NBA coaching carousel - Pros, cons, what's next for every open job - ESPN

Tuesday saw a third head coaching job come open when the second most stunning move of the season — behind the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers — happened when Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth, were dismissed with less than a week to go in the regular season.

The move not only creates another job opening, but one that will be desirable to any coach on the market due to its high-end talent available. And that's what makes the decision to move on from Malone, seemingly with no warning, all the more surprising.

The decision came less than two weeks after the Memphis Grizzlies fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins, while the Sacramento Kings became the first franchise to fire its coach when it dismissed Mike Brown amid a losing streak in late December.

Will more jobs open over the next several weeks? Last season, seven teams changed coaches, including three — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lakers and Phoenix Suns — that did so after making the playoffs.

Here's our annual look at the NBA's coaching carousel, with the pros and cons of each vacancy and who could fill them:

2024-25 record: 47-32 (No. 4 in West)

Previous coach: Michael Malone (fired Tuesday; assistant David Adelman takes over on interim basis)

Lead executive: None (GM Calvin Booth, promoted in 2020, was also dismissed)

Positive: Championship-level talent

These kinds of jobs rarely come available. Nikola Jokic may lose out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for this season's Most Valuable Player award, but he's nearly universally seen as the best player on the planet. Jamal Murray is an elite pick-and-roll partner and is back to playing at a high level after struggling in the playoffs — both over the summer with Team Canada and at the start of