The NBA’s fourth head coaching job opened last month when the after the first year of a five-year contract. Before that, the 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 has since on coach Tuomas Iisalo.) The became the first franchise to fire its coach this season when the Kings amid a losing streak in late December.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have named Mitch Johnson their new head coach, with Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich transitioning to a full-time role as .
Will more jobs open over the next several weeks? Last season, seven teams changed coaches, including three — the 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:
2024-25 record: 36-46 (No. 11 in West)
Previous coach:
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 and 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 , , and , plus a couple of rookie finds in and 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.
Take a look at the key numbers to know after Mike Budenholzer was fired following one season with the Suns.
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.
— Tim Bontemps
2024-25 record: 50-32 (No. 4 in West)
Previous coach: Michael Malone (fired April 8; 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. might lose out to for , but he’s nearly universally seen as the best player on the planet. 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. is a versatile defender who fits perfectly next to Jokic at both ends, and 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 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.
Ramona Shelburne reacts to the Nuggets firing head coach Michael Malone right before the playoffs.
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 got the job:
After serving as the interim coach since Michael Malone was let go last month, David Adelman, son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, was . The 44-year-old Adelman was Malone’s assistant for eight seasons and led the Nuggets to a Game 7 against the top-seeded in the postseason. He will be part of Kroenke’s vision of capitalizing on the prime years of superstar .
— Bontemps
2024-25 record: 34-48 (No. 13 in West)
New coach:
Previous coach: Gregg Popovich (transitioning to full-time role as president of basketball operations)
Lead executive: RC Buford (promoted to CEO in 2019)
Positives: Thrilling young core, loads of assets
San Antonio is the definition of a stable and supportive organization with a history of strong ownership. The Spurs have drafted the Rookie of the Year in back-to-back years with potential superstar and guard . They have two lottery picks in this year’s draft, both theirs and the , combined giving them about a 30% chance of getting a top-four pick. They own all their future draft picks, both first and second round, going forward and beyond this year have two additional first-rounders, nine additional second rounders, and first-round pick swaps with the Hawks in 2027, the Mavericks or Wolves in 2030 and the Celtics in 2021. The Spurs also traded for a franchise point guard, , who is in position to sign a long-term contract extension later this year.
Stephen A. Smith details why he is happy that Gregg Popovich will still be in basketball as team president for the Spurs.
Negatives: Market size, ownership spending power, big shoes
Though San Antonio is a growing city, it still is one of the league’s smaller markets and has various effects on acquiring players, though the Spurs’ organization enjoys an excellent reputation. The ownership has paid just $5 million in luxury tax in the past 13 years and with big contracts coming for Fox and Wembanyama plus the new challenges that come with high payrolls, spending is something to monitor. That said, since the Spurs were last contenders they have taken on new deep-pocketed partners, including billionaire computer magnate Michael Dell and investment firm Sixth Street. There is also the challenge of coming behind Popovich, someone who won five championships and established a massive legacy over the previous 29 years.
Who got the job:
Johnson, who was named acting coach after Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, now takes over head coaching duties on a permanent basis. Popovich had leaned on Johnson over the past several years, giving him increasing responsibility both in terms of preparation and in-game. Johnson has developed a strong relationship with Wembanyama already as well. Johnson led San Antonio to a 31-45 record in Popovich’s absence.
— Brian Windhorst
2024-25 record: 48-34 (No. 8 in West)
New coach: Tuomas Iisalo ()
Previous coach: Taylor Jenkins (fired March 28; Iisalo took 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 , Cleveland Cavaliers, and .
With , and ., 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.
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 a series of off-court issues with Morant over the years. The team had mitigated Morant’s absence thanks to its other two stars, Jackson and Bane, its impressive depth and, until he was fired, Jenkins’ work on the sidelines.
Who got the job: Tuomas Iisalo
The expectation around the league was that Iisalo would get a long look for the job after the franchise moved on from Jenkins in late March. The Grizzlies brought him from Europe last offseason and put him on Jenkins’ staff, and he showed enough through the team’s final stretch of games and run to the first round. Iisalo is now the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history.
— Bontemps
2024-25 record: 40-42 (No. 9 in West)
New coach: Doug Christie
Previous coach: Mike Brown (fired in December; assistant Doug Christie takes over on interim basis)
Lead executive: GM Scott Perry (hired on April 17 after Monte McNair parted ways with the team)
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 , , , and 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.
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.
, who parted ways with the Kings following their elimination in the play-in tournament. The team had also seen the departure of assistant general manager Wes Wilcox, who took the GM job for the Utah Utes earlier this month. Another drawback is the club’s unwillingness to pay into the luxury tax, something owner Vivek Ranadive has avoided.
Who got the job: to become the franchise’s next coach, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday. Christie has long-standing ties to the organization, going back to being a starter on those iconic teams of the early 2000s under Adelman, and he had done a solid job the past few months since taking over for Brown. Sacramento went 27-24 this season under Christie, ranking ninth in offensive efficiency during that span and going 13-10 in clutch-time games compared to 6-13 earlier in the campaign under Brown, according to ESPN Research.
— Bontemps
