The NBA is a breeding ground for future basketball coaches, as most of the head coaches in the NBA today, and the best coaches of all-time, are former players. It's a crazy thought, but guys who have actually played the game on a professional level tend to be good at getting other guys to do the same.
We learned an interesting thing this season, as well. When Kobe Bryant sat out a handful of games with a bruised left shin, he seemed to look a natural pacing the sidelines and doling out advice to the guys on his team. Oh, and he's one hell of a dapper dude in an all black suit.
It seems that mid-level players end up making the best coaches, but sometimes stars can break through and do a good job manning the sidelines. The NBA is ripe with smart stars these days.
So, which one of the NBA's elite (or the NBA's former elite who are toiling away their later years as role players) would do be great coaches? Even further, which one of these guys could end up winning another (or a first) ring wearing shoes instead of sneakers?
10. Tyson Chandler
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It's kind of strange to see head coaches who are towering over the rest of the team, but it's not just the short guys who can call the plays.
Usually, if you want a good big man as a coach you're going to need a guy who is integral to the offense, meaning he knows the inter-workings of that end of the floor. You don't usually want a highlight-seeking big man who swats balls out of bounds and ends up losing his man on defense, but rather a cerebral defender who can play great help defense and knows how to defend the pick-and-roll.
Chandler, being the great defender that he is, would probably make one of the best coaching big men in the game today.
9. Dwyane Wade
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Dwyane Wade may be an insane athlete, a bit of a dirty player and an amazing guard, but he also has a pretty smart basketball mind.
Wade knows how to run an offense, he's a great defender, he's good at dealing with the referees (which really is a compliment, as much as it seems like a veiled criticism) and he is a natural-born leader.
His basketball know-how paired with the respect that would come along with him patrolling the sidelines in a suit would easily make him an effective coach.
8. Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bryant is great at telling his teammates what to do, where to go and how to play the game, and it seems like that would translate well into being a good head coach.
Along with that, Kobe has had an offense run through him almost selectively ever since Shaq left the Lakers, and he's seen almost everything a defense could throw at him in order to stop him. Hell, he could even be the guy to revive the triangle in the NBA.
Otherwise, Kobe is a good defender, an intense competitor and has the experience that came with five championship seasons. What could be bad about having him as a head coach?
7. Rajon Rondo
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Rajon Rondo is the perfect mix of moody and real in order to be a head coach. He's a guy who will say what's on his mind without the fear of hurting someone's feelings or making someone upset, which is probably the perfect kind of attitude to have when coaching a team.
Beyond that, Rondo is the pinnacle of doing more with less when it comes to an NBA skill set. When was the last time you saw a guy who won't take a shot outside of 15 feet unless he's begged to also become one of the best point guards in the NBA?
Rondo is an amazing passer, he can run an offense better than anyone in the NBA not named Steve Nash and he's a great defender, which seems to be a great trifecta for coaching in the NBA.Â
6. Chris Paul
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Let's keep the point guard train rolling for a bit here.
Paul is a very good defender because he knows how to play in the zone and on the ball, which is increasingly rare these days. Plus, Paul has shown the ability to be the best point guard in the NBA with or without the use of his very athletic frame.
He's a natural floor general, and he can run an offense through himself without dominating the ball, which seems like it would be a good translation to head coach.
5. Chauncey Billups
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Can we stop the charade and realize that Chauncey Billups was the best coach on the Los Angeles Clippers even though he was paid to be a player this past season?
Billups, besides looking just as dapper as Kobe Bryant in a suit, was always a smart player in his days in the league and has always seemed to do the right thing with the ball.
Plus, something that shouldn't be discounted, with Sam Cassell and Popeye Jones now top-tier assistants in the league, is that goofy-looking guys seem to be good coaches.Â
4. Jason Kidd
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Jason Kidd is the epitome of consistency when it comes to point guards over the past decade, and that consistency just shows how much dedication he has to his game and how well he knows the game.
As a younger player, Kidd was basically in the boat that Rajon Rondo is in now with his lack of a jumper, but he picked up some finer points of the game, worked his butt off and learned how to knock down the outside shot.
That, along with his skill of running an offense, shows just how smart of a player he has been for his (good lord!) 18 years in the NBA.
3. Shane Battier
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First, I suppose it makes sense to mention that I've taken some liberties with the definition of a "star" player with Battier. At the very least, I think we can all agree that Battier's career has been greatly underappreciated and he was a star defender at his peak.
Battier has become such a respectable player over the years that even when he wears that black and red Heat jersey, I'm still unable to hate the guy. The way he plays the game is such that it seems not a single step he takes is wasted.Â
Batttier's top-tier defense will translate well as a coach, and the fact that he's great with people, seemingly meshing into any team as soon as he gets there (see Memphis Grizzlies circa 2011) can't hurt either.
2. Tim Duncan
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If there is another big man in the NBA today who would make a better coach than Tim Duncan, then I have yet to see him play.
As a man who has relied on brain more than brawn in his years as a basketball player, Duncan seems like the obvious choice to become a successful head coach at some point down the road, and it could be sooner rather than later.
Plus, you can't ignore the fact that he has learned from one of the best coaches in NBA history in Gregg Popovich, who has to have taught him the art of the sarcastic sideline interview at this point.
1. Steve Nash
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Steve Nash is going on 39 years old, but he's still the first guy I would pick to run the offense of my team given the choice.
Back in 2004, when Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks were pondering what to do with Nash who was a free agent, they decided to undercut him with a short-term deal because he was 30. That's right, they thought he was too old almost a decade ago.
How was Nash able to remain one of best players in the NBA even to this day? Well, besides the fact that he's a good shooter, an efficient point guard and a great teammate, Nash happens to be one of the smartest, if not the smartest, players in the NBA. He sees angles on passes that few people could see with an hour to study the defense, and he knows how to get the most out of his teammates.
If Steve Nash couldn't win a championship as a player before he retires, I certainly hope he comes back as a coach because he seems like the perfect guy to win a title or four with a suit and tie on.
I wonder if he'll lie on the floor from time-to-time as a head coach like he does now.
If you are one of those twitterers, you can follow me @JDorsey33.
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