OKC Thunder: 3 head coach candidates from the Popovich tree
Three assistants from the Popovich tree that Sam Presti should consider to fill the OKC Thunder, head coaching vacancy.
With Houston hiring Stephen Silas as their new head coach the OKC Thunder remains the only team in the association yet to fill their coaching vacancy. There are still many great candidates available although time is of the essence.
The NBA Board of Governors and Players Association are embroiled in figuring out the 2020-21 campaign start date. Opening night could commence as early as December 22nd. That would mean training camps begin close to December 1st, and presumably, a mini preseason occurring a week to ten days later.
The more pressing events for teams are the November 18th NBA Draft and the yet to be determined Free Agency period although it’s a safe bet the Moratorium would be slated close to the Draft, possibly even beforehand.
Three OKC Thunder candidates from the Popovich coaching tree
Given those tight timelines, it would behoove Sam Presti to fill the head coach vacancy expeditiously. This so the new hire could offer input and insight into those two critical events. Moreover, if the season opens just prior to Christmas there will be precious little time for the new Thunder bench boss to acclimate and employ his (or her) systems with the team.
To that end, Thunderous Intentions is diving into a series of coaching options for the OKC Thunder. T.I. outlined three potential candidates with G-League head coaching experience a suggestion to swoop in to block the Clippers and hire former MVP Finals point guard Chauncey Billups and three candidates who are former players who have strong assistant coaching experience.
This next group of candidates comes courtesy of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree. For years Pops assistants have been plucked to fill open vacancies and despite the constant purging of the Spurs talent, his assistants remain as coveted as ever.
With that here’s three potential Spurs associate coaches the OKC Thunder should consider.