NBA Head Coaching Hot Seats to Keep An Eye On
Following Steve Nash's departure from the Brooklyn Nets just seven games into the season, there's been no other movement on the sidelines from NBA teams.
This doesn't mean some seats aren't beginning to heat up, though.
Whether those seats belong to coaches from teams that have woefully underperformed this season or ones from rebuilding squads that simply haven't shown enough growth, job security can be tough to come by in the NBA.
The following five coaches should be feeling the most pressure as we finish out the rest of the 2022-23 regular season, and they may need a strong final 30 games to keep their jobs for next year.
Honorable Mentions: Steve Clifford, Charlotte Hornets; Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Nate McMillan, Atlanta Hawks
1 of 5
Current Record/Standing: 26-26, 8th in the East
Overall Record with Hawks: 96-76 since 2020-21
After winning 43 games last season and then adding All-Star guard Dejounte Murray via trade, the Hawks were supposed to be a lock to make the East playoffs this season.
Instead, McMillan's squad finds itself below last year's pace, playing .500 basketball into February.
An offense that ranked second (115.4 rating) without Murray last season has now fallen to 14th (113.5 rating), while Atlanta's defense continues to fall in the bottom third of the league.
There was a report that McMillan was actually considering the possibility of resigning during the season, with the Athletic's Shams Charania writing:
"McMillan's job status came into question across the NBA after his exchange with Hawks All-NBA star Trae Young at a gameday shootaround. His job status has been considered safe, and the Hawks have wanted to finish out the season with McMillan on the sideline, sources said. But McMillan, 58, appears to be near the end of his tenure with the Hawks after the season—unless there's a resignation before then."
McMillan has since denied the report, although he stated that he would consider retirement after the season concludes. McMillan's projected confidence in his current job hasn't led to a spark in the team, however, as the Hawks remain in the East play-in tournament despite possessing a talent-rich roster led by Young, Murray, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins, Clint Capela and others.
If Atlanta misses the playoffs or is bounced in the first round again, the Hawks may want to find a new coach—one that can keep Young happy.
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls
2 of 5
Current Record/Standing: 23-27, 11th in the East
Overall Record with Bulls: 100-104 since 2020-21
This time last season, the Bulls were flirting with the No. 1 seed in the East. Now, though, Chicago finds itself in danger of missing the play-in tournament.
Donovan isn't completely to blame for the Bulls' step back, but someone may have to take the fall for such a disappointing season, especially if Chicago misses the playoffs altogether.
Not having starting point guard Lonzo Ball because of knee surgeries has stalled an offense that ranks just 22nd overall and is tied for 28th in three-pointers made (10.7 per game). Still, with players like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vučević and a collection of starting-caliber guards, this scoring attack should be better.
There's been little consistency from the Bulls this season, too, as Chicago has yet to win more than three games in a row all year.
The relationship between Donovan and LaVine is also worth keeping an eye on.
As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "According to a source, the LaVine-Billy Donovan relationship is still viable, but it remains somewhat strained in the wake of the late-game benching Nov. 21 in which Donovan chose to ride out the last minutes against the Magic with LaVine out of the game."
If Chicago were to eventually choose between the two, it's highly unlikely it would elect to keep Donovan over their star player. While Donovan's contract was extended before the 2022-23 season, the organization made an even bigger investment in LaVine, with $215.2 million owed to him over the next five years.
There's also a (slim) chance that Chicago pivots to a rebuild/reset before the deadline, which could lead to a mutual split between the Bulls and Donovan.
Dwane Casey, Detroit Pistons
3 of 5
Current Record/Standing: 13-39, 15th in East
Overall Record with Pistons: 117-237 since 2018-19
Casey has captained a wide variety of Pistons teams in his five seasons, from coaching a playoff team in 2019 with Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson to now overseeing a rebuild that's in its third year.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a great deal of progress shown from these Pistons, who have a worse win percentage now (25.0 percent) than they did each of the past two seasons (27.8 percent in 2020-21, 28.0 percent in 2021-22).
While trading Jerami Grant in the offseason and losing Cade Cunningham to shin surgery after just 12 games has derailed a lot of progress, the front office did give Casey some veteran help with Bojan Bogdanović, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel while adding lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren to the mix.
What's perhaps most worrisome is the lack of jump in Year 3 by players like Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, who looked terrific as rookies in 2020-21. Even Killian Hayes, the No. 7 overall selection in 2020, is now just starting to look like an NBA-caliber player.
It may not be fair to completely judge Casey's performance given Cunningham's injury, but these Pistons were still supposed to move up from their 14th-place finish a year ago, not go backward.
At age 65, will Casey even want to go through another rebuilding season next year, and will the Pistons give him the chance?
A mutual split may be best for all involved, with Detroit eyeing a younger coach who excels in player development and Casey exploring jobs with rosters ready to win.
Stephen Silas, Houston Rockets
4 of 5
Current Record/Standing: 13-38, 15th in West
Overall Record with Rockets: 50-155 since 2020-21
One has to feel for Silas, who spent decades waiting to get his first lead gig only to have to endure the James Harden saga before now coaching the second-youngest roster in the NBA.
While there's a lot of budding talent, not having a true point guard on the roster combined with adding four rookies to the mix has ultimately led to Houston's NBA-worst 13-38 record and 30th-ranked offense (109.0 rating).
No one expected the Rockets to compete for a playoff spot, but overall growth has been limited as well.
"There's no improvement," veteran guard Eric Gordon said at the end of December, via Jackson Gatlin of Locked on Rockets.
This seems to be the case, as Houston began the year 9-18 and has since lost 20 of 23 games.
When discussing Silas' performance this season, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes:
"Watching them play, it looks like nobody is on the same page and there's real confusion on the floor. Players look devoid of confidence at times. There's no real order of operations; figuring out the flow of offense is essentially a crapshoot. They're dead last in turnovers. Teams don't respect them defensively. More than one opposing player has referenced the Rockets as a 'get-right' game."
With just 50 total wins since he took the job three years ago, Silas' group likely needs to start showing some real improvement before the season is over for him to keep his job.
Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors
5 of 5
Current Record/Standing: 23-30, 12th in East
Overall Record with Raptors: 209-152 since 2018-19
The only coach on this list to have won a championship, could Nurse's time with the Raptors really be coming to an end?
Toronto is arguably the most disappointing team in the NBA this season, sitting six games below .500 and needing to leapfrog the Indiana Pacers to break into the East play-in tournament.
Injuries have played their part, especially in the first few weeks of the season, but this is still a wildly underperforming group that returned much of the same roster that finished 48-34 a season ago.
Nurse still plays his starters way too much, as Pascal Siakam (first in the NBA in minutes per game), Fred VanVleet (fourth), O.G. Anunoby (16th) and Scottie Barnes (29th) are all logging 34.8 or more minutes a night. There's been a great deal of experimenting with the fifth starter as well, be it Gary Trent Jr. or trying to go big with an additional center next to Siakam.
As The Athletic's Shams Charania writes, "there's been frustration throughout the roster and staff with the team's play at points of this season, and that has been directed toward Nurse at times too, according to sources."
Charania notes that Nurse will also be headed into the final year of his contract next season.
This is a group that desperately needs a trade, as a team with this much size and length should not rank 18th defensively, nor should Toronto find itself 28th in true shooting percentage (55.5 percent).
A trade or two could help save Nurse's job, as finding better fitting pieces around Barnes and Siakam could help spark a second-half run up the standings.
Nurse is a good coach, but someone may have to take the fall for this ugly season in the end.
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