4 NBA coaches on the hot seat heading into 2021-22

It's not particularly fun to predict which NBA coaches could be the first to lose their jobs. Such outcomes upend both careers and the lives of entire families. Whether the coach being told to take a hike is richly compensated is beside the point.

However, there shouldn't be much in-season turnover this campaign. Consider that nine of the league's 30 head coaches assumed their roles in 2021. That includes the Atlanta Hawks' Nate McMillan and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Chris Finch, who earned mid-season promotions last campaign.

Still, the 30 bench bosses who man the sidelines as the 2021-22 season begins will almost assuredly not be the same group at the reins a year from now. Recent history tells us that a handful of established veterans and hotshot newbies will fall by the wayside over the next 12 months.

Here are some of the NBA coaches who are on the hot seat this season.

Luke Walton, Kings

Somehow, Luke Walton is already the 10th-longest-tenured active head coach, sporting a 62-82 (.431) record after two seasons with the Sacramento Kings. On paper, the team probably shouldn't harbor expectations of a winning record or a playoff berth. But a play-in game or two might be in reach.

That isn't to say Walton's success won't be closely monitored, especially with his contract up after 2022-23. For starters, general manager Monte McNair - who inherited Walton from the Vlade Divac regime - will want to see the Kings improve dramatically on last season's league-worst defense.

Even if Sacramento is trending upward, local history isn't on Walton's side. Dating back to 2006, only Dave Joerger made it through three full seasons as the Kings' head coach. Walton's predecessor was still dismissed following the team's atypically strong 39-43 campaign in 2018-19.

James Borrego, Hornets

Among the nine coaches who've led their current teams for at least three seasons, only James Borrego's squad has yet to qualify for the playoffs. The Hornets are 95-124 (.434) in three campaigns, topping off with last season's play-in game defeat.

Unlike the Kings, Charlotte should compete for a low playoff seed. Twenty-year-old LaMelo Ball put up 16-6-6 in his Rookie of the Year campaign. Gordon Hayward will need to have his workload managed, but he, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, and P.J. Washington, along with Ball, make for a solid core.

This is no longer a lame-duck season for Borrego; though his initial four-year deal would've been up next summer, he inked a multi-year extension in August. However, recall that McMillan - a coach with a string of playoff appearances to his credit - was given the boot last summer two weeks after the Pacers gave him a one-year extension.

It'd only take a few misfortunes - an early-season sophomore slump for Ball; an ill-timed injury for Hayward - to put the Hornets in panic mode. If the team sputters out of the gate, owner Michael Jordan's patience with Borrego and team president Mitch Kupchak could start to wear thin.

Billy Donovan, Bulls

Recall that not only does Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf have a reputation for keeping his pursestrings clenched, but he's also the guy who let Gar Forman and John Paxson run the team long after the duo's best-before date had passed.

Given that precedent - and the stench of the Jim Boylen era still wafting through the United Center - it'd be the shock of the season if Chicago made a knee-jerk decision to buy out the three years and roughly $18 million in salary remaining on Billy Donovan's deal.

That said, the Bulls clearly have high hopes after mortgaging a number of significant draft assets over the past calendar year to pair Zach LaVine with other All-Star talents in Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, as well as bring in emerging talents like Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.

Also ... Reinsdorf is 85. Surely he'd enjoy witnessing his team hoist its first championship banner in over 23 years. Enough said.

Dwane Casey, Pistons

Like Donovan, Dwane Casey has some significant time and money left on his current deal with the Detroit Pistons - roughly $14 million over two years.

In fairness, the institutional focus has shifted since Casey joined the Pistons fresh off his Coach of the Year win in 2017-18. Though he was brought in to coach Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, and Andre Drummond, the vets have all been jettisoned in favor of longer-term development projects - Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes, and first overall pick Cade Cunningham.

The fact remains that the team has posted a 81-139 (.368) record under Casey, including just 20 wins in each of the past two seasons. At some point, all of that player development should start to resemble a winning core. If the team doesn't continue to make strides, perhaps front-office leadership will wonder if the 64-year-old is the right man for the job. Frankly, most signs seem to suggest he still is. But time will tell.