5 head coaches on the hot seat entering the 2020-21 NBA season

The NBA's head coaching carousel was in full swing this offseason.

Nine teams enter the upcoming campaign with a new bench boss, as a handful of rookies and familiar names were hired to fill an abundance of vacancies.

There likely won't be as many job openings next summer, but a few head coaches are feeling the heat ahead of the league's Dec. 22 return.

Here are five head coaches that could be in jeopardy depending on how their 2020-21 season shakes out:

Ryan Saunders

The Minnesota Timberwolves are feeling the pressure to keep Karl-Anthony Towns happy. While the former No. 1 overall pick remains under contract through 2023-24, he was reportedly unhappy with the club just a year ago. Since then, Minnesota acquired All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell - who happens to be one of Towns' best friends.

Towns has developed into one of the Association's top inside-out threats over his five seasons with the T-Wolves, but the club has finished above .500 only once during that span. Saunders went 17-25 after he took over for Tom Thibodeau midway through the 2018-19 campaign but managed just two more wins during his first full year in charge last season.

At 34, Saunders is the youngest head coach in the league. Despite having a decade worth of experience as an assistant, it's clear he's still learning on the job. It'd be harsh to relieve Saunders of his duties after three partial seasons at the helm, considering he was implementing a new system and dealt with a ton of roster turnover during the 2019-20 campaign.

However, Towns and the T-Wolves' brass might not have the patience to see it through if the club doesn't show much improvement. Minnesota has apparently parted ways with general manager Scott Layden. Who's to say Saunders isn't next?

Luke Walton

The Sacramento Kings should've never moved on from Dave Joerger in the first place. The 46-year-old was fired following the 2018-19 campaign despite guiding the team to its best record since the Kings' last playoff appearance in 2005-06.

Walton immediately succeeded Joerger but was unable to build on the previous year's momentum. Sacramento posted eight fewer wins in its first season under Walton, extending the organization's NBA-leading active playoff drought to 14 seasons.

Walton's debut campaign was tumultuous - starting guard Buddy Hield publicly called out the coaching staff's lack of belief in him and was reportedly frustrated when the club shifted him to the bench. The Kings star apparently wasn't answering Walton's phone calls during the offseason.

The two don't appear to have mended fences ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. Walton hasn't confirmed Hield will retake his place in Sacramento's starting five despite Bogdan Bogdanovic's departure. New general manager Monte McNair could be forced to intervene and won't feel obligated to keep the previous regime's bench boss.

Scott Brooks

The Washington Wizards have progressively worsened since Brooks joined the organization on a five-year contract in 2016. The former Coach of the Year led the franchise to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons on the sideline, but the Wizards haven't been back since.

John Wall's extended absence has contributed to Washington's recent struggles, but it doesn't excuse the team's lack of defense. The Wizards have allowed the second-most points per contest and finished bottom three in total opponent points in the paint in each of the last two seasons.

Brooks needs to prove he's worthy of a new deal this upcoming season. The 55-year-old's long-standing relationship with the newly-acquired Russell Westbrook will certainly help his cause, but it shouldn't take precedence if the club continues to surrender an alarming amount of buckets.

Lloyd Pierce

The only team with arguably more defensive troubles than the Wizards over the past two seasons is the Atlanta Hawks. Pierce's squad has ranked dead last in opponent second-chance points (14.8 per game), average points allowed (119.6), and opponent free-throw attempts per contest (27.9) during that timespan.

Atlanta's defensive woes won't go away overnight, especially when its top-two scorers - Trae Young and John Collins - aren't exactly known for locking down their counterparts. However, drafting Onyeka Okongwu, signing free agent Kris Dunn, and regaining a healthy Clint Capela should push things in the right direction, making a lack of progress an indictment on Pierce's tactics and player rotations.

The California native's long-term future with the Hawks could also hinge on his relationship with Young. Pierce didn't exactly go to bat for Young when Team USA didn't put him on the 44-man preliminary roster for the Toyko Olympics, and he apparently still isn't on good terms with the face of the franchise. Pierce - an assistant on the American staff - made comments regarding Young's exclusion, prompting a cryptic tweet from the All-Star guard shortly after.

Mike Budenholzer

Is any squad under more pressure than the Milwaukee Bucks? Head coach Mike Budenholzer refuses to look at the 2020-21 campaign as championship or bust, but anything short of a Finals appearance will probably cost him his job.

There's no discounting Milwaukee's regular-season success during Budenholzer's two-year tenure. The club has won nearly 75% of its games and posted the Association's top record in each of the past two campaigns. Heading into the bubble, the Bucks had registered the third-best defensive rating in NBA history relative to league average.

Still, Milwaukee has fallen short of its title aspirations in back-to-back years. The Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat have ousted the Bucks from the playoffs using the same formula: Pack the paint against Giannis Antetokounmpo and force his running mates to beat you.

Not all of the blame should be on Budenholzer. The Greek Freak has yet to develop a consistent jumper, while the front office is also at fault for constructing the roster around him. However, the 51-year-old bench boss deserves full criticism for failing to solve a game plan that's derailed his team in consecutive postseasons. It's hard to see the two-time NBA Coach of the Year surviving another early playoff stumble.