NBA coaches ranked for 2018-19

J.B. Bickerstaff went from interim coach to full-time head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in May 2018. Don't expect any miracles from the 39-year-old even if Mike Conley is healthy and back on the court for more than a couple of months. The goal for Bickerstaff's first season in charge is for the Grizzlies to be competitive to the point of potentially flirting with a .500 record. 

In September, Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego wrote a piece for SI.com that described becoming  the first Latino head coach in NBA history. After rising up the ranks with multiple franchises, most recently the San Antonio Spurs, the 40-year-old inherits a team that needs to unload contracts and that could look to trade Kemba Walker to spark a new rebuilding process. 

In June, Katie Baker of The Ringer mentioned specific criticisms of Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger, such as the fact that the team ran the slowest pace in the NBA for 2017-18. The Kings sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and possibly winning 33 or fewer games for an 11th straight year, as explained by Brad Rowland of Uproxx, has to eventually get old. 

In May, the Phoenix Suns made Igor Kokoskov the first ever NBA head coach born and raised outside of North America. Congratulations, Mr. Kokoskov, as you are now in charge of possibly the worst roster in the league! Sure, Devin Booker is awesome, and Deandre Ayton should compete for Rookie of the Year. At best, the Suns will win 30 games under Kokoskov, which would be a solid improvement from the team's 21-61 record last season. 

The Atlanta Hawks hired Philadelphia 76ers assistant Lloyd Pierce as head coach in May. That, ladies and gentleman, may be the last you hear of the Hawks until July 2019. Brad Rowland of Peachtree Hoops predicts a 25-57 mark for the 2018-19 Hawks. 

No pressure, Nick Nurse, as you only have to do better than the reigning NBA Coach of the Year in guiding the Toronto Raptors through a successful postseason journey. The Raptors adding Kawhi Leonard, if only for a year, could make them title contenders if Leonard finds his MVP form. As Sahal Abdi of Raptors Republic explained, Nurse must make Toronto better on the defensive end of the court beginning immediately. 

After being relieved of his duties with the Charlotte Hornets, Steve Clifford received a gig with the Orlando Magic. Like coaches in similar situations, Clifford, who had a 196-214 record with the Hornets, is more expected to develop players than win a ton of games. He probably will have done a tremendous job if Mo Bamba earns Rookie of the Year honors. 

In April 2017, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post touched upon the subject of Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone potentially being on the hot seat. Missing the playoffs again could spell the end of his tenure with the club. Malone's side needs to feature an average defense, at least, after being one of the worst in that area last season. 

In August 2018, Karl Bullock of SI.com  asked if this will be the season when Fred Hoiberg silences critics and meets expectations with the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg's lineup should play an entertaining and attacking style, but neither that nor the team's group of young talent kept ESPN.com writers from predicting Chicago will win only 28 games. 

Whatever happens with the 2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers (no, they're not winning it all), just remember head coach Luke Walton didn't sign up for this. He took the gig before the Lonzo Ball circus entered town, and he did so before LeBron James brought his greatness and everything else that comes with it to the franchise. Place your bets now for when the first "Luke Walton on the hot seat" rumor makes its way to the internet. We'd guess before Christmas. 

Congratulations to Tyronn Lue for escaping the shadow of LeBron James. As a reward, every decision he makes will be scrutinized by everyone who jokes King James, and not Lue, was the real head coach of the Cavs from January 2016 through June 2018. Lue's future with the Cavs is very much in doubt ahead of the start of the season. 

This past May , Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks publicly blasted his own players for a lack of passion. That made for a nice highlight, but it doesn't overshadow the fact that he does not do anything particularly great as a coach. Brooks could be one John Wall postgame interview or Dwight Howard meltdown away from looking for work. 

How we view Kenny Atkinson following the first weekend of October could drastically change by April if the Brooklyn Nets acquire Jimmy Butler in a trade. If that doesn't happen, the immediate futures of Atkinson and the Nets will depend on the health and play of D'Angelo Russell. Even with Russell appearing in 70 games, the Nets probably will still miss the playoffs. 

In short, Billy Donovan is running out of excuses with the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC has Russell Westbrook, and Paul George elected to return to the Thunder rather than sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. A short playoff stay may lead to the franchise looking elsewhere regarding head coach. 

The New Orleans Pelicans signed Alvin Gentry to a two-year extension in June, meaning he shouldn't be going anywhere unless calamity strikes. The 63-year-old who begins the year without DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo as options will look to Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton to fill those gaps. Even if Anthony Davis has an MVP campaign, nobody expects the Pelicans to actually compete for a conference title. That makes ranking Gentry any higher too much of an ask. 

The Western Conference is even more stacked, and the Portland Trail Blazers may actually be worse than they were in October 2017. Head coach Terry Stotts probably wanted a bigger offseason splash than Seth Curry, but it wasn't meant to be. It won't be Stotts' fault if this team takes steps in the wrong direction in 2018-19. 

Tom Thibodeau rebuilding an older version of his former Chicago Bulls roster that won absolutely nothing of note in 2018 is classic Thibs. There's little he can do about Jimmy Butler trying to force himself out of town. Thibodeau's top task ahead of next summer is to help Andrew Wiggins take the next step in his career beyond scoring "empty points," if that is possible. 

Reactions of players around the NBA to the news that the Memphis Grizzlies had fired David Fizdale last November said plenty about his reputation around the league. The 44-year-old should get a pass during his first season with the New York Knicks because Kristaps Porzingis is sidelined indefinitely as he works to return from the torn ACL he suffered in February. Kevin Knox winning Rookie of the Year would reflect nicely on Fizdale. 

The necessary demolition of Lob City means we'll see what Doc Rivers can do with a Los Angeles Clippers side that has zero star power. Seriously, non-Clippers fans, try to name this team's starting five. It will be interesting to follow how Rivers responds to his first losing season with the franchise. 

The Milwaukee Bucks hired 2015 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer in May, and the pressure was on him even then to lead the club to 50 regular-season victories and more. With a trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe, Budenholzer needs to take the Bucks beyond the second round of the postseason for his first campaign with the team to be deemed successful. The Greek Freak may be on the cusp of a first MVP year. 

The Indiana Pacers were one of the real surprises of the 2017-18 season under Nate McMillan. McMillan and his team are no longer under the radar. Along with attempting to drive the Pacers into the upper quarter of the conference standings, McMillan needs to do all he can to get more out of Myles Turner in what could be a pivotal season for the big man. 

The Process was fun and games, but Brett Brown now has to deliver unlike at any previous time of his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid could win Defensive Player of the Year and contend for MVP. Ben Simmons is the reigning Rookie of the Year and should only get better. If Brown can fix Markelle Fultz's broken jumper and get the Sixers to the conference finals, he'll have done his job and then some. 

Diego Quezada of Hot Hot Hoops recently wrote "Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA, with his skills of playcalling out of timeouts and helping players play above their previous output.” Those are nice words, but they don't erase the reality that Spoelstra did his best work with LeBron James in his lineups. Winning a single playoff series next spring would be an impressive add-on to this resume. 

If the Utah Jazz really end up being second to only the Golden State Warriors, as suggested by The Ringer's D.J. Foster in August, Quin Snyder will be a hot candidate for Coach of the Year honors. Snyder making an already good defense the best in the NBA could lead to an interesting playoff series between the Jazz and Warriors. 

In March 2018, SportsDay's Newy Scruggs explained why he believes Rick Carlisle is a better coach than Brad Stevens. Per Basketball-Reference , Carlisle is one of only 18 coaches to have 700-plus NBA wins. Getting the Dallas Mavericks to the playoffs would make for an exciting and impressive start to the Luka Doncic era. 

Can the basketball community all agree to have a little more respect for Dwane Casey? After all, he is the reigning NBA Coach of the Year. Get ready to see the Detroit Pistons attempt more three-pointers in 2018-19 than a season ago. Other than that, the Pistons will probably largely be irrelevant. 

The time is now for two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni to get the Houston Rockets past the Golden State Warriors. Along with the outstanding backcourt of NBA MVP James Harden and Chris Paul, D'Antoni has Carmelo Anthony as, possibly, the top sixth man in the league as long as the veteran embraces that role. Merely getting the best out of the roster shouldn't be enough for Houston to have what would be remembered as a successful season. This roster should win some hardware. 

Brad Stevens will win Coach of the Year either with the Boston Celtics or a different club down the road. 2018-19 may be his year, especially if his stars manage to stay healthy for longer than five minutes of the first game. Per CBS Boston, NBA general managers voted Stevens the league's best coach ahead of the campaign. 

Obviously, the Golden State Warriors have a roster for the ages, but Steve Kerr deserves all of the praise bestowed upon him for keeping a team full of champions motivated during a grueling season and some difficult playoff matchups. With that said, the Golden State dynasty may come to an end if Kevin Durant is seriously looking to link up with LeBron James in July 2019. 

There's little new that anybody can say or write about five-time champion Gregg Popovich, a living legend of the sport. But his greatness, not to mention DeMar DeRozan, may not be enough for the San Antonio Spurs' run of 21 straight postseason appearances to continue. Even still, every year the 69-year-old is an NBA coach is a blessing for the Association and for all who follow it.