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NBA Rumors: Coach to be unexpectedly fired

By Cody Williams

Oct 17, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of a Spalding basketball with the signature of NBA commissioner Adam Silver (not pictured) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of a Spalding basketball with the signature of NBA commissioner Adam Silver (not pictured) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rumors suggest that an NBA coach may unexpectedly be fired within the week.

An NBA coach will unexpectedly be fired in the coming days, if you choose to believe a rumor that surfaced on Wednesday night.

Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops sent this out on Wednesday, certainly raising some eyebrows around the league:

There’s a definite lack of specificity in the tweet and the fact that Sheridan refers to his source as an “NBA big shot” is a bit strange. Moreover, this isn’t a rumor that has been confirmed by any other national writers out there. That makes it all the more important to clarify that this is hardly set in stone and that we are working completely on speculation with a distinct lack of fact.

Having said that, the one coach that we can assume this rumor isn’t speaking of is Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. He’s essentially been a lame duck simply waiting for the front office to hand him his pink slip for the past two months.

In terms of who the unconfirmed rumor could be in regards to, though, that’s where things get tricky.

For starters, we can almost surely rule out the four teams that made it to the Conference Finals. It’s hard to imagine David Blatt (Cavaliers), Steve Kerr (Warriors), Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), or Kevin McHale (Rockets) losing their gig after this season’s success.

Beyond that, we can also rule out the New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder from the mix as well since those teams are either making a decision regarding their head coach, have a vacancy, or hired their new head coach this summer. You can also eliminate the Spurs and Gregg Popovich because Pop being fired is laughable.

Given the vagueness of Sheridan’s rumor, though, it’s hard to eliminate anyone beyond that. You’d like to say that guys like Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy are safe at their gig, but with the rumor being that this would be an unexpected firing, those two coaches would certainly qualify.

In terms of likely candidates, though, names like Dwayne Casey and Derek Fisher seem to be two that make a great deal of sense. Casey may not fully be to blame for the Raptors’ struggles in the second half of the season and in the playoffs, but they certainly underachieved as a team and Casey could take the fall for that. For Fisher, he could simply be the fall guy for the abysmal season that the Knicks just endured so that Phil Jackson remains Teflon.

Once again, there is nothing confirmed regarding any coach being fired, but the rumor is out there right now. If a head coach loses his job in the next few days that you thought had some sort of security at his post, at least you won’t be completely blindsided by it.

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