The NBA Coaching Carousel Is Running Off-Schedule

The NBA’s coaching carousel is operating off its regular trajectory this season. 

The regular season concluded on Sunday, with Monday serving as the league’s Black Monday, where head coaches learn of their immediate termination. 

But the two biggest jobs in the NBA have already opened and it could be months before they are filled. 

Both the Grizzlies and Nuggets shockingly fired their coaches the past two weeks despite both teams being in the playoff mix. The Grizzlies play Tuesday in the play-In tournament against the Warriors with the winner getting a first-round matchup against the Rockets, while the Nuggets secured the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and will face the Clippers. 

The Nuggets fired longtime coach Michael Malone on April 8 with three regular season games left, while simultaneously deciding not to renew general manager Calvin Booth’s contract. Booth and Malone had feuded for years despite winning the 2023 NBA title together. This year’s team still has Nikola Jokic, who is going for his fourth MVP award in five years. 

The Malone news came a week after the Grizzlies fired Jenkins despite a .539 winning percentage over five seasons, which came with three playoff appearances. 

Jenkins had his own tension with general manager Zach Kleiman, who remade his coach’s staff over the summer. In July, the Grizzlies hired six new assistant coaches, while retaining just two from Jenkins’ staff the prior season. One of those hires was Tuomas Iisalo, the Grizzlies current interim coach, who was hired to revamp the team’s offense after having significant success coaching in Europe. 

With both teams primed for potentially deep playoff runs, it could be a month or more before either job is permanently filled. Both teams will be led by interim coaches in the playoffs, and both interim coaches—David Adelman in Denver and Iiasalo in Memphis—are expected to be serious candidates for the full-time roles.

The Kings fired coach Mike Brown in December and interim coach Doug Christie has guided the team into the Play-In Tournament, where they will face the injury-plagued Mavericks with the winner facing the loser of Grizzlies–Warriors. 

The lone coaching news of the weekend was that the Trail Blazers extended coach Chauncey Billups’s contract after the former NBA champion improved the team by 14 wins from a year ago. Billups was in the final guaranteed year of his contract.  

“I’m just so happy, with what we’ve done and where I think we can go,” Billups said. “So much promise here. I’m pumped about it.”

There were two firings Monday, and neither was a surprise. The Suns fired coach Mike Budenholzer after a disastrous lone season in Phoenix, as the team went 36–46 despite carrying the largest payroll in NBA history. Budenholzer was asked on Thursday about his future after the Suns’ were eliminated and said he had no update.

“It’s raw,” Budenholzer said. “We just lost. It’s been a tough season. There’s been no conversations.” Mat Ishbia is now seeking his third coach after buying the team in early 2023 for $4 billion. 

And the Pelicans fired head of basketball operations David Griffin on Monday morning. Head coach Willie Green’s fate is yet to be determined, according to ESPN.

Green went 21–61, which was the second worst record in Pelicans’ history, but was ravaged by injuries to stars such as Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy among others. Green was asked about his status after the team’s loss to the Thunder in the regular season finale and had no news on his fate. 

“I haven’t had any discussions, any talks yet,” Green said. “I didn’t do great. I have to take full ownership of where we are as a team. We failed. I failed.” 

This story was updated with the firings of David Griffin and Mike Budenholzer.