3 next NBA head coaches who should be fired after Jacque Vaughn

The NBA head coaching carousel is already spinning. The Milwaukee Bucks fired Adrian Griffin shortly before the All-Star break. Then, at the All-Star break, Jacque Vaughn was dismissed by the Brooklyn Nets. In between, Wes Unseld Jr. stepped down from his post as Washington Wizards head coach.

So, we have two active interim head coaches, one very recent hire in Milwaukee, and a ton of jobs waiting to open up next offseason.

It's always difficult to pin down what exact circumstances create head coach openings in the NBA. It's not as simple as wins or losses, like it might be in other sports. There are tremendous coaches working through rebuilds at this very moment. Sometimes a contender falls short, or players mount a mutiny. Maybe it's as simple as retirement, or a coach getting tired of his job. It varies from team to team.

That can make this particular list a bit tricky. It's hard to know who will be removed from their post next, and for what reason. But, all the same, here are the coaches trending in that direction.

3. Jason Kidd is on the hot seat in Dallas... right?

Jason Kidd has developed a pattern. He was great in his first season with the Nets back in 2013-14, leading the team to 44 wins and the second round of the playoffs. He went to the Bucks a season later and experienced similar success, finally unlocking Giannis Antetokounmpo and shepherding Milwaukee to a postseason berth.

Then, his second season with the Bucks went south. Rather than progressing, the Bucks took a step back and finished eight games below .500 at 33-49. In his third season, there was progress (42-40). In his fourth season, he was fired midway through.

Now with the Dallas Mavericks, it's the exact same arc. Kidd appeared to revive Dallas in his first season. The Mavs won 52 games and Luka Doncic led a conference finals run. The next season — that fateful 2022-23 campaign — saw the Mavs finish three games below .500 and miss the postseason entirely. A dramatic shift in the wrong direction, despite adding Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline.

In year three, Kidd has once again found equilibrium. The Mavs are 32-23 at the All-Star break and it's clear the roster is meshing. A lot of credit goes to the front office for adding Dereck Lively, Derrick Jones Jr., and more recently P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to the mix. Obviously Doncic is an MVP candidate. But, what about Kidd? What's his whole deal.

The Mavs often feel like a team coasting on top-end talent. Even with superior depth across the board, Kidd has frequently baffled fans with his personnel choices and crunch-time decisions. He feels like a coach with a concrete ceiling. He might be able to relate to players and put a few quality regular seasons under his belt, but Kidd's performance in 2022-23 was truly awful. When forced to adapt to injuries or mismatched rosters, Kidd falls apart. It's hard to feel like he's the right coach to lead Dallas to the promised land. Mark Cuban loves him and his roots are deep, but if the Mavs get knocked out of the playoffs early... watch out.