The NBA's coaching carousel never stops spinning

Since we last discussed the matter, the NBA coaching carousel has picked up tremendous speed with Dave Joerger and Frank Vogel both losing their jobs after first-round playoff exits. This week Paul Flannery and Tom Ziller assess the justice behind those firings, look at what's available and discuss Joerger in Sacramento. Enjoy.

FLANNERY: Just when we thought the coaching carousel was slowing down long enough to sneak in a vacation (hi, Phil!) we had all kinds of weirdness over the weekend. Now it looks like Dave Joerger is heading your way and Frank Vogel is suddenly the hottest name on the market. I expected there would be a few unexpected openings this year, I just wasn't sure which jobs would become available.

First things first, neither Joerger nor Vogel should have been out of their former jobs but that's life in the league. Second, how badly do you want Joerger for the KANGZ?

ZILLER: Joerger would be the most exciting coach hire in Sacramento since the Kings hired Stan Van Gundy. (I'll never forgive Billy Donovan for ruining that.) This turn of events sure puts the Kings' dysfunction into perspective, doesn't it? Sacramento isn't the exclusive home of insecurity, ego and power struggles. I'm hopeful an empowered Vlade Divac, a secure Joerger and a DeMarcus Cousins with a fresh outlook can succeed together. But I'm also realistic, and Garbage Fire is the default state of this franchise, so we'll see.

I fundamentally understand why the Grizzlies booted Joerger; Chris Wallace's Q&A was awkward and weird but revealing, especially combined with Woj and Stein's reporting. It's Larry Bird's decision to can Vogel I just don't understand. I've never seen Bird resort to trite excuses before. I mean, did he really blame this on an old Red Auerbach maxim?

FLANNERY: I had heard that there was some disenchantment with Vogel earlier in the season, so I wasn't totally surprised by it. (The NBA is a gossipy place, after all.) I had a list of five or six other places that didn't fit the bill of obvious coaching change -- Milwaukee, Toronto, Portland, etc. -- and Indy and Memphis were on there as well. There could be more before we're done.

I don't think it was right to dump Vogel, but the signs were hiding in plain sight. Bird wanted to play small. Vogel's best player did not and the personnel wasn't right for it either, so he did what he had to do as the coach to make things work. I thought he did an admirable job, and I have no doubt that he would have coached smallball if the roster was right for it. Both of us made the point in the preseason that the roster wasn't there yet. It's unfortunate that Bird fell back on that bit of Auerbachian wisdom because it doesn't hold much merit in these days of roster churn.

Back to Joerger for a second. I think he's very good, but does his wanderlust scare you a bit?

ZILLER: The wanderlust would scare me if the Kings had a history of keeping coaches longer than 18 months. The last six official full-time Sacramento head coaches (no interims) averaged 119 games before getting canned. Not a single one survived their contracts! Joerger was getting underpaid badly in Memphis, and he got a new boss and no known extension offer. It's not a good look to ask your team permission to go for other jobs with time left on your deal, but we also can't pretend Memphis wasn't heavily responsible for the circumstances that led him there in both 2014 and last week.

I'm really of two minds on Vogel. He had a nice long tenure in Indiana, and he finished out his contract. Bird is betting there's a better option for this roster. There very well could be. Vogel's offenses have never been pretty; you can pin that on his so-called offensive coordinators like Brian Shaw and Nate McMillan, but he makes the rotational decisions and calls plays. He wasn't offering what Bird wanted, and it's fully reasonable for Bird to try to find it elsewhere.

But you also have to be concerned with a touch of delusion Bird is showing. This was not really a smallball-ready roster unless Paul George would play power forward. Is that the real crux here, that PG didn't buy what Vogel sold? If so, what new coach is going to fix that?

FLANNERY: I don't believe a new coach is going to fix that and I'm not sure one should even try. PG is one of the best wings in the whole league and you've got an interesting young big in Myles Turner. I'm not saying you need to go full Twin Towers, but why mess with that? The other part of this is that while Vogel is replaceable -- every coach is replaceable with the exception of Pop and maybe a few others -- who is out there that's going to give you that much of an upgrade?

I'm with you though. If Bird wanted to go in another direction, then fine. The rationale doesn't really wash, but the end decision stays the same.

Where do you think Vogel ends up? Houston is the best job out there right now, yes?

ZILLER: Houston's the best job by a solid margin. Having a superstar -- even if it's a one-way guy like James Harden -- is a huge advantage, and Daryl Morey is going to be in position to boost the roster. Anything could happen there, really. Indiana and Memphis feel like a toss-up, assuming the Grizzlies are now willing to pay market rate. New York would be a lot more attractive if the GM weren't so damn eccentric. I can't really fathom working for someone like Phil Jackson in this role.

At this point, there could still be one more opening: Toronto. I think Dwane Casey should be safe regardless of what happens -- is it his fault his stars seized up? -- but it's interesting that contrary to the conventional wisdom, Masai Ujiri could have great options coming into the carousel late. Compare that to Washington, who moved fast to nab a coach not appreciably more valued than Vogel or Joerger. Speed worked for Minnesota, but perhaps patience -- as seen in L.A. and Sacramento already -- can pay off if there's no clear-cut top option.

FLANNERY: To me there was only one clear-cut coaching option and that was Tom Thibodeau. Good job by Minnesota to work fast and get that one done. Beyond that there was no use in hurrying. (I believe that Luke Walton was a special case and was only going to the Lakers, so Laker Exceptionalism is alive and well, it appears.) That said, I think Scott Brooks will be fine in Washington. I like Vogel and Joerger better, but let's not forget that Brooks won a ton of games and a lot of playoff series. I don't think either Vogel or Joerger move the needle that much compared to Brooks.

Houston's in an interesting place. They can go Vogel or JVG or David Blatt, who I would like to see get another chance at a place with reasonable expectations. I'd also like to see Elston Turner get an opportunity and Nate McMillan went from upper echelon to forgotten too damn quick. We brought this up during our last carousel conversation and I'd like to again make the point that a version of the Rooney Rule is an idea whose time has come.

ZILLER: I trust the league to address diversity issues in front offices and on benches without a formal regulation; deputy commissioner Mark Tatum had some good thoughts on the topic in this Vinny Goodwill piece a couple months back.

I also feel like I should note the Kings had a strongly diverse candidate list before torching that list for Joerger. You can't blame them because Joerger has a strong reputation and wanted to be there. But it's still disappointing in the grander view. Someone hire Patrick Ewing!

FLANNERY: You know who comes out of the last few weeks looking nice? Quin Snyder. Count me among the Jazz believers for the next few years. I really like their young core and I really like Snyder on the sidelines. This year was disappointing to many -- myself included -- but that's no reason to keep building when you have such an enviable amount of talent. So, good on Utah for maintaining stability. It's only worked for that franchise for the last 30 years or so.

ZILLER: We can expect Terry Stotts to land a big extension once his season ends, too. Three cheers for rare coaching stability!

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