Coaches Ranking

[bleedspeed]

Flip came in 25th. Ouch

Our front-office rankings continue with a look at the NBA's 30 current head coaches -- the league's on-court decision-makers.

We asked our ESPN Forecast panel to rate every team's coach. In particular, we asked the voters to rate each coach on his guidance and leadership in terms of how it affects overall on-court success, both in the short and long term.

(On Tuesday, we unveiled our overall front-office rankings. On Wednesday, we broke down our rankings of team presidents and GMs. On Friday, we'll reveal our owner rankings.)

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12561256/2015-front-office-rankings-top-coaches

[AbeVigodaLive]

24th for front office. 25th for coaching. Can't wait to find out where in the 20s Taylor ranks.

[TheGrey08]

The "front office" ranking includes owner down to HC. Either way these rankings are very sketchy.. Scott Brooks 20th? The Heat front office ranking 3rd? George Karl 16th? Where are they getting this crap from?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

The "front office" ranking includes owner down to HC. Either way these rankings are very sketchy.. Scott Brooks 20th? The Heat front office ranking 3rd? George Karl 16th? Where are they getting this crap from?

You had a problem with these? Scott Brooks is a poor head coach. The Heat FO is ridiculously good. And Karl's track record alone has him in the middle of the pack. Tough to argue against those three in particular.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The "front office" ranking includes owner down to HC. Either way these rankings are very sketchy.. Scott Brooks 20th? The Heat front office ranking 3rd? George Karl 16th? Where are they getting this crap from?

If Bosh doesn't have his health issue their starting 5 is Dragic/Wade/Deng/Bosh/Whiteside. That is crazy good and all they gave up to get it were projected mid to late first round picks for legitimate starters and all-stars.

[TheGrey08]

He's a poor coach b/c they haven't won? He's also been insanely unlucky with injuries. Not saying he's great, but 20th is harsh. Meanwhile David Blatt at 18? Spoelstra 6th? I just wonder how they come up with rankings.

The whole big 3 fiasco helped the Heat front office a ton with the players were a big part in making that happen. If they didn't come together in the first place it never happens. That to me plays a huge role in where they are now. They took a flier on Whiteside (we'll see if his head stays on straight) and pulled off the Dragic trade. Solid/good moves. Deng going there was more about Wade/Bosh already being there IMO so that holds little weight for me. I agree that's a damn good starting 5 if healthy & Whiteside's head is on straight. Sure that front office looks great compared to ours, but still think it's a little overrated.

[AbeVigodaLive]

He's a poor coach b/c they haven't won? He's also been insanely unlucky with injuries. Not saying he's great, but 20th is harsh. Meanwhile David Blatt at 18? Spoelstra 6th? I just wonder how they come up with rankings.

The whole big 3 fiasco helped the Heat front office a ton with the players were a big part in making that happen. If they didn't come together in the first place it never happens. That to me plays a huge role in where they are now. They took a flier on Whiteside (we'll see if his head stays on straight) and pulled off the Dragic trade. Solid/good moves. Deng going there was more about Wade/Bosh already being there IMO so that holds little weight for me. I agree that's a damn good starting 5 if healthy & Whiteside's head is on straight. Sure that front office looks great compared to ours, but still think it's a little overrated.

That franchise managed to make four straight NBA Finals. And, regroup on the fly after losing the game's best player. And still contend for a playoff spot without its best player for about half the season.

[TheGrey08]

4 straight NBA finals with 3 of the best players in the world who came together a year earlier talking about wanting to play together. Sorry if I'm not that impressed there b/c that never happens otherwise. Give any front office that massive of a head start and they'd have to be awful to mess that up. Yes props to them for dumping their entire roster. Props for the Dragic trade. Props for taking a flier on Whiteside. I like what they've done, but still don't see how they've done enough to be ranked that high.

Meanwhile the Thunder who built their team in a much more difficult way with numerous successful drafts don't get credit b/c they've had injuries lately and haven't put it all together, but look at that roster and all the talent they've developed.

[AbeVigodaLive]

4 straight NBA finals with 3 of the best players in the world who came together a year earlier talking about wanting to play together. Sorry if I'm not that impressed there b/c that never happens otherwise. Give any front office that massive of a head start and they'd have to be awful to mess that up. Yes props to them for dumping their entire roster. Props for the Dragic trade. Props for taking a flier on Whiteside. I like what they've done, but still don't see how they've done enough to be ranked that high.

Meanwhile the Thunder who built their team in a much more difficult way with numerous successful drafts don't get credit b/c they've had injuries lately and haven't put it all together, but look at that roster and all the talent they've developed.

OKC did the only thing they could do drafting Durant. It was a no-brainer. (If you discount Miami putting each team together... I guess that works both ways) They made a very good pick in Westbrook. And struck gold with Ibaka where they got him.

Those were all several years ago. Since, they've butchered (miscalculated) the Harden saga. They also whiffed on Lamb. They kept Perkins too long. Et al. I'm not saying they should be ranked low. But you can only run on the fumes of previous decisions for so long...

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The Thunder also traded Pondexter and Craig Brackins for Cole Aldrich (Pondexter would be a role player for them right now). They traded Bledsoe to the Clippers for future picks (which I can't track down at all as to what they became; not good) and proceeded to draft Reggie Jackson the following year. That's right, they could have had Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Ibaka and Bledsoe all on the same team. Imagine rotating Westbrook/Harden/Bledsoe in a backcourt. Then the big Harden trade that they royally screwed up. This all happened after drafting Westbrook and Durant, so why are they still getting credit for moves they made in '07 and '08 when we are in a system that all but guarantees they got to keep those guys for 9 years because of restricted free agency? They've recovered somewhat with the Kanter trade because he is exactly what they needed in the frontcourt, but then they negate some of it with the Waiters trade and overall they are about 50/50 when it comes to the draft whether they get a useful player or not.