Shortly before the playoffs last season, the Denver Nuggets fired long-time head coach Michael Malone. Despite being a successful coach who led the Nuggets to a championship, a change felt necessary -- Malone's rotations were questionable, and his voice was waning in the locker room.
Assistant coach David Adelman stepped up and now looks like one of the best coaches in the league. The Nuggets are currently third in the Western Conference and have impressively been 8-5 with Nikola Jokić out of the lineup. Of course, the Nuggets' fantastic offseason moves have played a role in this success, but Adelman also deserves a ton of credit for the team's season. Under Adelman, many of the Nuggets' young players have broken out, including Peyton Watson.
Malone's firing proved two things: no coach is untouchable, and that a coaching change can be highly beneficial. The Minnesota Timberwolves might make a similar change with Chris Finch -- who by all accounts has been the franchise's most accomplished coach.
A large contingent of the Wolves fanbase has been begging for the team to move on from Finch. I have remained fairly pro-Finch throughout this debate among Wolves fans. Nevertheless, Finch has clear flaws, and if the Wolves make a coaching change, it could be for the best. Much like the Nuggets, they have a clear successor for Finch in Micah Nori.
A coaching change could benefit the Timberwolves
Finch's sub patterns have been a key point of contention among Wolves fans. His refusal to give Joan Beringer significant minutes despite the rookie proving that he can contribute in two games against quality opponents and his unwavering loyalty to an aging Mike Conley are the two prime examples. Notably, Conley is averaging 19.3 minutes and 2.3 points while shooting 15 percent from the field during the Wolves' recent four-game losing streak.
Beyond his rotations, Finch's offensive schemes lack creativity, and he empowers players a bit too much. Could Nori fix these problems? It's possible. Earlier this season, Nori took over the late-game play-calling duties for Finch. That's an interesting move at the very least.
Minnesota's inconsistent energy and lackadaisical approach to certain regular season games could also be seen as a reflection on Finch.
The biggest factor in determining an NBA coach's success is player satisfaction. To date, there's no sign that the Wolves are disconnected from Finch.
However, things can change in a hurry, and given Finch's other problems, it wouldn't be surprising if they moved on from him at some point. Now, I don't think anything is imminent, but if the Wolves' recent struggles continue, I wouldn't rule out a coaching change. Frankly, it's become commonplace in the modern NBA.
Likewise, if the Wolves fade out early in the playoffs, it feels highly possible that Finch would be let go. Finch has led the Timberwolves to two straight conference finals runs -- but to reach another level, a head coaching change might have to be made.
Again, I don't think a move is going to happen soon, and it certainly wouldn't be as drastic as what the Nuggets did (as they also got rid of their GM). Furthermore, I'm not certain that a coaching change is necessary, but the possibility needs to be discussed, and Finch's flaws are notable.
Overall, firing Finch and promoting Nori (at some point) could benefit the Wolves in a similar way to how firing Malone helped the Nuggets.