With Steve Clifford and the Orlando Magic agreeing to go in different directions, Orlando now finds itself with a need for a new head coach.
Although the Magic find themselves in a good spot with load of young talent and the top odds to win Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery, there are several other teams in the NBA that have an open position for a head coach and better immediate prospects.
Whoever takes the Magic’s job is going to have to be patient with a young roster. The wins may not come immediately.
The Orlando Magic have a lot of young players to work with. But with so many open jobs especially among playoff teams, the Magic are going to be lower on the draft pecking order.
With Rick Carlisle stepping down as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, there are now seven open spots. And as the playoffs continue, there may be more opening soon.
Some questions pertain to this coaching search, but the most important question is where does Magic’s job ranks among the other coaching positions around the league.
1. Boston Celtics
The best job that is available as of now has to be the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics have two young stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and both are younger than 24 with both becoming elite scorers. Tatum averaged 26.4 points per game and Brown averaged 24.7 points per game as both made the All-Star team.
Their roster is not complete as recently promoted president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has already started to make changes.
The Celtics essentially traded Kemba Walker and the 16th pick in this NBA draft for Al Horford and Moses Brown. With Horford returning, the Celtics gain size with the ability to spread the floor and create opportunities for teammates to score.
Even though the Celtics lose immediate scoring in Walker, this opens the door for emerging Payton Pritchard, who averaged 7.7 points per game and 1.8 assists in only 19.2 minutes per game. While the numbers do not jump out, the promising part is the fact that he shot 44-percent from the field, 41.1-percent from three, and 88.9-percent from the free-throw line. It is likely that once Pritchard gets more minutes and more opportunities to do more he will take the next step and be a capable starter.
Boston’s roster allows a new coach to compete now and for the future. The Celtics also have veterans on their roster who play with a fire that inspire the younger guys that create a will to win. Players like Marcus Smart, who is considered to be the heart of the Celtics, and now Evan Fournier create a balance between the young and veteran players.
Boston having the roster to compete now and down the line creates the ideal situation for a coach. The offseason just started, so the roster is not complete, but the foundations are already being set for the Celtics to build the right roster around their young stars.
Coaching Luka Doncic
2. Dallas Mavericks
In terms of who has the best player considering age and talent level, Luka Doncic is the best player among the team’s rosters that need a coach.
The Dallas Mavericks are likely to have an MVP-caliber player for the next decade with a strong supporting cast that includes Kristaps Porzingis. While Porzingis struggled in the playoffs, it is believed he was not happy with his role in the former system. But he has the talent to turn it around.
There has to be a change in that front because there is no reason for Porzingis to struggle as he did. He averaged 15.9 shots per game during the regular season, but only 10.3 shots per game in the playoffs. Porzingis is the second-best player on that team and should have more of a focus on the offense.
While some of that has to do with Doncic’s decision-making, a coach has to be able to voice in his ear to improve on that front.
The Mavericks also have a good supporting cast in terms of players and the front office with Tim Hardaway Jr., Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith and others to go with Mark Cuban, who is considered to be one of the best owners in the league despite the recent turmoil of the last few years.
The Dallas Mavericks pushed the LA Clippers to seven games in these playoffs. Although it was a close series, the Mavericks blew many opportunities to win that series.
Regardless, whether they are a piece away or a system changes away, Dallas is close to reaching contention. The Mavericks could have won that series if Porzingis played of what he is capable of.
The new voice of the Mavericks, whomever it may end up being is going to have a tough job as they have a roster that can win, but just underachieved in these playoffs. The new coach has to find a way to use Porzingis the right way and have the ability to coach Doncic. This job is very promising but is going to bring a lot of challenges.
Rebuilding from scratch
3. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are a desirable destination because the coach knows what they are going to get themselves into.
The Magic do not have any pressure to win now as their roster is young and both Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac are coming off of ACL injuries. To go along with two potential rookies next season, there is going to be no pressure as the roster continues to mold to what they can become.
Even with that being said, Orlando’s young roster still has potential and a lot of upside moving forward.
Going into this year’s NBA Draft, the Magic are potentially going to have two top-10 picks. All in a draft front offices have reportedly been waiting for. This draft has four to five franchise-changing players. The chance to add to the top-10 players is going to be attractive to any potential coach.
The Magic also has some draft capital moving forward. The Magic own all of their first-round picks moving forward. They also have two Bulls pick that include this year’s first-round pick and a pick in 2023. They also have a 2025 first-rounder from the Denver Nuggets.
Regardless of the draft, the Magic have potential running through their roster. The Magic already have Isaac, who has the potential to be elite defensively for years, and Fultz, who seemed to be turning the corner before the injury.
Orlando also has multiple players still on rookie contracts in Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Chuma Okeke, Wendell Carter and Mohamed Bamba. The Magic have a roster that is being built and molded as every day passes.
While this roster is not ready to compete tomorrow, it is ready to compete sooner rather than later, and the coach is going to have patience and time when it comes to Orlando’s current roster.
Zion Williamson will lead them
4. New Orleans Pelicans
At first glance, it would make more sense if the New Orleans Pelicans would be more attractive to coaches. But the problem is that job is not as stable as the other jobs listed ahead.
Not necessarily in terms of being fired, but in terms of the roster could drastically change before the season starts. This happened in Houston as Stephen Silas got hired and James Harden and Russel Westbrook got traded in short order.
There have been reports and rumblings that some of Zion Williamson’s family members would prefer if he was on another team. But, even with that report, I doubt Williamson is moved anytime soon.
That will still hang over their heads.
Even though the Williamson incident on its own is not concerning, it is the fact that in recent memory, there have been a couple of “questionable” incidents around that organization.
The struggle of building around Anthony Davis and the end of the J.J. Redick tenure finishing on a bad note combined, with this Williamson situation does not paint the organization in the best of lights.
There are pretty big expectations to win immediately. They fired Alvin Gentry even though the Pelicans fell just short of the playoffs in 2020 and then let Stan Van Gundy go after one year too as he struggled to connect with the young roster and breakthrough to the playoffs.
Even with all of that, the Pelicans have one of the most intriguing rosters in the league. There is a reason New Orleans was considered to be one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA last season.
The Pelicans have two all-stars in Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, combined with a supporting cast that has potential.
Lonzo Ball has continued to get better and better each season as he continues to be a great on-ball defender. The improvement occurred on the offensive end as he has averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game and a career-high 37.8-percent from three. It will be interesting to see how the Pelicans play his free agency.
The Pelicans also have a group of young guys with potential in Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis Jr. to go with veterans such as Steven Adams. New Orleans should be primed to take a step forward.
The Pelicans have underachieved, and there were struggles last season between Van Gundy and some of the players. Even with the promising roster, there are still concerns within the organization, which is why the Pelicans are not at the top of the list.
Ready for Damian Lillard’s time
5. Portland Trail Blazers
Everything that can be said about the New Orleans Pelicans can be said about the Portland Trail Blazers but to an extreme.
The Portland Trail Blazers found themselves in a situation where they extremely underachieved following a six-game series loss to the Denver Nuggets. The problem with losing to Denver was that Jamal Murray was out for the year, and Will Barton was out for most of the series.
Portland has made the playoffs seemingly every year. But the team has struggled to get out of the first round consistently or climb to the top of the Western Conference.
Out goes Terry Stotts, in comes another coach. Now, there are a bunch of questions surrounding the roster and what changes are coming.
Yes, coaching Damian Lillard would be a blessing for any coach as he is one of the best players in the NBA. But there is no guarantee that he will be on the roster next season as the offseason will bring changes that started with firing Stotts.
The biggest difference between New Orleans and Portland job is the age difference between the two rosters. The Blazers are a veteran-led team, and whoever gets the job to coach this team will have pressure to win now if they decide to retain Lillard.
As of now, the Blazers starting unit consists of Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic. With the average age of the starting five being 28.6 years old and Lillard being the oldest at 30, it is clear that the window for them is to win now, especially with Carmelo Anthony, who is 37 is also their sixth man.
Portland seems to be further along in their coaching search than others. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports they are down to their next round of interviews with Becky Hammon and Chauncey Billups making the final round.
Sources: Chauncey Billups, Becky Hammon advance to second interviews with Portland Trail Blazers - via @ESPN App https://t.co/UHudlnveIj
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2021
The Blazers have to decide on the direction they want to go in before they decide on the coach.
The Blazers can either continue to compete and have the window to win be now, or they can get off to a fast start to a rebuild as a return for Damian would be huge. Regardless of the decision, it is certain that Portland’s future is still unclear, and have to make the decision, whichever it may be before they start coach search.
Taking on the middle
6. Indiana Pacers
While the teams ahead of the Indiana Pacers either have high ceilings or clear championship aspirations shortly, the Pacers find themselves in the middle of the pack.
The Indiana Pacers found themselves in the play-in tournament this past season and ended up losing to the Washington Wizards in the final game for the eighth seed, but using context would tell anyone that the Pacers are better than that, however, due to injuries, they could not make it to the playoffs.
The Pacers have the talent to find themselves back in playoff position behind All-Star Domantas Sabonis. They received Caris LeVert from the Brooklyn Nets earlier this season which provides a scoring punch next to Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren (returning from injury) and Jeremy Lamb once he returns from his injury.
But the Pacers still have short- and long-term questions to answer.
The question of whether or not Domantis Sabonis and Myles Turner can coexist is a question that needs answering. It should be able to work between the two players as their games are very different. Sabonis is very skilled as an offensive player, while Turner is a good rim protector and defender while providing the ability to spread the floor.
Even with the Pacers being talented, they have to ask themselves the question of whether or not they have reached their ceiling and whether or not they are good enough to beat the best of the East, such as the Nets.
With the report of the Pacers looking to interview former Magic head coach Steve Clifford, it is clear they still want to win now and compete. The question coaches have to keep in mind is how long is their window going to be open until Indiana’s front office decides to blow it up.
Uncertain future
7. Washington Wizards
To be fair, the Washington Wizards’ job is not a bad one, especially when there is the chance to coach two stars in Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. But it is also the job with the most uncertainty.
The Washington Wizards lost in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers in a quick five games, but there is usually a saying about the fringe playoff teams. The team is either on the way up or on the way out of the playoffs altogether.
As young Eastern Conference teams continue to get better, the question the Wizards need to ask themselves is whether or not they can get significantly better.
The Wizards’ roster is not built for the future. But as the younger teams in the East improve, it is going to be difficult for Washington to compete.
Bradley Beal is now entering his prime at 27 years old. But Westbrook is now 32 and near the end of his prime. Except for young role players like Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija and Daniel Gafford, the Wizards have to go with their stars.
The Wizards are probably on the way out as the young teams in the Eastern Conference are on the rise. It is going to force Washington to decide to move on from Beal at some point. Beal made no guarantee that he would finish out his contract with Washington.
Washington has to take a serious look at blowing up the roster instead of trying to hold on and trying to avoid the inevitable. Whoever their next coach is, it is going going to be in for a rebuild, but it is going to up to the Wizards for how long they want to try to avoid it.