Rarely are there so many interesting head coaching spots to be filled as there are right now in the National Basketball Association. In most cases, vacant positions appear from unsuccessful teams in the midst of a rebuild, or those perennially out of contention.
Think of Dwane Casey, who guided the Toronto Raptors to six consecutive playoff runs only to be fired after a Coach of the Year campaign, having to settle for a taking over the Detroit Pistons – a team hopelessly tied to mediocrity for the foreseeable future thanks to the horrible contracts in their books.
But this year is different. With the star-filled Philadelphia 76ers, James Harden’s Houston Rockets, and the up and coming New Orleans Pelicans looking to fill vacancies (and not forgetting the Thunder, the Pacers or the Bulls either), many veteran coaches and their agents are looking forward to an exciting offseason.
Unsurprisingly, champion coach Tyronn Lue (who worked as an assistant for the LA Clippers this season) is favored by the bookmakers for all of the most wanted vacancies.
Here’s our look at the open NBA head coaching positions and the odds for the likeliest candidates to fill them.
The Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers endured a disappointing campaign that saw the team getting swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs. Ben Simmons’ injury was a big factor to the playoff fiasco, but Philly had difficulties in finding their rhythm all season long. Brett Brown paid the price and got fired as head coach, having held the position since 2013.
Philadelphia has two superstars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but questions about their match for co-existing in the same team haven’t been answered. Furthermore, Philly’s books are about as stacked as they get in terms of player contracts, and the team is in dire need of shooters. Letting Jimmy Butler go during the offseason and giving Tobias Harris a $180 million 5-year deal seem like questionable moves in hindsight.
Even though there are challenges ahead, the 76ers head coaching job is extremely attractive. A team with genuine superstars that has the potential to seriously contend is something every coach would wish to have.
Coach | Odds |
Tyronn Lue | +200 |
Ime Udoka | +300 |
Mike D’Antoni | +400 |
Billy Donovan | +500 |
Jason Kidd | +600 |
Kenny Atkinson | +1000 |
Sam Cassell | +1200 |
Mark Jackson | +1400 |
Jeff Van Gundy | +1600 |
John Lucas | +1600 |
Stan Van Gundy | +1600 |
Adrian Griffin | +1800 |
Wes Unseld Jr. | +1800 |
Darvin Ham | +2000 |
Becky Hammon | +2500 |
The New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans hit it big in last year’s draft lottery and secured the services of Zion Williamson – one of the most exciting new talents to enter the league in recent years. The team’s future wasn’t looking very bright before the lottery, with Anthony Davis’ public trade request saga looming over the franchise.
In the end, New Orleans were able to trade AD for a flurry of young talent and draft picks from the Lakers – including Brandon Ingram, who had a breakout campaign that led to his first All-Star appearance.
With plenty of young talent to and roster flexibility to work with, the New Orleans job will be a coveted one. Here are the top candidates:
Coach | Odds |
Tyronn Lue | +300 |
Mike D’Antoni | +400 |
Ime Udoka | +500 |
Kenny Atkinson | +500 |
Mark Jackson | +500 |
Jason Kidd | +600 |
Nate McMillan | +600 |
Adrian Griffin | +700 |
Darvin Ham | +1000 |
Wes Unseld Jr. | +1000 |
Jeff Van Gundy | +1400 |
The Houston Rockets
The strained relationship between head coach Mike D’Antoni and Houston’s front office led to his contract not being renewed, and recent reports suggest that it was D’Antoni who was not happy with the terms or the idea of signing for more years with the Rockets.
Indeed, the Houston Chronicle recently reported that re-signing D’Antoni was a top priority for GM Daryl Morey, but the coach was not interested. Morey’s position has reportedly been under threat as well after the pre-season Hong Kong controversy and the team’s failure to contend for the NBA title strained the relationship between the GM and owner Tilman Fertitta.
But Fertitta recently told CNBC that Morey’s job is safe, so the renowned GM is now looking for a new head coach for his team. With a cutting-edge approach to basketball and James Harden leading the lineup, there should be plenty of interested candidates. Here’s who the bookmakers favor:
Coach | Odds |
Tyronn Lue | +300 |
Sam Cassell | +400 |
Jeff Van Gundy | +500 |
Nate McMillan | +500 |
Stan Van Gundy | +500 |
Brett Brown | +600 |
Kenny Atkinson | +800 |
Jason Kidd | +900 |
Chauncey Billups | +1000 |
Ime Udoka | +1200 |
Billy Donovan | +1400 |
Wes Unseld Jr. | +1600 |
Becky Hammon | +1800 |
Darvin Ham | +2000 |
The rest of the pack
Chauncey Billups is the favorite for the Indiana Pacers job at +250, while bookmakers have Adrian Griffin as the top candidate to take over the Oklahoma City Thunder (+300), and Billy Donovan to coach the Chicago Bulls next season (also +300).
How about this market as an investment, then? Consider this:
The Brooklyn Nets job was arguably the most exciting opening this year, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving coming back from injuries for the 2021 season, which alone automatically makes them contenders.
Tyronn Lue was listed as the favorite for that spot as well at +125, but the Nets ended up hiring two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, who has no previous head coaching experience and was not even listed by bookmakers.
It’s needless to say then that these types of futures opportunities can be very unpredictable.
On the other hand, if you think that Ty Lue will most likely take over one of the top three teams in search for a head coach, you could build a winning trade package (albeit with a small margin) by investing in all three with the odds above.
We’ll let you decide if that’s worth your time.
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The ScoreMetrics Lab is the engine that runs the Sports Trading System operation, consisting of a team of researchers and writers who are constantly testing and retesting algorithms. They work hand in hand with our Head Trader and Creator of ScoreMetrics, John Todora to help find new breakthroughs and develop new systems.
