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It doesn't take much for an NBA coach to be labelled as 'subpar' unless there are other circumstances to be blamed for a team's underperformance. There are even instances where the head coach is seemingly used as a scapegoat so that the front office leadership escapes the blame.
For the aforementioned reasons and others, the turnover of head coaches in the modern NBA is significant. There were seven changes to head coaches that took place during the recent offseason. Rick Carlisle was the only one to receive the same position with a different organization, moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Indiana Pacers.
Four head coaches are exempt from this listing: Ime Udoka, Wes Unseld Jr., Chris Finch and Willie Green. Udoka, Unseld and Green are all commencing their first seasons as the head of an NBA coaching staff. Meanwhile, Finch joined the Minnesota Timberwolves midseason last campaign, so it felt unfair to include his winning percentage from a sample size of 41 NBA games.
Apart from the aforementioned quartet, here are the five active head coaches with the worst winning percentages heading into the 2021-22 NBA season.
#5 James Borrego (42.2%)
Prior to being elected as the Charlotte Hornets' head coach in 2018, James Borrego had only spent 30 previous games as an NBA head coach. He filled in after a firing at the end of the Magic's 2014-15 NBA season. Borrego's time in Charlotte has not been stellar, but considering his roster, it's also not something that has him in the hot seat quite yet.
The Hornets participated in the play-in tournament last season with a very young roster. Four of Borrego's eight most active players were 22 or younger, while the 'veteran' talent included Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward.
The 2021-22 NBA season is sure to be a big one for Borrego and the Hornets. Expectations were low last season, but many expect a playoff appearance from them heading into the new campaign.
James Borrego's coaching ability is still in question, as not many seem comfortable labelling him one way or the other. It's difficult to imagine that would remain the case after his fourth season on the job, though.
#4 Luke Walton (41.0%)
Luke Walton's NBA coaching campaign contains a notably different context than Borrego's. He spent three seasons with the LA Lakers, but never managed to win more than 37 games during that period. LeBron James played 55 games for Walton in 2018-19, but the team still missed the playoffs - with LeBron James.
It may just be the natural growth of youth in the league. But Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson have all become substantially better players since moving away from Walton.
Following three tumultuous seasons with the Lakers, Walton made his way up north to join the Sacramento Kings and his old friend Vlade Divac. Divac was the general manager of the Kings at the time. He notoriously did not conduct an actual coaching search, but instead believed Walton was the man, and moved quickly to bring him in.
Dave Joeger won 47% of his games in 2018-19 as Sacramento's head coach. Walton has won exactly 43% of his games in the last two NBA seasons at the helm, despite continued growth from the roster.
It's not as if the Kings roster has been anything significant during his tenure. But Walton has given the NBA fraternity no indication that he can improve or optimize a roster. At least the players seem to like him, though, if that counts for something.
#3 JB Bickerstaff (37.5%)
JB Bickerstaff spent his second full season as an NBA head coach last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 2018-19 was the first time he did so, but he has been an assistant for 15 years in the NBA.
Bickerstaff's head coaching stints are often complicated, as he seems to regularly fill in for a fired coach midseason. It's difficult to take anything from those years, as there was no time available to implement whatever system he saw as the best fit for the players rostered.
Then you take a look at the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, and they were expected to finish towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference heading into the year. Bickerstaff was in charge of developing young talent and giving them ample opportunity for growth, which eventually reflected on his win percentage.
The above-mentioned aspects make it difficult to evaluate Bickerstaff's coaching abilities. But it could be telling that the Memphis Grizzlies decided to look in another direction.
#2 Mark Daigneault (30.6%)
The final two names on this list are both participating in their first NBA season as head coaches for tanking teams. Mark Daigneault's roster with the Oklahoma City Thunder is practically the definition of youth.
Of the nine players who saw the most floor time, eight of them were 23 or younger. Only five of the 14 who participated for 500 or more minutes didn't meet the criteria.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who I would comfortably label the best player on the roster, played just 35 games. Al Horford was the lone veteran presence, but got sent home after 28 showings.
It is going to take some time before we find out what caliber of coach the 36-year-old Daigneault is. Josh Giddey, the second-youngest player selected in the 2021 NBA Draft lottery, was the team's top selection. All signs point towards another season, where winning basketball games may not be the priority.
#1 Stephen Silas (23.6%)
If you thought Mark Daigneault deserved a pass for his roster situation, Stephen Silas should be rewarded for what he had to deal with in Houston. In his first stint as an NBA head coach after two decades as an assistant, Silas walked in amidst high drama at the Rockets.
It's easy to forget that James Harden was still a member of the Rockets at the start of the 2020-21 NBA season. He dramatically waited to be traded while coasting through the first eight games of the season. PJ Tucker stuck around a bit longer, but not because he wanted to. Eric Gordon seemed unhappy, and was unhealthy for most of the season.
John Wall was attempting to return from injury while getting acclimatized to his first home outside Washington. Victor Oladipo, the main player returning from Harden's departure, played only 20 games before getting injured.
That should be enough to convince you that Silas stood no chance last NBA season: Jae'Sean Tate logged the most minutes by a Rocket player last season, 717 more than Christian Wood.
Considering the Rockets' situation going into the 2021-22 NBA season, it makes it difficult to evaluate Silas's coaching ability.
