Three coaches who enter season on hot seat

Being an NBA coach means always living on the edge of being fired, but last season was particularly rough. Ime Udoka was out in Boston before training camp even opened (of his own doing). Steve Nash lasted seven games in Brooklyn. Nate McMillan was out in Atlanta at the All-Star break. After the season, Mike Budenholzer — who won a title in 2021 with the Bucks — was out, as was Monty Williams in Phoenix despite having led the Suns to the Finals against Budenholzer's Bucks. Strong coaches in Nick Nurse (Toronto), Doc Rivers (Philadelphia) and Dwane Casey (Detroit) also were shown the door.

This season, a handful of coaches will open training camp next week, sit down in their chair on the sidelines and find it warm. Their job is already on a knife's edge.

Here are three coaches who enter the season on the hot seat.

Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)

Things have to work in Dallas. The Mavericks have a generational talent in Luka Doncic. They have the beautiful game of Kyrie Irving next to him (and gave him a $126 million contract this summer). The Mavericks made moves such as adding Grant Williams to improve the defense. Doing all this backed Dallas into a financial corner — if this doesn't work and the Mavericks are not a serious threat in the West it won't be easy to retool and build another contender around Doncic. Other teams around the league are monitoring the situation, circling like vultures and hoping to pick off Doncic if the Mavericks struggle and he grows frustrated with losing.

If it doesn't work — if the Mavericks again look like the lottery team they were last season — someone is going to get blamed and that someone is Kidd. No coach enters the season under more pressure.

Steve Clifford (Charlotte Hornets)

Clifford's lack of job security is less about what happens on the court and more about the reality of his situation: Michael Jordan sold his majority shares of the Hornets to Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, they will want to bring in their own people, and GM Mitch Kupchak is believed to be in the final year of his contract. The buzz around the league is that the Hornets will clean house in the front office and coaching staff after this season. If things go poorly this season, Clifford could get shown the door for an early exit.

The way Clifford keeps his job (like any coach) is to win — and this has the potential to be a bounce-back season for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is healthy, P.J. Washington is taking steps forward in the paint, they have No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, and 20-point-a-game scorer Miles Bridges returns (in an awkward situation after missing a season after a domestic violence incident and arrest that also will cost him the first 10 games of this season due to a league suspension).

However, with the shifting ground in Charlotte, even winning may not be enough to save Clifford after the season ends.

Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls

Donovan faces "win now" expectations with a roster built to make the play-in. His defenders can rightfully say this is not all on Donvan, the chef has to cook with the ingredients he is given and the pantry in Chicago looks like a Chopped basket (it would look a lot better with the glue that is Lonzo Ball running the show, but he is out for the season). It doesn't matter, if things continue with this team looking like a No.8-11 seed in the East someone is going to pay the price.

And general managers don't fire themselves, someone else takes the hit. Donovan could be that guy in Chicago.