NBA coaching carousel matchmaker: Who best fits with the Sixers, and who will land Nick Nurse?

The NBA coaching cycle is perhaps more Whack-a-Mole than carousel. A coach is let go by one team, but then pops up in another spot.

That could be especially true in this offseason’s robust landscape. Three teams that viewed themselves as championship contenders — the 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Phoenix Suns — are all in search of a new leader following playoff flops. The Toronto Raptors, who won the 2019 title, also have a vacancy. That means those teams’ former coaches, who are all proven in one way or another, are available for employment — and, in some cases, in contention for the same openings.

So president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s task is not just identifying his top selection to be the Sixers’ next coach. It’s persuading that person that their organization’s environment would create the most harmonious professional marriage.

» READ MORE: Georges Niang’s final Inquirer diary dives inside Sixers’ disappointing finish and free agency

But who is the best fit for the Sixers? Or with the Bucks and Suns, for that matter? And what if the Boston Celtics become a late addition to this mix?

With anticipation that the competitive market could crank up during or after the holiday weekend, The Inquirer has attempted to figure that out with an all-in-good-fun game of matchmaker. One incorrect prediction likely throws off the entire puzzle, but here we go.

Nurse might have first pick at the open jobs, becoming this cycle’s prominent domino that sparks all other movement.

The former Raptors coach and 2019 NBA champion is a reported finalist in Milwaukee and Phoenix, and was scheduled to interview with the Sixers this week. All three are win-now teams with a current or former NBA Most Valuable Player on the roster. To an outsider, any of these partnerships look solid from Nurse’s or the team’s perspective.

Inquirer colleagues David Murphy and Keith Pompey have written extensively about Nurse’s fit with the Sixers, from his creative tactical strategy to his unfiltered-yet-insightful persona.

His task would be to maximize the prime of Joel Embiid, who continues to expand his game with off-the-dribble skills and playmaking while leading the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons. Though the Sixers’ offense ranked third in efficiency during the regular season, the eye test revealed too many possessions when the ball stuck.

Nurse is also quite familiar with taking over a team that has suffered through playoff failures season after season and guiding it to the mountaintop. Additionally, he has experience with rejuggling after a star leaves, in the event James Harden goes back to Houston.

Morey said in his end-of-season news conference that he values how coaches build relationships with star players. Nurse and his staff masterfully navigated Kawhi Leonard’s unique health demands (and on-court brilliance) during the 2018-19 title surge, though some locker-room relationships reportedly had, at the very least, run their course by the end of this season.

Following the blockbuster deadline trade for Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s thinned roster fizzled in the second round. Durant and Devin Booker will be with the Suns next season. Beyond that, who knows? Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul could be traded, and depth needs to be replenished after losing Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in the Durant deal.

» READ MORE: Former Sixers coach Doc Rivers is set to interview for Phoenix Suns job

Durant, who faced Nurse’s Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, has publicly praised the coach’s complex defensive schemes and in-game adjustments, saying “as an opposing player, it can keep you up at night.” To be fair, Durant is also fond of recently fired Suns coach Monty Williams, whom he initially played for with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Still, the Durant-Booker duo is lethal, and new Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia seems hell-bent on making splashes.

Milwaukee’s roster is also a bit in flux, with defensive big man Brook Lopez entering free agency and All-Star wing Khris Middleton having a player option for next season.

But the Bucks still have two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. And room for creativity on the defensive end, especially if Lopez re-signs. Perhaps a new voice and new wrinkles, combined with that core’s title experience, reignites their playoff mojo.

On paper, this likely is still the best roster available to coach.

Nurse match: Bucks

Two potential wild cards have emerged in the Sixers’ search in recent days. One, that Williams might take a season off instead of pursuing a job in this cycle (according to Yahoo! Sports). Two, that if Harden does reunite with the Rockets, hiring former coach Mike D’Antoni would not make a lot of sense.

If those two are no longer sensible options for the Sixers, that leaves candidates such as former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, former Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel (another confirmed Sixers interviewee) and Sixers assistant Sam Cassell.

Though Vogel won the 2020 NBA title, and Cassell has close bonds with current Sixers, Budenholzer has experienced the most sustained success at multiple stops.

Match: Budenholzer

The Bucks are reportedly down to two other finalists besides Nurse: Kenny Atkinson, the former Brooklyn Nets coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant, and Adrian Griffin, a longtime assistant coach who most recently worked under Nurse in Toronto.

» READ MORE: Which Sixers should stay or go? Swipe and decide who remains in Philly.

Atkinson brings a head-coaching background, along with valuable experience on Steve Kerr’s staff as the Warriors won the 2022 NBA title. But his first time leading a team with sky-high expectations — after the Nets signed Durant and Kyrie Irving — ended with a 2020 midseason firing. He found the most success with a surprisingly fun iteration of the Nets, who developed young players such as Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Caris LeVert. This Bucks team is not that.

Griffin, meanwhile, began his coaching career as a Milwaukee assistant from 2008-10 and is “intriguing” to Antetokounmpo, according to reporting from longtime NBA scribe Marc Stein. But is it too risky to go with a first-time head coach, given the Bucks’ shrinking title window as the core around Antetokounmpo ages?

Match: Atkinson

The Suns have an interesting collection of reported finalists, with a mixture of veteran head coaches and assistants looking for their first NBA opportunity in the lead chair.

Sixers followers understand the cachet that Doc Rivers’ name brings — and that, if preventing disappointing second-round playoff exits is the goal, he probably should not be the choice. Jordi Fernandez — who was a longtime assistant on Michael Malone’s Nuggets staff before joining the upstart Sacramento Kings — is a super-smart up-and-comer. But is he too much of an unknown to hire for the final push of Durant’s prime?

Suns assistant Kevin Young, who also cut his teeth in the Sixers organization, has been in the mix for head-coaching jobs and praised for his communication style and acumen. His candidacy among this group feels like more than a favor, but a viable option to keep some continuity while injecting new ideas.

Match: Young

Rumblings about Joe Mazzulla’s future began after the Boston Celtics shockingly fell into a 3-0 deficit against the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, before they won Games 4 and 5.

Mazzulla, who at 34 years old was thrust into the top position after Ime Udoka’s abrupt suspension, is close with basketball operations Brad Stevens. But if Stevens decides this job is too big for Mazzulla and opts to make a change, Boston suddenly becomes arguably the most attractive opening.

The Celtics boast the star power of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the long term, assuming Brown signs a max extension with the organization. They also have depth and defense in their complementary role players, from Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, to Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White.

Yet this playoff run has been evidence that the Celtics can sometimes lose their way, which the right coaching can (or should) correct.

Teams with openings might want to move fast — or hope the Celtics keep extending this series.