The 2016-17 NBA season is officially underway with most teams settled in to try and show how offseason moves turned out. That said, there are several coaches like Fred Hoiberg of the Chicago Bulls and Quin Snyder who will need to prove their worth if they plan to keep their jobs.
Hoiberg is entering his second year as head coach for the Bulls but is faced with a lot of pressure. Not only did he fail to bring the Bulls farther in the 2015-16 NBA playoffs, he now has to deal with a retooled team that lost key players in the Summer.
Gone are Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah who are now with the New York Knicks. Regardless, the Bulls were able to get two good players in Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade. While the backcourt seems promising, critics question the volatility the Bulls have in the forward line.
The Bulls lost a tough one in Noah and a veteran scorer in Gasol. Jimmy Butler may still be around but one cannot help but think that the Bulls saw a lot of toughness gone heading into the current season.
Injury-prone Taj Gibson is still there along with Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott, Bobby Portis and new Bull Robin Lopez. It will all be up to Hoiberg to weave his magic on the new-look Bulls. The team got younger in the offseason with 8 players under 25, five of which are new faces, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The key here is to see if Hoiberg’s brand of basketball finally bears any fruit. It apparently failed last season with the Bulls moving on from the Tim Thibodeau era. Failing for the second year in a row could force Bulls management to make another coaching change.
On the other hand, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz may not exactly be under the same pressure but will need to prove his worth. He is seen as one of the better young coaches to date though he needs to prove that he has what it takes to win, Sports Illustrated reported.
Snyder will have little room for excuse with Gordon Hayward getting veteran help following the acquisition of George Hill and Joe Johnson. If the Jazz falter, he could be out of a job soon.
Check out the video below showing Fred Hoiberg's assessment and plans for the Chicago Bulls this coming NBA season.