Latest status of Bulls, Blazers and Mavericks coaching searches
bulls-blazers-mavericks-coaching-search-updates
The NBA’s offseason shuffle behind the bench continues, with the Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks still without head coaches.
Chicago Bulls
League sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps that Chicago is closest to making a hire. The Bulls have spoken with several candidates, including Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter, Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and current Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr.
Whoever takes over inherits a youthful core led by sophomore forward Matas Buzelis, point guard Josh Giddey and two upcoming first-round selections at Nos. 4 and 15 in this month’s draft.
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland’s timeline appears less pressing. New owner Tom Dundon is currently focused on the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup bid, placing the Blazers’ search on hold for at least a few more days, according to ESPN. Financial commitment to the next coach remains a key unknown once the process resumes.
Dallas Mavericks
After parting ways with Jason Kidd, Dallas has been linked to college coaches Jon Scheyer of Duke and Dusty May of Michigan. However, ESPN reports the more likely scenario is that president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri elevates one of the NBA’s rising assistants—mirroring his previous promotions of Nick Nurse in 2018 and the hiring of Darko Rajaković in 2023 while with Toronto.
With the NBA Draft less than two weeks away, all three franchises are aiming to settle their coaching situations sooner rather than later.
Source: Hoops Wire