Is firing a fix-all? Part 2

In another article, I wrote about teams that advanced to the NBA Finals after an in-season coaching change. For grins, I looked at other teams that advanced to the NBA Finals within two years of a coaching change, in-season or off-season.

An important note: it’s not always about the coach. Some teams may have made significant offseason changes that played as larger a role in the team’s success, if not more so.

1980-81 Boston Celtics

The Celtics won their 14th NBA title in coach Bill Fitch’s second year on the job. Fitch took over a team coming off back-to-back losing seasons and added the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish during that time. That probably helped. Having legendary players always helps.

1983-84 Boston Celtics

A clash of philosophies led to Fitch’s resignation after the 1982-83 season. The Celtics had won no fewer than 56 games in Fitch’s four seasons in Boston and made the Eastern Conference Finals every season except the one that resulted in a title. The team turned to former star K.C. Jones and the results were immediate: an NBA title in Jones’ inaugural season as coach.

On a related note, the Celtics acquired guard Dennis Johnson from Phoenix prior to the season.

1989-90 Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers had a squad flush with talent, including the likes of Clyde Drexler, Kiki Vandeweghe and Steve Johnson. Coach Mike Shuler won 49 and 53 games in two seasons, snagging the Coach of the Year award in his first season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs both seasons, as well. After a lackluster 25-22 start to the 1988-89 season, the Blazers fired Schuler and promoted assistant coach Rick Adelman. The changeover was far from smooth as the Blazers won only 14 of their final 35 games under Adelman. However, he coached the Blazers to the 1990 NBA Finals, where they lost 4-1 to Detroit, and the 1992 NBA Finals, which the Bulls won 4-2.

The turnaround wasn’t all Adelman’s doing. The Blazers acquired former All-Star forward Buck Williams in the 1989 offseason, and drafted Clifford Robinson in the second round of the draft that summer.

1990-91 Chicago Bulls

The developing Bulls had shown progress under coach Doug Collins in three seasons. However, the Bulls surprisingly fired Collins after the Bulls lost in the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals. Some guy named Phil Jackson was promoted from assistant coach to head coach. It took a couple of seasons, but the Bulls eventually started winning title after title after title after title after title after title after title under Jackson.

1990-91 Los Angeles Lakers

Pat Riley eventually resigned and the Lakers hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach (and occasional 10-day contract signee) Mike Dunleavy to take over. The Lakers advanced to the Finals in Dunleavy’s first season, losing to the team in the previous paragraph. It would turn out to be Dunleavy’s first and only NBA Finals appearance.

1992-93 Phoenix Suns

Legendary coach Cotton Fitzsimmons retired after the 1991-92 season and the team turned to assistant coach Paul Westphal. The Suns immediately won 62 games, thanks in no small part to an offseason trade for eventual MVP Charles Barkley, and advanced to the NBA Finals for only the second time in franchise history, where they lost to the Bulls.

Like Dunleavy, Westphal also never advanced to another NBA Finals.

1994-95 Orlando Magic

Brian Hill took over as the Magic’s coach in 1993 and there when the Magic advanced to the 1995 NBA Finals. But let’s be honest: Hill’s success came thanks to Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. After O’Neal bolted Orlando, Hill never posted another winning record as a head coach.

1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers

Del Harris won many regular season games in L.A., but he could never get them over the proverbial hump. Harris was hired before the arrival of O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and was in charge during the beginning of their Laker tenure. The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals only once under Harris, who was fired midway through the shortened 1998-99 season. The Lakers hired Jackson at the end of the season and proceeded to win title after title after title (notice a trend here?).

2001-02 New Jersey Nets

The Nets advanced to the NBA Finals in coach Byron Scott’s second season (and another the next season), but history knows Jason Kidd deserves a significant amount of the credit for this. Scott has won fewer than 40 percent of his games without Kidd. Let’s move on.

2003-04 Detroit Pistons

The Pistons were making advances under young coach Rick Carlisle, but it wasn’t enough. Eager to pounce on an Eastern Conference that featured no real juggernaut, the Pistons fired Carlisle after his second season and hired Larry Brown. The change worked, as the Pistons won a title in Brown’s first season and lost in the finals the following season, which would be Brown’s last season in Detroit. As he is wont to do, Brown left the Pistons in scorched-Earth fashion.

Brown owes some of this success to Rasheed Wallace, who the Pistons acquired at the trade deadline in 2004 for scraps and a draft pick.

(Ironically, that draft pick became Josh Smith for the Hawks. He’d later sign with the Pistons as a free agent in 2013. About 18 months later, the Pistons have him a nearly $30 million Golden Parachute to go away.)

2005-06 Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks changed coaches late in the 2004-05 season. Longtime coach Don Nelson was fired or agreed to leave, depending on which story you believe. Avery Johnson was promoted to head coach and the team caught fire. The Mavericks won 16 of their final 18 games that season and eventually advanced to the Finals in the next season, his first full season on the job.

The Mavericks didn’t make a major player addition in the 2005 offseason, but they did make a significant subtraction. Veteran guard Michael Finley was waived via a new salary cap trick known as the Amnesty Provision. The then-31-year old former All-Star was on the decline, yet still productive. Dallas saved over $51.8 million in luxury taxes with this move.

Side note: I think there are parallels between Avery Johnson’s coaching career and M. Night Shyamalan’s directorial career: Immediate, smashing success and all downhill afterwards.

2008-09 Orlando Magic

The Magic ended Brain Hill’s second stint as head coach after the 2006-07 season and turned to Van Gundy. The Magic advanced to the Finals in Van Gundy’s second season. The franchise’s relationship with star center Dwight Howard slowly imploded shortly thereafter.