In the 24 hours since we last compiled an NBA coaching update list, a lot has happened, some expected, some not.
Here’s an update on the NBA Coaches Carousel.
• Rumor has it that the former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts will join Adrian Griffin’s staff with the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a smart hire, putting an experienced coach known for his creative offense next to the rookie coach on a contending team. As the Bucks age and rapidly become more expensive — Brook Lopez, 35, is a free agent this summer — the Bucks don’t have time for a rookie coach to figure things out at work.
• Kevin Young will stay in Phoenix with Frank Vogel’s team after new owner Mat Ishbia made him the highest-paid assistant in the league at $2m a year, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Devin Booker reportedly backed Young to get the head coaching job, though how hard Booker pushed is up for debate. Keeping Young on staff – likely in an offensive coordinator role – alongside defensive-minded Vogel might be a good move.
• Former Hornets coach James Borrego has held several positions but has moved to New Orleans, where he will be part of Willie Green’s squad. This team is full of offensive talent – Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum – if they can just stay on the field.
• There is now only one head coaching vacancy in the league, the Toronto Raptors, and they are entering the final stages of interviews, reports TSN’s Josh Lewenberg. Among the finalists for the job are Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez and highly respected European coach Sergio Scariolo (the head coach of the Spanish national team and Virtus Bologna of the Italian league).
• The Celtics coaching staff makeover could go even further than expected as Ben Sullivan, Mike Moser and Garrett Jackson all leave Boston to join Ime Udoka’s team in Houston, reports Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.
• Former Pacers player Shayne Whittington is now part of Rick Carlisle’s coaching staff in Indiana.
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NBA coaching updates: Stotts to Bucks, Young paid to stay with Suns originally appeared on NBCSports.com