utah)
Darko Rajakovic, Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach
Rajakovic started his coaching career at age 16 in his native Serbia. In the decades since, he has worked with virtually every level of player in just about every conceivable context as a topflight player development guru with superb communication skills. Dennis Schroder, Mikal Bridges, De’Anthony Melton and Desmond Bane are just a few of the players with whom Rajakovic has built sweat equity.
He’s also a savant who can scout at the highest level and thinks deeply about the game, bridging his European pedigree and prevailing trends in the NBA. Accordingly, Rajakovic has become one of the most sought-after assistants in the league, earning himself substantial raises each of the past two offseasons. For team owners and front-office executives who increasingly cite diversity of professional experiences as an asset, Rajakovic would bring plenty of them to the job.
The video room
Current examples: Erik Spoelstra (Miami), Frank Vogel (Indiana)
Dan Craig, Los Angeles Clippers associate head coach
There are several ways to create “structure” as a head coach — the idea-oriented San Antonio school differs considerably from the buttoned-up Miami school — but whatever the flavor, it must exist. Craig is an honors alum of the latter after starting as a video intern in 2003 and rising through the ranks to serve in every conceivable capacity for the Heat.
Though Craig knows everything under the hood of a team’s engine, defense is where his passion as a coach resides. He first studied it in the video room, interpreted it as scout, then crafted it as a lead assistant.
He’s now presiding over the defense with the Clippers, his first foray out of the Heat organization since he was 23 years old. Craig got a look from Chicago and Indiana for their vacancies during the offseason, and any front office looking to ratchet up its team’s defense could be well served by the leadership of a well-pedigreed grinder who will make the trains run on time.
The international ranks
Current examples: Nick Nurse (Toronto)
Will Weaver, Houston Rockets assistant coach
Smarts, communication skills and emotional aptitude are three desirable qualities in a hire, but even among the ranks of NBA head coaches, few get exceptional marks in all three. Those who know Weaver from both his several seasons as an NBA assistant, as well as his stint as head coach of the Sydney Kings in the National Basketball League of Australia, deem the 37-year-old a multitool coaching talent.
Steeped in player development and sports science, Weaver subscribes to load management and analytics — a benefit to any front office that seeks alignment from the bench in those areas. He’s an inveterate question-asker with an insatiable curiosity about basketball and the world beyond it. Both Oklahoma City and New Orleans gave Weaver a look last offseason, and now stateside as an assistant on the Houston bench, other teams will likely do the same in the coming years.
The longtime assistant
Current examples: Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee), Stephen Silas (Houston)
Fred Vinson, New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach
When an assistant coach is retained by a team over three different coaching and two managerial administrations, it suggests something about his appeal and effectiveness.
Vinson, now in his 11th season in New Orleans, has maintained the respect of the organization and established himself as one of the league’s premier shooting coaches — with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram as star pupils. With such a strength, it’s easy for an assistant coach to get pigeonholed as a specialist, but Vinson offers a far greater package. He’s a smart X’s & O’s tactician with strong command when giving presentations to the team. Above all, peers say, he’s well-organized, a mandatory quality for anyone who aspires to an NBA head-coaching job.
The college game
Current examples: Brad Stevens (Boston), Billy Donovan (Chicago)
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown men’s head basketball coach
There’s a popular notion that NBA big men don’t attract the same consideration as heady point guards (one could submit Warriors assistant Jarron Collins as Exhibit B in this hypothesis, as a bright, championship-winning assistant who has received only a smattering of interest on the market).
For years, Ewing fans have been despondent that the Hall of Famer hadn’t received ample attention as a potential NBA head coach despite putting in years as an assistant under the likes of Jeff Van Gundy, Stan Van Gundy and Steve Clifford.
Niele Ivey, Notre Dame women’s head basketball coach
In her one season under Taylor Jenkins in Memphis before taking the head-coaching position at her alma mater, Notre Dame, Ivey impressed players such as Ja Morant, as well as coaches and management, with her relentless preparation. Every skills session was planned with the utmost attention to detail, as Ivey studied each player’s tendencies, looking for areas for potential growth.
A point guard’s point guard who played five seasons in the WNBA, Ivey has the presence, confidence and positivity to make her an intriguing candidate for an NBA job, say those who’ve worked closely with her in Memphis.
The minor leagues
Current examples: Nate Bjorkgren (Indiana), Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City)
Jason March, Memphis Hustle head coach
With each passing year, more front-office executives say that head-coaching experience — whether it be in the minor leagues, the NCAA, overseas or even at Summer League — is a necessary prerequisite for obtaining one of the NBA’s 30 coveted openings. That’s one reason March returned in 2019 to Memphis, where he started as an assistant video coordinator in 2007, to coach the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate.
From the Grizzlies’ perspective, they reacquired a detail-oriented team player they can count on to put the organization’s priorities ahead of ego. For its part, the roster of prospects gets an outstanding communicator and a solid whiteboard operator who loves to come up with a new idea, share it, then implement it collaboratively.
Five previous candidates awaiting opportunity
Coaches whom we’ve identified in past installments of our list
Darvin Ham, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach
A multi-tool candidate who interviewed for both the Minnesota job, and turned down a chance to coach his alma mater, Texas Tech, Ham brings both the savvy of a tough NBA journeyman and the prowess of a top assistant on one of the league’s best-organized staffs. He could thrive with both a roster of vets, a rebuilding project or anything in between.
Johnnie Bryant, New York Knicks assistant coach
A fixture on Quin Snyder’s staff in Utah for six seasons where players flocked to him for his smarts and approach, Bryant caught the attention of Tom Thibodeau, who recruited him to New York as his associate head coach.
Will Hardy, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach
Often mentioned as a potential successor to Gregg Popovich, Hardy has spent the past decade in the coaching world’s most prestigious finishing school in San Antonio, where he started as a Spurs intern in 2010 and now sits alongside Popovich on game night.
Charles Lee, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach
Lee shined last offseason in his first foray into the interview circuit, where those on other side of the Zoom calls observed a 36-year-old coach with a rare combination of IQ and EQ. For Lee, it’s just a matter of time.
Wes Unseld Jr., Denver Nuggets assistant coach
A cerebral, meticulous coach whose profile on the Denver bench has broadened each season, Unseld finished as a strong runner-up in Chicago last offseason and will undoubtedly be on the short list of future openings.
The retreads
Front offices who want a new head coach who’s done it before have a few names to ruminate over: Once a situation some thought might get sticky, Jason Kidd’s two seasons under Frank Vogel have been a benefit to both, say those with proximity to Los Angeles, with Kidd still offering one of basketball’s preeminent brains to pick. The Nets have transformed into a superteam since Kenny Atkinson departed more than a year ago, but his years in Brooklyn building a program and a culture from the ground up are still regarded as an achievement for a first-time head coach. So long as there are offenses to be primed and superstars to be managed in the NBA, Mike D’Antoni will continue to get incoming calls. Dave Joerger already had the tactical chops to go head-to-head against any opposing bench, and a successful season under a master communicator like Doc Rivers adds another dimension to his candidacy. Finally, did you know that Mike Brown is almost three years younger than Nick Nurse? With 394 regular-season and playoff wins to his name, and a healthy tenure as the Warriors associate head coach, Brown would need no primer were he to get another shot at a head job.
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