Hot buns: Three NBA coaches whose seats are sizzling

With roughly a quarter of the season over in the NBA, a clear line separates contenders from pretenders. Hot seats are getting warmer, too. Here are three coaches who could already be in trouble as their teams struggle and fall far below expectations (team records through Monday).

Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors (10-12)

Kerr, a nine-time NBA champ as a player and coach, is in the final year of his contract, so the Warriors may be planning an exit strategy if dramatic changes don't occur soon.

Two seasons ago, Kerr led the Warriors to their fourth championship in a decade. This season, however, the Warriors — who play at Phoenix on Tuesday night — are struggling. Despite roster changes, they grapple with all-too-familiar issues: turnovers, fouls and a lack of positional size. It seems increasingly likely Kerr's influence in the locker room is waning, too.

Draymond Green's antics have become uncontrollable and tiresome. Plus, Kerr has shown obvious favoritism for struggling veterans Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, especially late in games, and he's hesitant to make a change in a starting lineup that desperately needs a fresh burst of energy. 

"'They're being patient," a Western Conference coach told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports. "But with Andrew Wiggins, what are you going to do with him? I don't know how patient they can be. It's getting urgent. They have what it takes to be better than they are with the roster they have."

Kerr, however, has shown an unwillingness to adapt. He consistently puts his players in positions to fail, often playing three or four guards together, leaving Golden State outmatched against bigger players.

If the 2023-24 ends as it did last season, when the Warriors flamed out of the conference semifinals against the Lakers, or worse, owner Joe Lacob won't stand pat. With superstar Stephen Curry turning 36 in March, the window for another championship is quickly narrowing.  

Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls (9-15)

Since hiring Donovan in 2020, the Bulls have reached the playoffs once (2021) and haven't won a playoff series.

Following Donovan's first two seasons (77-77 record), the front office extended him before the start of last season. Donovan isn't Chicago's biggest issue, but someone must get blamed for two consecutive seasons of disappointment.

This season isn't looking up. Since Lonzo Ball's catastrophic knee injury, Chicago has plummeted to the lower tier of the Eastern Conference. 

Per NBA.com, Chicago is a bottom-10 team in offensive (No. 24) and defensive rating (No. 21). Given the current trend, the Bulls are likely to be sellers at the deadline. 

"The Bulls are expected to continue probing interested teams on a Zach LaVine trade," The Athletic's Shams Charania wrote. "A bevy of teams has been expressing interest in trading for the Bulls utility star, league sources say. As one high-ranking team official put it last week, 'It's a gradually developing trade market this year.' "

Heading into Tuesday night's home game against Denver, Chicago is 12th in the East, a half-game up on the Charlotte Hornets. 

If the Bulls do a complete overhaul again, don't be surprised if the organization jettisons the head coach. 

Monty Williams, Detroit Pistons (2-21)

Any coach who loses 20 games in a row — a streak Williams' Pistons are currently on — deserves to be on the hot seat. End of story. 

The record for the most consecutive losses in a season is 26, set by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and matched by the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers. Should the Pistons approach or surpass this dubious milestone, the organization will undoubtedly face some challenging questions.

The Pistons handed the keys to their franchise to Williams this past summer. He's the NBA's second-highest-paid head coach (six-year, $78.5M) behind San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, whose team (3-19) has the worst record in the Western Conference.

Because of the substantial investment in Williams, it's improbable the Pistons will sever ties after a season. At the very least, Detroit — which hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday — may regret its decision to hire the former Coach of the Year.