The Best NBA Jobs Available for 2015
/Now that the Bulls have predictably fired Tom Thibodeau, the NBA’s coaching carousel is going to spin a lot faster. Oklahoma City already filled its vacancy, while Denver and Orlando have to decide whether or not to remove interim tags from their respective coaches.
The Thunder job — with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka — is arguably the best of the bunch, at least for 2015-16. And if I’m a coach I certainly roll the dice and see if Durant and Westbrook sign for the long-term. But just because that one is off the market doesn’t mean there aren’t other strong ones. Here is how I see it:
No. 5 — Denver
The Nuggets are not a good job right now, but they’ve managed their cap situation to the point where they’d have a lot of room in 2016. As far as this summer goes, baring a trade or Jameer Nelson opting out of his $2.85 million option for next season, the Nuggets are projected to have about $6 million in cap space — with $24 million committed to Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari. Ouch!
(Note: Projections put the 2015-16 salary cap at about $67 million)
The good news is the Nuggets have the No. 7 overall pick and a core that’s good enough to sniff the playoffs if it were in the East. Too bad Denver plays in the Western Conference so it doesn’t have to worry about being in no mans land for long.
I expect another lottery pick and a lot of cap space for 2016, so the future could be bright. As far as next year goes, it’s going to be a long one.
No. 4 — Orlando
The only reason this job is better than Denver is because Orlando plays in the Eastern Conference and could get a really strong player with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 Draft. The Magic also has about $31 million in cap space for 2015 free agency, so they could make a move for a player to improve now, or they could tank again for another top pick and go all in for 2016.
That might be unwise with all 30 teams projected to get about $20 million extra space with the cap projected to hit $89 million in 2016 and $108 million in 2017. Plus any free agent signed this year would be at a bargain deal with the maximum salaries projected to skyrocket as the cap does. A top rookie plus a top free agent combined with a core including Victor Oladipo could easily make a run in the East.
Long term? It depends on whether or not they wind up overpaying for a mid-tier free agent.
No. 3 — Chicago
The immediate future for Chicago is more of the same with a payroll of about $64 million going into the summer of 2015, which is only about $3 million under the projected cap. Unless the Bulls make a dramatic trade, they’re going to roll out the same squad as the 2014-15 season, which is a middling team that can’t get past LeBron James.
After next year, though, things get interesting.
The Bulls — even with $21.3 million committed to Derrick Rose in 2016-17 and soon to be as much as $15 million to Jimmy Butler — only have $64.6 million in committed money and could fall down to $59.6 million if Chicago doesn’t pick up team options on Doug McDermott and Tony Snell. That, combined with the aforementioned cap boom, gives the Bulls about $25 to $30 million in cap space with Rose’s $21.3 million an expiring contract.
(Side note: Yes, I know it’s cold to look at Rose as an expiring. But if he has another setback next year, wouldn’t you flip him for a rebuilding team’s superstar? I’m not saying it would happen, but it’s certainly a possibility.)
I’ll be interested to see the Bulls in the hands of a more offensive-minded coach, but at the same time would that completely eradicate all of Thibodeau’s influence on defense? Chicago is certainly one of the more intriguing teams for the next two seasons, and one that certainly has the assets to make a big shake up trade if it wants to. Quite frankly, it needs to.
No. 2 — New Orleans
Anthony Davis will be the best player in the NBA within three years. And unfortunately for the Pelicans he will be a free agent for the summer of 2016, which means he’s going to get a juiced up max when the cap skyrockets that year.
The good news is most of that contract will be offset by Eric Gordon’s expiring $15.5 million (and yeah it’s a player option for 2015-16, but do you really think he’s opting out?), which means the Pelicans will have about $30 million in cap space like most of the NBA. I imagine guards would line up for the chance to play with the Ant Man, but then again free agency is extremely unpredictable.
Davis alone is not enough to win a title, like all superstars he needs another guy to help shoulder the burden. I’d love to coach him, but at the same time this team could just as easily wind up with an overpaid mid-tier guy and get stuck in purgatory — like the Cavaliers during LeBron James’ first tour with the team.
No. 1 — Minnesota
No, the Timberwolves haven’t fired Flip Saunders, and frankly he did a great job maximizing Kevin Love and snagging the No. 1 pick. But they have been rumored to be pursuing a few top candidates to separate his team president and coaching duties, most notably Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg. So the job is kind of open — just not to everyone.
Who wouldn’t want to coach Andrew Wiggins alongside either Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns? Plus add in the fact the team could void nearly $23 million in salary for the summer of 2016 — they’re already projected to be under the cap by $11 million in 2015 — combined with the aforementioned cap boom could be a very scary combination for the long-term.
If Saunders is looking, I’m certainly applying. This job has by far the most upside.