Projecting best hires for remaining NBA head coach vacancies

Wes Unseld Sr. was a Hall of Fame player and a solid coach, but given his son’s performance with the Denver Nuggets, there is a very good chance Unseld Jr. exceeds what his father did in the league as a coach should the Pacers hire him. While Unseld has been an assistant with the Wizards, Warriors, and Magic since 2005, his work with Denver’s defense, which went from 28th in 2017 to 10th in 2018 and 11th in 2019 is his claim to fame. It should be enough to convince Indiana that McMillan’s excellent defense can continue excelling if Unseld is put in charge.

Even if there are some concerns about if Victor Oladipo will be back next season, Unseld will be able to experiment with two of the best young bigs in the game today in Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis. If Kevin Pritchard is able to hire a masterful defensive mind with a proven record of success in Unseld, retain Oladipo, and add one more scorer next to Malcolm Brogdon and TJ Warren, Indiana might have all the ingredients needed to challenge for the Central Division title and erase the playoff demons who haunted them in years past.