Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins were fired in the last two weeks — who else could join them?
The NBA has been on quite a run of unexpected news. There was the still-incomprehensible Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis trade in February, and the last few weeks have seen some stunning coach firings. It’s not exactly who was fired, but the timing of it. The Denver Nuggets announced Tuesday afternoon that they were firing head coach Michael Malone, with just a week before the postseason as the Nuggets jockey for playoff positioning.
They could finish as high as the third seed in the West, and as low as the eighth, certainly not the typical position a team is in before deciding to part ways with their coach . Had the Nuggets lost in the first round of the postseason, or even the second, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see Malone shown the door, but with three games left in the regular season is mind-boggling.
The same goes for Taylor Jenkins, who was similarly relieved of his duties with the Memphis Grizzlies at the end of March, despite his team sitting fifth in the West as the time. Both of these surprising dismissals is showing that one wrong step and any coach can be on the chopping block.
After Jenkins and Malone were fired, it’s clear that seats in the NBA could be hotter than we originally anticipated. With that in mind, it’s a great time to survey the land and assess which coaches could be next.
This one is the least surprising of the bunch, and if Budenholzer is fired it would be the Suns’ third coach firing in three seasons. Phoenix has been perhaps the biggest disappointment this season given the fact the team has a roster featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. This isn’t a year in which injuries have played a significant factor as Booker and Durant have played in 60+ games, and Beal’s been featured in 50 games. Instead, it’s just simply been that the Suns haven’t managed to figure things out enough to harness the amount of talent on this roster. That’s in part due to the — still — top-heavy roster which plagued Frank Vogel last season.
As a result, the Suns have mustered up a 35-43 record, and are on the verge of missing the postseason entirely. And while Budenholzer did try to employ an offense that featured more 3s, it didn’t amount to much success. The offense actually hasn’t been the issue, as the Suns rank 10th on that end of the floor, they quite literally can’t guard anyone. They rank 27th on defense, and allow the fourth-highest 3-point percentage in the league.
At this point it just feels like the Suns are waiting out the end of the regular season to hand Bud his papers, putting a cap on yet another wildly disappointing season. And that’s probably not even the biggest decision Phoenix will have to make this summer, as Durant trade rumors continue to circle.
The Bucks fired Budenholzer following the 2022-23 season, just two years removed from winning a championship in Milwaukee. They replaced him with Adrian Griffin, who was then fired 44 games into his first season and was replaced by Doc Rivers in a stunning, strange move. Under Rivers, the Bucks have gone 61-53, and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs a year ago, though that was mainly due to Giannis Antetokounmpo missing all of the first-round series against Indiana.
However, with a largely healthy roster this season, Milwaukee has regressed offensively from a year ago. The Bucks have fallen from a top-six offense to 13th, and though the defense has dramatically improved, the Bucks are really only finding success against losing teams. Milwaukee is 11-20 against teams with winning records, suggesting that they’re going to have a difficult time when the postseason rolls around.
If Griffin was given a short leash on his tenure, you have to think Milwaukee’s front office will seriously consider a coaching change this summer, unless the Bucks make a deep postseason run. The primary goal is to maximize Antetokounmpo’s prime, and wasting it on a coach that probably isn’t best suited to lead this team could put Giannis’ future in Milwaukee in jeopardy.
I can already hear Knicks fans up in arms about Thibodeau’s inclusion on this list. But if Jenkins’ and Malone’s firings taught us anything, it’s that no one is safe. At the helm, Thibodeau has returned the Knicks to relevance backed by a finally competent front office that has gone out a built a roster worthy of contention for years to come. The Knicks have won at least 50 games for the second straight season, which if the first back-to-back 50-win season since 1995. The Knicks are also comfortably in the third spot in the East, securing a top-three seed for the second straight year. By all accounts, the Knicks have been a great success this season, and under Thibodeau for the last two years. But it hasn’t been without its bumps and bruises, literally. If there’s one thing we know about Thibodeau-led teams, it’s that he’s going to run his guys into the ground.
That has its pros and cons, and this season we’re seeing the negative impact of that. Three Knicks players rank in the top 10 of minutes played, with Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart ranking second and third, respectively. Bridges has spoken publicly about having discussions with Thibodeau about playing the starters fewer minutes, saying “sometimes it’s not fun on the body.” The meeting was “productive,” but that doesn’t mean Thibs is going to completely change his philosophy. We saw last season how shorthanded the Knicks became due to injuries in the playoffs, and when you don’t trust your bench enough to give them consistent minutes, it’s going to be far more difficult for them to step up in moments when you need them most.
But beyond that, in each of the last two seasons the Knicks have fallen short in the second round of the playoffs. If that happens for a third time — which it very well could — then the front office could consider a coaching change, especially with who may be available on the market this summer. The Knicks have been good, but there is clearly a separation between them and the Cavaliers and Celtics, who occupy the top two spots in the East. Perhaps a coaching change could close that gap next season and get this incredibly talented roster over the hump.
This may be somewhat unfair, given during Nurse’s two years in charge of the Sixers Joel Embiid has played a total of 58 games. But you’re dealing with accelerated timelines when you’re trying to maximize the talent on your teams. This season more than ever has shown us that the patience of ownership and front office leadership are running incredibly thin, so even if injuries can be seen as the prime reason or excuse for lack of success, it doesn’t matter. Embiid isn’t getting any younger, and will be 31 next season. Paul George will be 35. If the Sixers feel like Nurse isn’t the guy, then a move could be made.
The Sixers could point to the fact that even without Embiid, when George was healthy, they struggled mightily to string wins together. Nurse has only been in Philly for two seasons, but the front office might decide it’s worth bringing in a new voice next season.
For a while, Green was given some grace due to countless injuries on the roster, primarily to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. There isn’t much you can do with a depleted roster. The same is true of this season, where the Pelicans have dealt with countless season-ending injuries to Herbert Jones, Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy III. Ingram was traded at the deadline, and Williamson has only played in 30 games. By all accounts, it’s been another lost season in New Orleans, and this summer will be a pivotal one as they try to figure out the direction of this team.
Perhaps Williamson goes on the trade block, or maybe changes are made in the front office. But usually the easiest move teams tend to lean on is replacing the head coach. So while Green hasn’t necessarily done anything wrong to warrant a dismissal, he also hasn’t done enough to secure his future with the team.
