2026 NBA coaching carousel: Power ranking the job openings, from worst to best

The Dallas Mavericks’ firing of head coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday, with a reported four years and $40 million remaining on his contract, came as somewhat of a shock.

It opened up a sixth head coaching job in the NBA this summer — and an attractive one at that, considering Cooper Flagg carries the franchise on his broad shoulders.

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While the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans have already hired Taylor Jenkins and Jamahl Mosley as their new head coaches, respectively, that doesn’t mean we can’t include those jobs — along with openings on the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers — in our power rankings of the NBA’s 2026 coaching carousel. Which job is worst? And which one is best?

Let us count them down.

6. Milwaukee Bucks

2025-26 record: 32-50, 11th in the East

2026 salary cap space (projected): $15.1 million non-taxpayer MLE

Future first-round draft picks: No. 10 (own); 2030 (swap with POR); 2031-32 (own)

On one hand … They have Antetokounmpo, one of the five best players in the world!

On the other … They are “open for business” on trades involving Antetokounmpo, and we expect a resolution to their break-up soon, perhaps by the June 23-24 draft.

Without Giannis, and even with him, this is a mess of a roster. They were 15-31 when he was on the bench this past season and 17-19 when he was in the lineup. They are paying Myles Turner $83.6 million to play for them through 2029, and they are paying Damian Lillard $90 million not to play for them through 2030. It is a real conundrum.

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They hired Jenkins to navigate their way out of this, but how? That we cannot know until we learn of the return for Antetokounmpo. Even then, it will be a years-long road to recovery, if not more, since the Bucks do not own their own picks again until 2031.

5. New Orleans Pelicans

2025-26 record: 26-56, 11th in the West

2026 salary cap space (projected): $15.1 million non-taxpayer MLE

Future first-round draft picks: 2027-32 (own)

On one hand … Assuming they pick up a $42.2 million option on Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have a two-time All-Star under contract,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/2026-nba-coaching-carousel-power-ranking-the-job-openings-from-worst-to-best-191025778.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2026-05-20 19:10:00

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