There are three NBA teams still searching for a new head coach, with the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers picking from a pool of candidates to lead them going into the 2026-27 season. <\/p>\n
Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst<\/a>, the feeling around the league right now is that the Bulls are the “closest” from that trio of teams to making a hire. <\/p>\n The Blazers’ search is being impacted by the Carolina Hurricanes’ run in the NHL playoffs, as Portland governor Tom Dundon also owns the hockey club that is one win away from winning the Stanley Cup Final. <\/p>\n Carolina can close out the series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 on Sunday. <\/p>\n A timeline for the Mavs to make a hire was not specified in the report, but the “most likely outcome” is they will give the job to one of the rising assistant coaches in the league based on Masai Ujiri’s track record from his time with the Toronto Raptors. <\/p>\n Chicago and Portland are competing from a similar pool of candidates, with Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori considered finalists<\/a> for both jobs. <\/p>\n Bontemps and Windhorst also cited Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr. and Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt\u00a0as candidates in Chicago. <\/p>\n Other candidates<\/a> for the Blazers include Utah Jazz assistant Mike Williams and Boston Celtics assistant coach Tyler Lashbrook. Jeff Van Gundy was at one point considered a top candidate, but he is reportedly<\/a> no longer in the mix. <\/p>\n Dallas’ entire organizational philosophy changed when Ujiri was hired as team president on May 4. He has reportedly<\/a> received complete authority to run the basketball department as he sees fit, which in part led to his decision<\/a> to move on from Jason Kidd as head coach. <\/p>\n Nori would seem like a natural fit in Dallas based on Ujiri’s history of pursuing high-level assistants to be first-time head coaches, but he has said<\/a> there hasn’t been a lot of contact between his camp and the Mavericks. <\/p>\n