2014 NBA Coaches on the Hot Seat

By Michael Schneid

Are there even any coaches left to fire?

A record 13 coaches were replaced this off-season (technically 12 new coaches have been hired as Philly has yet to make a move). The Celtics, Sixers, Bucks, Nets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Kings, Suns, Bobcats, Cavs, Pistons, Hawks will all have new coaches in 2013.

So looking ahead to the 2014 season, who is on the hot seat?

Let's automatically dismiss the 13 new coaches from the equation, although the Bobcats did fire their first year head coach this year, so who knows about them.

Let's also eliminate Erik Spoelstra and Greg Popovich from the firing line. So half the league is safe. Let's also eliminate a few more coaches. Mark Jackson (GSW), Scott Brooks (OKC), Frank Vogel (IND), Tom Thibodeau (CHI), and Mike Woodson (NYK) are all presumably safe. Of course a bad start can hurt any of them. Woodson is the probably the least safest of those 5. Kevin McHale (HOU) also is pretty safe, as he will work with new center, Dwight Howard. But a bad start with Howard and James Harden may put him in jeopardy.

Now that we are down to 10 coaches, let's look at who may not survive the entire 2013-14 season, or at least not make it to 2014-15.

Dwane Casey, Raptors

Any time a new GM is hired and retains the current head coach, despite a losing record, that coach automatically becomes a lame duck, on the hot seat. Toronto hired Masai Ujiri from Denver as their new GM. Ujiri decided to retain Casey, despite a 57-91 overall record in two seasons. Raptors will have SF Rudy Gay for a full season but may also but looking towards the lottery and drafting Canada's own, Andrew Wiggins, who in that case would likely begin his NBA career with a new coach.

Randy Wittman, Wizards
Wizards haven't been to the playoffs since 2008 and Wittman has a 47-84 record. The Wizards have some young talent and a blend of vets and Wittman needs to get off to a strong start. Anything short of a playoff berth may cost him, and ultimately GM Ernie Grunfeld, their jobs.

Mike D'Antoni, Lakers
D'Antoni has been highly scrutinized since day one in LA, replacing Mike Brown mid-season this past year. And getting swept out of the playoffs by the Spurs, as a 7 seed. Those results are unacceptable in LA, especially with Kobe Bryant. D'Antoni clashed immediately with Pau Gasol and one of Dwight Howard's reasons for not re-signing reportedly has to do with D'Antoni's presence. Kobe is a FA in summer of 2014 and if the Lakers want to retain him and attract another potential star (like Carmelo Anthony) he may need to be let go.

Tyrone Corbin, Jazz

Corbin inherited the job after Jerry Sloan was run out of town by Deron Williams. Utah has a lot of young talent that could either reach their potential early or flop while needing more time to develop. Either way, with the league as competitive as it is nowadays, and Corbin not exactly a huge name, the Jazz will likely move on if they find themselves in the lottery in 2014.