On Tuesday September 22nd it was announced that the Chicago Bulls hired former Oklahoma City Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan to the same position. This was a great hire to me he is good with working with young players. The Bulls have a young core centered around shooting guard Zach Lavine and young big man duo of Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. The Bulls have a lot of young talent that if they can stay healthy, they can challenge for the 8th or 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. With the Bulls coaching vacancy being filled let’s look at the top 3 coaching openings. The top 3 coaching openings to me are the Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Philadelphia 76ers.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets is the best opening due to fact they have a dynamic duo in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The team can be a top 5 team in the NBA and are in Win now mode. James Harden is a top 5 player in the league. They need to rethink their blind commitment to small ball. When you are in the playoffs and the game slow downs and you are not hitting your 3’s you have to be able to get extra possessions through offensive rebounds. Also stop just shooting 3’s work in a midrange game because you become one dimensional. When the game plan is not working you must be able to pivot otherwise you will fall short of expectations and their aspirations. When you have 2 former MVPS on the same team everyone will be eager to coach the team they just need to retool by adding some rebounders that are taller than 6’8 and you have a shot at the championship.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans have a great job opening they have a rising star in All Star Brandon Ingram, to go along with their great young core featuring #1 overall pick Zion Williamson. They have an identity in how they want to play which is run up and down the floor. You just need to get a coach who will emphasize a little bit of defense and they will be an exciting team to watch. Next year they likely won’t make the playoffs but 2022 watch out they will be coming and ready to take the league by storm. Zion looks like a promising young star must stay healthy and when he is healthy Pelicans need to let him play don’t coddle him because he can be a detriment to his development as a player.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have the third best job opening in the NBA. The 76ers have two great players in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid but they cannot play together. Simmons shows a reluctance to shoot anything outside of the paint. This causes an issue and clogs the inside and makes the 76ers easy to defend in a half court set. In addition, both Simmons and Embiid having frequent injury histories, you also have Horford signed to a 3-year contract that would be hard to move and get the shooters you need to truly compete for championship. Talent wins in the NBA so the 76ers will be an attractive job and coaches will think they can make Simmons and Embiid work. They need a coach who will hold the duo accountable and sky is the limit for the 76ers.
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