OKC Thunder: 10 NBA assistants to consider for head coach

Chris Finch – Pelicans assistant

Drawing comparisons to Mike D’Antoni and Nick Nurse is high praise but that’s precisely who Pelican assistant Chris Finch has been associated with. Much like Nurse, Finch cut his teeth coaching overseas as well as in the G-League. His penchant for fast pace offense is where the D’Antoni comparisons stem from.

Finch played his college ball at Franklin and Marshall where he was a two-way player ranking as one of the leaders in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. He left college playing professionally in England with the Sheffield Forgers between 1993 to 1997.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

When he stopped playing he began his coaching career with the same club who were renamed the Sheffield Sharks.  Stints with the Giessen 46ers, Euphony Bree, and Dexia Mons-Hainaut followed prior to Finch returning to America to coach the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his first season, he won the G-League (then D-League) championship and was named D-League Coach of the Year.

Despite his comparison to D’Antoni, the irony is he left the Rockets when D’Antoni replaced Kevin McHale as the coach. He moved onto the Nuggets bench in that season and then to the Pelicans where he spent the past three seasons on Alvin Gentry’s staff.

Sergio Scariolo – two seasons on Nick Nurse Raptors staff

While Jordi Fernandez spent time as an assistant on the Spanish National Team the man at the helm was Sergio Scariolo. He pulled off an impressive feat in 2018-19 with the double-double. He led the Spanish team to the FIBA World Cup Gold Medal after celebrating a title with the Toronto Raptors as part of Nick Nurse’s staff.

Most of Scariolo’s experience was gained internationally where the 59-year old has coached 11 different clubs. He joined the Raptors in 2018 and was a key contributor on the club not to mention his close relationship with Marc Gasol.

In closing:

Both Finch and Scariolo are seasoned coaches with ample experience. However, Finch feels like the better fit of the two. In fact of the 10 assistants from this list, Finch may be the best OKC Thunder head coach candidate. While Presti has always put a preference on defense and Finch’s talents lie primarily on the offensive end there is reason to believe he (like Nurse) would value the defensive side of the court as well.

Finch checks off all the boxes having worked with superstars and supplemental talent. He’s been a part of winning and losing squads so he should have the ability to navigate the rebuild phase and be poised to lead the club back into contention when the roster is ready.

And, with a mind that resembles Nurse and the ability to adapt on the fly, the Thunder could be gaining the NBA’s next great coach.