Projecting best hires for remaining NBA head coach vacancies

Three NBA teams still need to hire new head coaches.

The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers needed to find new head coaches after parting ways with Kenny Atkinson and Brett Brown, respectively. They wasted little time finding their next leading men, as Philly plucked Tyronn Lue away from the Los Angeles Clippers while the Nets shocked the world by hiring Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash.

That flurry of moves leaves only the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana Pacers as the only teams still in need of a head coach. Luckily for all three of these franchises, their ideal replacement is waiting for them. If they’re aggressive enough in pursuing these coaches, they could snap up their new commanders for the 2020-21 season and beyond.

These head coach/team fits could help the Bulls, Pelicans, and Pacers return to the playoffs

The Bulls’ lack of respect for Jim Boylen is one of the innumerable reasons that Chicago once again ended up in the lottery. New GM Arturas Karnisovas needs a no-nonsense leader that also has a creative tactical mind, and McMillan, fresh off leading a shorthanded Pacers team to the No. 5 seed in the East, fits the bill. The Pacers were sixth in the league in defensive rating last year, and all five of the teams ranked ahead of them are still alive in the playoffs.

The Bulls’ stable of young scorers is pretty impressive, as Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and Coby White, just to name a few, have the offensive talent needed to get the Bulls back into the postseason.

What Boylen lacked, apart from any sort of tactical incisiveness, as the ability to summon the required effort and physicality on the defensive end. McMillan was as tough as they came as a point guard, created a deep, relentless Pacers lineup, and has the skills needed to whip the Bulls into shape.