Front offices are always aiming to find the coach who fits nicely or is a hot commodity, and rightfully so. With that, however, we basically see a coaching carousel for years and years before the lineup of employed and free agent coaches are significantly altered. There’s also a handful of opportunities for coaches of every age all the time, for better or worse.

The upcoming season is no different, and as usual, even if we are over two months away from opening night, there are some who we know are feeling definite pressure. Let’s now take a look at the head honchos who have the hottest seats entering the 2024-25 NBA season.

Chauncey Billups – Portland Trail Blazers

Beloved veteran point guard Chauncey Billups headlines this list as he has had a horrendous run thus far, and it’s arguable that he should have already been given the boot midway this past season, if not earlier.

Here’s Billups’s record since landing in Portland:

• 2021-22: 27-55, finished 27th in points and points allowed
• 2022-23: 33-49, finished 23rd in points allowed
• 2023-24: 21-61, finished 29th in points

Granted, this past campaign was a rebuilding year as franchise man Damian Lillard got traded. However, as seen in the records and offensive and defensive rankings, the team hasn’t done anything good even before, which was partly why Lillard decided to leave in the first place.

Billups is in the last year of his contract, with 2025-26 being a team option. It’s either he’ll be let go after another rough start, or he won’t be renewed unless the team improves significantly.

Quin Snyder – Atlanta Hawks

There was a lot of hype for Quin Snyder when he joined the Hawks late in the 2022-23 season. After all, he turned the Utah Jazz into a playoff contender and formidable defensive team – he looked like someone the team needed at that time. Welp, fast forward to one-and-a-half years, he hasn’t improved the squad yet.

Previous coach Nate McMillian was 29-30 on the season when he got fired. Snyder is 46-57 since taking over, and the Hawks were 28th in points allowed this past season. One of their best defensive players, Dejounte Murray, also asked out and was shipped to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Hawks do have some encouraging factors, most notably 2024 1st overall pick Zacharie Risacher. Let’s see if he can save Snyder’s job, who’s only on the third year of his five-year deal.

Billy Donovan – Chicago Bulls

This is a tough one since Billy Donovan just had a good season two years ago. He’s also a damn good coach, and a legendary basketball maestro in college hoops. However, it’s clear that it’s time he and the Bulls part ways.

The Bulls are on a downward spiral and are in need of a rebuild. They have now failed to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, settling for a paltry play-in spot that went nowhere. DeMar DeRozan, who helped bring a ton of energy into the team and the city in his three years there, has been traded. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic could be on their way out too.

Here’s how the Bulls have done since the ‘22 campaign:

• 2021-22 – 46-36, playoff appearance, winningest Bulls season since 2015.
• 2022-23 – 40-42, did not make the playoffs (eliminated in the play-ins)
• 2023-24 – 39-43, did not make the playoffs (eliminated in the play-ins)

Remember when the Bulls had a players-only meeting in their season debut?

Willie Green – New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the most fun teams to watch in the league as they are filled with a collection of exciting talent – Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Jose Alvarado. It got even better as Dejounte Murray was brought in from Atlanta this off-season.

That, however, added pressure for Willie Green, who has turned from a hot, young commodity to a soon-to-be-unemployed head coach just in the last two seasons.

The Pelicans were a surprise team in the 2022 postseason and gave the top-seeded Phoenix Suns a tough battle in the first round before bowing out in six games. Then, with a ton of momentum in 2023, they suddenly failed to crack a playoff spot as they lost two play-in games. They returned to the playoffs in 2024, but it was a quick exit after they got swept by the raging Oklahoma City Thunder.

If Green doesn’t advance this team past this season, there’s a strong chance he’ll be let go.