Coaches Who Are (Probably) Going To Be Fired In 2022
There are 30 coaches in the NBA. There are good coaches and bad coaches. Some coaches can generate wins thanks to great scheming and feel for the game, while other coaches hold their teams back with questionable decisions. Most coaches in the NBA have a secure job spot, for now. Others, not so much.
So today I am going to go over some coaches who I think will be fired in 2022. Either midway through the season, or after the season is finished. Let’s get into it.
(Note: No first year coaches will be included in this. As much as I hate Jason Kidd, I doubt that he’s getting fired in 2022).
Luke Walton – Sacramento Kings
It’s no secret that the Kings aren’t good at basketball. Their playoff drought of 15 years is tied for the longest in NBA history. The Kings haven’t won a title in 7 decades and they haven’t won a playoff series since 2004.
But for once, the Kings have talent and promise. They have done a surprisingly good job drafting and now boast some good pieces, such as De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Davion Mitchell, just to name a few.
They have good talent and they could definitely be competitive now and in the years to come. There is just one problem. Luke Walton is the head coach. Walton is a NBA champion and the son of Hall of Famer Bill Walton. That’s great and all, but he really sucks at his job.
Walton has never really been a good coach, so the Kings hiring him back in 2019 was pretty surprising. Walton’s one coaching accomplishment was that he was with the Golden State Warriors to start their dynasty. He helped them a win a title in 2015 as an assistant. In 2016, he started off the season as interim head coach and had a record for 39-4, helping coach a team that eventually won a NBA record 73 games and reached another NBA Finals.
After that 2016 season, he went to the Lakers during their ugly stage. It was the post Kobe era where the team really didn’t know what they were doing. Walton was ok in his first two seasons, but in his defense, the roster wasn’t anything special. But when Lebron signed before the 2018-19 season, expectations became very high. Walton didn’t exactly come through.
Now, I would like to preface this. The 2019 Lakers were dysfunctional and for the most part, bad. Their roster was a mixed bag of young talent and old veterans and they didn’t play well. I know that Walton was the scapegoat, as they fired him after that disastrous 2019 season.
But when the Lakers got Anthony Davis alongside Lebron and Frank Vogel as a coach, they won a title in 2020. I know that’s putting things really simply, but would the Lakers have won a title in 2020 if Walton was the coach? Probably not, if I had to guess.
But it’s even more surprising that the Kings hired him immediately after that Lakers fiasco in 2019. Well, actually, I know why. Vlade Divac and Luke Walton were teammates in the NBA. Is that really the criteria for becoming a coach in the NBA? It’s that simple? Good to know.
The Kings had finally gained some traction in the West under coach Dave Joerger, a great, defensive minded coach. Joerger took over before the 2016-17 season and in 2019, the Kings were good.
They were 39-43, which was their best season since 2008. They were on the rise, but then as the Kings do, they messed things up. They fired Joerger because of a “bad relationship with management,” and then they hired Luke Walton. Things have not gone to plan.
In 2019, the Kings had a winning percentage of .476 or about 48%. Over the past two seasons, Walton and the Kings have won just 43% of their games, a noticeable drop off. That drop off still happens even when the Kings are much better than they were in 2019. So Walton certainly isn’t making the team better, even if the team has gotten better.
That cannot be exemplified by the fact that in 2021, the Kings defense was historically bad. They allowed 117.4 points per game, which somehow wasn’t last in the NBA. Since the 1996-97 season, that is in the bottom-10 for defenses. The defensive rating wasn’t any better, sitting at a horrifying 116.5. Just bad all around.
With Dave Joerger, the Kings looked to be on the rise. But since Walton took over in 2019, they haven’t shown improvement and I’m guessing they’re going to miss the playoffs again this year and continue with that long playoff drought. Walton has never been a good coach and this Kings team is too good to be bad.
They are young and they can’t be wasting time. They have to try and find their coach for the future, a coach that can get the most of their young guys by pushing them, especially defensively. My suggestion?
This guy. Kenny Atkinson. Please do it Sacramento.
J.B. Bickerstaff – Cleveland Cavaliers
To be completely honest, I don’t know why the Cavs haven’t gotten a new coach. Ever since Tyronn Lue was fired early on in the 2018-19 season, the rebuilding Cavs haven’t found their coach. Like the Kings, they now have a pretty good talent pool. Now it’s just time to find a coach.
It wasn’t Larry Drew, who wasn’t great to finish off the 2019 season after Lue was fired early on. John Beilein, the former Michigan coach, was a disaster in 2020 and Bickerstaff took over after he was fired. Bickerstaff isn’t exceptional or anything. He’s coached for many teams as an assistant. He was the head coach for the Rockets for one year back in 2016.
He coached the Grizzlies for two seasons and was again, unexceptional. The Cavs aren’t good or anything, but I can’t imagine them being great with J.B. at the helm. Not some sort of personal attack, but he’s never been a good coach and never had any success in the playoffs.
My suggestion for who the Cavs should hire?
If you couldn’t already tell, I like Kenny Atkinson. He’s a really good coach and great for a young team trying to build a culture, which is what the Cavs need. Sexton-Garland-Okoro-Allen-Mobley. You already have your talent for the future there, it’s time to get a coach.
So just hire Kenny Atkinson. I’m making things simple Dan Gilbert, just do it.
Billy Donovan – Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have been going all in. They traded multiple first round picks and a promising young player for an aging Nikola Vucevic who can’t play good defense anymore. They signed Lonzo Ball for $85 million. They signed Alex Caruso for $37 million. They signed DeMar DeRozan for $85 million. They traded away Lauri Markkanen.
The Bulls had a very busy offseason and now look like a completely different team;
Lonzo Ball
Zach Lavine
DeMar DeRozan
Patrick Williams
Nikola Vucevic
Alex Caruso
Coby White
Derrick Jones Jr.
Troy Brown Jr.
Tony Bradley
Ayo Dosunmu (R)
While the Bulls aren’t stacked and I think they aren’t contenders, they are certainly a playoff team. But if the Bulls want to contend, other than adding depth to this roster, a new coach could be what they might want.
Billy Donovan has been apart of great teams before. He was one game away from the Finals in 2016 and he’s been apart of a lot of good teams. He’s won 58% of his games as a coach and he’s won 18 playoff games. He’s a pretty accomplished coach for just coaching 5 years in the NBA.
But Billy Donovan isn’t some sort of coaching genius. He’s a above average coach but I wouldn’t put him in my top 10 or anything. In OKC, he had guys like KD, Westbrook, Paul George, Chris Paul, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to run out his gameplans. He always had a playoff caliber roster, so it wasn’t like his gameplans had to be perfect for his teams to win games.
He’s always had an All-Star on his teams and he’s never had to outcoach to win games, he’s just had more talent more often than not. Which is why I think he isn’t a great coach and maybe somebody like Dave Joerger or Kenny Atkinson (I really like him), could be better.
If the Bulls want to contend, I’m guessing Donovan will be on his way out. If things don’t work out in 2022, Donovan will probably be the scapegoat. I’m guessing that things won’t work out that great, because when has spending a lot of money in free agency ever backfired?
Which Coaches Do You Think Are Getting Fired In 2022? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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