Updated: Friday., May 9, 2024.
Lakers fire Darvin Ham
As a coach of the Lakers for two seasons, Ham was basically a disappointment; the playoff run in his second season was nice. LeBron James will retire soon, and the Lakers would not have fired Ham if James wanted him to be his coach. You have to win to stay as coach of the Lakers, and first-round losses aren’t tolerated.
Grade: A
Suns fire Frank Vogel
I disagreed with Phoenix firing Monty Williams, but I liked the Frank Vogel hire. Regardless, when Kevin Durant’s not a fan of you, you are likely getting fired, and reports came out of Durant’s annoyances right after the Suns got swept. Vogel is a fine coach, and honestly, Phoenix not having a point guard, a defensive big man or depth made it a hard job, but somebody had to be blamed. In this case, Vogel got fired. To his credit, the West is far too stacked to win with seven playable guys, so that’s on the management, not Vogel. He deserved another season with an actual 14-man roster.
Grade: C+
Nets Fire Jacque Vaughn
This happened awhile ago, but the Nets hired a coach, so I might as well grade this. Vaughn was the interim coach when Steve Nash was fired and only made it 1.5 seasons as coach. It was deserved though because the Nets were disappointing and lacked direction. This was the right move.
Grade: A
Nets hire Jordi Fernendez as coach
The Nets now have their fourth coach in just a few seasons, although two were interim and I can honestly say I have not heard of the former Kings assistant. Just 41, the Spanish coach was considered a very popular candidate and won the job over some quality competition like Mike Budenholzer, who has a ring. The amount of work the Nets put into the finding of a coach tells me that they found someone who can really run a team, so I like this hire.
