Consistency is important when it comes to NBA coaching – Deseret News

This article was first published as Jazz Insider Newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Friday.

Trying to keep track of who coaches NBA teams, who gets fired in the middle of the season, who gets fired after the season ends, and who has coaching vacancies is a roller coaster ride.

But don't worry, I'm not just here to assure you that the Utah Jazz are nowhere near the coaching ranks, I'm also here to say that Jazz fans should be very happy with how the Jazz are doing it Position of head coach see the expectations that come with it.

Before we talk about Will Hardy and the Jazz, let's take an honest look at what's been going on around the NBA lately.

In recent days, the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with head coach Darvin Ham and the Phoenix Suns fired coach Frank Vogel. We don't have to pretend that these two men are bad at their jobs. The Lakers weren't going to win an NBA title this year and everyone knew it. The Suns can't protect the rim of a drinking cup, let alone one on a basketball court, and they weren't planning on battling one of the Western Conference's powerhouses. The Lakers and Suns didn't lose because the coaches were bad.

Ham was fired after two seasons with the Lakers and Vogel, despite signing a five-year contract, was fired after just one season with the Suns. That's hardly enough time to get to know the employees. But here we are.

Before these recent firings, there was Wes Unseld Jr., who was fired in January after two and a half years of coaching the Washington Wizards' absolutely atrociously constructed teams. He was removed from coaching a team whose two best players were Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole.

(Pause for excessive eye rolling.)

In February 2023, the Brooklyn Nets gave Jacque Vaughn a contract extension and a year later – after Ben Simmons couldn't play basketball and Mikal Bridges was the best player on the team – fired him after a 21:33 start to the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers seem to be constantly firing and hiring, and the coaching carousel spins and spins.

Now let's take a look at the teams that are successful, the teams that are sticking with coaches and building rosters that are actually well constructed and have been given time to get used to it. Michael Malone has been head coach of the reigning champion Denver Nuggets for nine years; Tom Thibodeau has been the head coach of the New York Knicks for four years; Mark Daigneault has been the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder for four years; and JB Bickerstaff has been the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for four years.

In fact, Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is the only head coach of the remaining playoff teams to have been his team's head coach for less than three years. However, it should be noted that he has been part of the Celtics coaching staff since 2019.

There's always a lot of talk about the importance of consistency on NBA rosters and how chemistry is built over time – Rome wasn't built in a day and so on. But consistency in coaching definitely has a lot to offer.

The Jazz have always proven the importance of coaching consistency, and I don't expect them to change their philosophy in that department any time soon. Can you imagine how silly it would be if the Jazz had Lauri Markkanen as their best player and a group of people who barely knew each other expecting Hardy to take them to the top of the Western Conference and when he didn't , fire him?

This is what teams in the NBA do all the time. They have wild expectations that don't match the talent, age, chemistry and makeup of their roster, and then they eliminate the coach at the first opportunity.

The Jazz know the team they gave Will Hardy to, and they know they pulled the rug out from under him at two consecutive trade deadlines, essentially asking him to join a team with one arm tied to his back train. They know that until they give Hardy a squad capable of performing at their best, they won't get the results they want and that it will take time. Jazz fans should be happy about that.

New to jazz

How to pass the time in the off-season

Today I'm here to promote naps.

This is a true story. In high school, my mother, stepfather, and some friends were very worried about me because when I wasn't at school, at basketball practice, or doing something with my friends, I would often sleep. They feared that I was depressed and suffering in silence. There was a small intervention. (Side note: This was really important and honestly the right thing to do. Oversleeping is definitely a symptom of depression, and it's a good thing when the people who care about you pay attention and say something when they think something happens.)

But in this case, what I told you back in the early 2000s still applies today: “I'm not depressed, sleeping is simply one of my favorite activities.” I meant it that way then, and I mean it that way now.

As a woman in my late 30s who travels a lot for work and sleep is often a real asset, I value naps more than ever and love sleeping. Napping is not the same for everyone and I understand that it is not realistic for everyone to take a nap. But if you have time, even if it's just a few minutes, take advantage of it.

From the archives

Extra points

• Grading the Jazz: What We Learned About Talen Horton-Tucker, Luka Samanic and Kira Lewis Jr. (Deseret News)
• Grading the Jazz: Two-way players Johnny Juzang, Micah Potter and Jason Preston showed promise (Deseret News)
• Grading the Jazz: Newcomers Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Deseret News)
• Utah's new NHL team name will be decided with help from fans (Deseret News)

Around the league

Next up: NBA draft lottery

• May 12 | 1pm MDT | ABC