If the success of Boston's Ime Udoka and New Orleans' Willie Green has taught NBA ownership anything, it's that they should hire the old, in with the new. The two rising coaching stars stepped into chaotic messes, with Udoka trying to bring together a team that was fractured under Brad Stevens. At the same time, Green was in charge of a team that had their star player, Zion Williamson, out for many reasons.
Both made cases for the award. They made a case for a reformation that should have happened decades ago. NBA franchises need to stop hiring the same failed veteran coaches to lead their teams and instead trust former players who have paid their dues as assistant coaches.
This could be taken a step forward by balancing out the racial discrepancy. This has been going on for a long time. Steve Nash was given the Brooklyn Nets head coaching gig with no coaching experience on his resume to lead a disorganized Nets team to a first-round sweep. James Harden was given one of the worst coaching debuts in recent memory as a first-time coach, after being handed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Nash.
Every time a coach of a playoff team is outed in underachieving fashion, a coach with outdated methods like Stan Van Gundy and Mike D'Antoni are constantly floated around. Is it better to elevate the more-than-likely Black lead assistant?
Last year when the Atlanta Hawks fired Lloyd Pierce, and then gave the reins to Nathan McMillian, who took the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, and last year when Doc Rivers was replaced with Ty Lue with the Clippers, and then took them to the Western Conference Finals. The two examples of Black assistants taking their teams to further heights were not the only examples. The NBA should have more of that kind of trust. In the last two decades, when a Black head coach is dismissed, he is almost always replaced with a white counterpart. Think of the players who have played in Dallas, Memphis, Boston, Golden State, and Toronto.
The Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz have not had a Black head coach in the last 20 years.
Other coaching success stories this season include Cleveland's J. B. Bickerstaff, Dallas's Jason Kidd, Minnesota's Chris Finch, and Memphis' Taylor Jenkins.
Efforts have been made to correct the injustice. Seven of the eight head coaching vacancies were filled by black candidates. Fourteen of the 30 coaching jobs are filled by Black professionals at the end of the season. The last time the NBA had so many black head coaches was in the 2012-13 season. Black coaches led half of the teams that made the playoffs.
It is not just about giving Black coaches handouts. Willie Green and Ime Udoka are two of the best assistants this season, Green with the Suns and Udoka with the Spurs. Two men are examples of prodigies who came from legacy coaching trees.
The coaching problem goes beyond race. Black coaches are some of the worst. In every stop he has been given, Doc Rivers has failed. He has never pulled the potential out of his teams since taking over the Boston Celtics in 2004. He won an NBA championship with Kevin, Paul, and Ray Allen in 2007, so he is still able to coach some of the best teams in the NBA. It's like D Antoni, who has never left the NBA coaching rumor mill because of his success almost 20 years ago with the Phoenix Suns, only to tank with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. The Charlotte Hornets are looking for a new head coach.
The Sacramento Kings chose between Mike Brown and Mark Jackson, two of the worst coaches in recent memory. Steve Kerr was out due to health and safety protocols and Brown has been sitting in for him with the Warriors. It was a wonder that Sacramento didn't withdraw its offer after Golden State lost by 39 in Game 5. Did no one in the Kings front office remember his last two stops?
Jackson stained his coaching legacy as a motivator who built up the early stages of the Warriors with a history of shenanigans with the team's front office. Jackson was blackballed from the NBA for these antics as much as he was for his offensive schemes as the Warriors coach.
The message here is to stop recycling tired and trite head coaches who have failed and given opportunities to young, bright assistants and former players who have put in the sweat equity. Trying to reach young players has never been more important. Last year's Coach of the Year, Tom Thibodeau, has burned out his team's potential as his screaming and arrogant roster management has worn out its welcome in NYC. Luka Don and the rest of the Mavs have unlocked another level because of the coaching flexibility and experience of Kidd at point guard. Rick Carlisle's old-school approach hit a wall last season despite his brilliance.
Van Gundy burned out within a year in New Orleans because of the generational gap. Today's players want a level of relatability that is different from older generations. Those who played in the late 90s and early 2000s are poised to be the next wave of brilliant NBA minds. Chauncey Billups is in Portland. The guys played in the last decade and were part of the transition to the current space and pace era. They are aware of the emphasis on positionless basketball and guard-centered offenses.
With openings in Charlotte and Los Angeles, and possibly Philadelphia and Utah as well, NBA front offices need to look around the NBA to see the success of young coaches with small market teams. As the on-court product changes, so does the sideline. By investing in the experience of former players who have learned from the best minds in the league, executives can tackle both the age and race discrepancies at once.
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