Luke Walton, Tom Thibodeau Top Betting Odds for 1st NBA Coach to Be Fired

The 2018-19 NBA regular season is a week old, and the oddsmakers are already handicapping the field for one of the most intriguing storylines of every season.

Which head coach will be the first to go?

According to OddsShark, the Los Angeles Lakers' Luke Walton (+175, bet $100 to win $175) and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Tom Thibodeau (+200) are the leading candidates this campaign:

Walton led the Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 start in 2015-16 as interim head coach in place of Steve Kerr. The following season, he took over a 17-win Lakers squad that was looking to acquire and develop young talent.

Los Angeles has improved under Walton with each passing campaign with the additions of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, among others. The Lakers won 26 games in Walton's first season and made the jump to 35 in 2017-18. But expectations skyrocketed the moment four-time NBA MVP LeBron James signed with the Purple and Gold this summer.

Los Angeles has gotten off to a 0-3 start while dropping close games to the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. As a result, the 38-year-old coach is facing increased pressure to get his team to play winning basketball.

Meanwhile, Thibodeau's Timberwolves have started the season 2-2—but they have no shortage of turmoil within the organization. Jimmy Butler had a trade request go public a week before training camp, and then a heated practice made headlines. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the four-time All-Star told general manager Scott Layden: "You f--king need me, Scott. You can't win without me."

Minnesota has yet to trade Butler, which, according to Wojnarowski, could be in part because Thibodeau has no shown no interest in dealing the shooting guard, whom he drafted and coached while with the Chicago Bulls.

Just last year, Thibodeau helped the Timberwolves snap a 13-season playoff drought.

An interesting name on the list is Tyronn Lue (+1200). This marks the first time in his three-plus years as the Cleveland Cavaliers' head coach that he does not have James on the roster and, with it, championship-or-bust expectations.

Winning cures most things in sports, but as ex-Cavs coach David Blatt found out a few years ago, not even that can save some coaches.