NBA Free Agency: Grading This Offseason's 9 Head Coach Hirings So Far

The current offseason we have seen nine coaching changes. Rebuilding teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and even former contenders like the Toronto Raptors are changing their coaches in hope of change. Sometimes changes in the coaching department can work really well or it can ruin team chemistry and put the team even further back.

Teams have spent weeks, maybe months evaluating their options to pick the best new head coach for their franchise. There are many factors to consider when hiring a coach. The two main factors are their past experience and their fit with the team.

Here we will examine each of the nine-coach hirings and give a grade based off those two factors.

Atlanta Hawks - Lloyd Pierce to replace Mike Budenholzer.

Lloyd Pierce being introduced as the new Hawks head coach

Past experience: Lloyd Pierce is the former assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers since the 2013-14 season. Prior to his time with the 76ers, he also worked as a coordinator/assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies.

How will he fit: Pierce may not have the most attractive record because he was present for the entire "the Process" period of the 76ers franchise, but he is experienced with the rebuilding state of a team. This will be his first head coaching opportunity and it will not have any pressure since the team isn't expected to be contending any time soon.

The Hawks had four picks in the top 33 picks of this year's draft, including the third overall selection. With that pick, they chose a possible future star in Trae Young.

Their young core will be strong as they already have Taurean Prince and John Collins. Pierce will be able to work with these young guys and take his knowledge from the 76ers under Brett Brown and apply them with his new team. The Hawks will have more talent than the 2013-14 76ers, so Pierce will already have a head start in comparison to his former team.

He still is unproven, and Budenholzer was one of the best coaches in their franchise's history. Budenholzer and the Hawks probably agreed to part ways for a fresh start for both parties.

Grade: B -

Charlotte Hornets - James Borrego to replace Steve Clifford

Borrego standing beside Popovich by the bench

Past experience: Borrego is a former San Antonio Spurs Assistant coach from 2003 to 2010 and then again from 2015 to 2018. In between of those two periods, he also served as an assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans under Monty Williams from 2010 to 2012, assistant for the Orlando Magic from 2012 to 2015, and then briefly was the Magic interim head coach for part of the 2015 NBA season. As the head coach for the Magic, he finished with a record of 10-20. With the Spurs, he was part of the championship teams in 2005 and 2007.

How will he fit: NBA fans are still unsure of the Hornets direction since Kemba Walker has been present in several trade talks and it was announced that Dwight Howard was traded to the Nets earlier. I do think Borrego should have an opportunity to coach an NBA team. However, I don't know if the Hornets are a good destination for him because of the confusion of their direction. He will bring championship experience from his time with the Spurs and he will bring wisdom from the great Gregg Popovich over to the Hornets.

I do believe he was one of the more qualified coaches to choose from. If the Hornets are searching to make the playoffs, Borrego should be able to help them get there, but I don't think he will be able to lead them deep into the playoffs. The Hornets need to pick a direction and they need to ensure Borrego is prepared for a potential rebuild.

Grade: B

Detroit Pistons - Dwane Casey to replace Stan Van Gundy

Detroit Pistons Introduce Dwane Casey

Past experience: From 2005 to 2007, he served as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves experiencing limited amounts of success. From 2007 to 2011, he served as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks under Rick Carlisle and was part of the championship team in 2011. From 2011 to 2018, he served as the Raptors head coach, leading them to the best record in franchise history this past season, a Conference Finals appearance, and the best record in the East this past season.

How will he fit: I'm a bit biased here, as a Raptors fan I'm a huge Casey fan. He is the greatest coach in Raptors' history but was let go because of his inability to get past LeBron James. There are arguments that can be made this was more because of the players than the coaching, regardless Casey has moved on with the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons are currently in a mess, with most of their salary tied up with their two bigs: Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin. Blake needs to become a superstar and be healthy for this team to make the playoffs. I believe the talent is here and Casey is a good coach. He should be able to lead them to the playoffs.

However, the team is in an awkward state, which is not unfamiliar with Casey. He was able to take the awkward Raptors team of 2011 into a championship contender in a short span. His ability to adapt has been noted, the Raptors went from a more isolation type of team to a spread the floor and pass the ball around the franchise. He is a coach of the year candidate and will be a big part of the Pistons returning to the playoffs.

Grade: A -

Memphis Grizzlies - J.B Bickerstaff (interim coach for 2017-18 season) to replace David Fizdale

Bickerstaff answering questions at a Grizzlies press conference

His past experience: Bickerstaff served as the assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets from 2004 to 2007, assistant coach for the Timberwolves from 2007 to 2011, assistant coach for the Rockets from 2011 to 2015, interim head coach for the Rockets for part of the 2015-16 season, assistant coach of the Grizzlies for the 2016-17 season, and interim head coach for the Grizzlies this past season.

As the interim head coach for the Rockets, Bickerstaff went 37-34 with the Rockets and lost in the first round. As an interim head coach for the Grizzlies, Bickerstaff went 15-48, but this was due in part to the Grizzlies suffering many injuries with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.

How will he fit: I do think the Grizzlies could have made a better head coach hiring instead of Bickerstaff. There are doubts surrounding Bickerstaff since he has not experienced that much success as a head coach or even as an assistant coach for any NBA team that he has been with. Bickerstaff took over for the Grizzlies earlier this year when the team fired Fizdale due to miscommunication between Fiz and Marc Gasol.

The team suffered many injuries this year to their star players, which is why the 15-48 record is an unfair evaluation for Bickerstaff. The president of the Grizzlies announced the team will win 50 games this year, which puts a lot of pressure on Bickerstaff and the Memphis doctors.

Bickerstaff will be under pressure to take this team to the playoffs, he does not have much experience with success, but he has a chance to prove himself this coming season.

Grade: C

Milwaukee Bucks - Mike Budenholzer to replace Jason Kidd, Joe Prunty

Mike Budenholzer

being

introduced as the new Bucks head coach

Past experience: Budenholzer served as an assistant for the Spurs from 1996 to 2013, being part of four championships. He was the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018. Including this past rebuilding season, he finished with an overall head coaching record of 213 - 197. He led them to the Conference Finals in the 2014-15 season, was named Coach of the Year in 2015, and was the Eastern Conference All-Star head coach in 2015.

How will he fit: Along with Casey, Budenholzer is one of the most successful head coaches that were available this offseason. He has championship experience with his 16-17 years with the Spurs under Gregg Popovich, and he is a proven head coach during his time with the Hawks. If we exclude this past season where the Hawks were under rebuild, Budenholzer had an overall record of 189-139.

The Bucks are in need of a winning coach, and I believe they got the best fit of any team searching for coaches this offseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks do have talent but were unable to go deep into the playoffs. Budenholzer will have the talent to help take them further than they have gone since becoming playoff contenders.

Jason Kidd did a good job of bringing the team from rebuilding to a playoff team, now it's up to Budenholzer to take them to the next step. He should be able to do so with all of his experience and accolades he has accumulated over the years.

Grade: A

New York Knicks - David Fizdale to replace Jeff Hornacek

Fizdale being introduced as Knicks head coach

Past experience: Fizdale served as assistant coach for the Warriors for the 2003-2004 season, assistant for the Hawks from 2004 to 2008, assistant for Miami from 2008 to 2016, and head coach of the Grizzlies from 2016 to early into the 2017-18 NBA season. As an assistant for the Heat, he was part of the two championships in 2012 and 2013.

How will he fit: David Fizdale is very popular among players. He is considered as one of the best player-coaches in the league, as shown with the players who expressed their shock when he was fired. As a head coach, Fizdale did lead Memphis to the first year, however, his limited experience may prove to be a problem.

New York is one of the toughest places to coach. The team's fanbase is impatient and has experienced limited success in past years. There will be pressure on Fizdale, not as much pressure as it could be since the team is still trying to assemble and develop a roster to make the playoffs. Fizdale has already shown his player-coach personality, as he brought some of his players to a finals game this year. The players will love it, it's up to him to see if the fans will too.

Grade: B

Orlando Magic - Steve Clifford to replace Frank Vogel

Orlando Magic Head Coach Steve Clifford Press Conference

Past experience: Clifford was the assistant coach for the New York Knicks from 2001 to 2003 under Jeff Van Gundy, assistant coach for the Rockets from 2003 to 2007, assistant coach for the Magic from 2007 to 2012 under Stan Van Gundy, assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers for 2012-2013 season, and head coach from 2013 to 2018.

How will he fit: Clifford has worked under both Van Gundy brothers and has developed a defensive reputation. He did lead the Bobcats/Hornets to the playoffs twice in his five-year span and finished with an overall record of 196-214. He did help develop Kemba Walker's game and is familiar with the rebuilding process.

The Magic have been a lottery team for the last few years and have struggled to develop their young guys. They need a change, and I don't know if Clifford will be the coach for that change, but he will be an improvement over Vogel.

Clifford has lots of experience in the coaching game, and hopefully, his experience will help him in Orlando. He hasn't experienced much success, but he has worked in Orlando before and is familiar with the fans and the franchise.

Grade: C+/ B-

Phoenix Suns - Igor Kokoskov to replace Earl Watson, Jay Triano

Phoenix Suns Igor Kokoskov press conference

Past experience: Igor Kokoshov has worked as an assistant for the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavs, Magic, and most famously with the Utah Jazz under Quin Snyder. He won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004, was an assistant coach for the 2006 NBA All-Star game, and won gold as head coach for Slovenia for EuroBasket 2017.

How will he fit: Kokoshov was deserving of an NBA head coaching job after all his years as an assistant in the NBA. He worked for some great teams and has championship experience under his belt. He just came off a season working with rookie shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, so he has experience working with a young guard and could help tremendously develop Devin Booker's game.

Phoenix Suns will not be trying to contend for the playoffs right away, but Kokoshov could be the coach that takes them there in a year or two from now. He is very experienced and has proven to have success as an assistant and will look to share a similar if not better amount of success with the young Phoenix Suns.

Grade: A -

Toronto Raptors - Nick Nurse to replace Dwane Casey

Nick Nurse

His past experience: Nurse has one of the fewest NBA coaching experience among all the hires this year. He was a coach in the British Basketball League for many years and won coach of the year twice there. As a D-League coach, he won the championship twice and won coach of the year once. Finally, he served as the Raptors assistant coach from 2013 to 2018.

How will he fit: The Raptors are coming off a season where they were swept by the Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs after a very strong season. There were some arguments against the firing of Dwane Casey, however, general manager, Masai Ujiri decided it was time to move on, and chose to hire internally. Nurse has been part of the Raptors that have been consistently making the playoffs and contending for the championship but is more inexperienced than some of the candidates that were out there.

He does have experience with this crop of guys, which should make transitioning to head coach easier for him. The Raptors are undecided whether they will continue to roll out with this group of guys or whether they will start the rebuild, but for now, Nurse should have similar success to Casey in the season. The playoffs will be what Nurse will be evaluated on.

Grade: B