Two-plus weeks in and still no firings. But the board looks a lot different than it did on opening night.
The Kings are 1-7. Six teams are sitting at one win. And the Cavs just dropped two straight to OKC with the Sixers coming to town Friday.
Here’s where we’ve got it after Wednesday’s games.
Next NBA Coach Fired Odds
| Coach | Team | Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Christie | Sacramento Kings | +150 | 40.0% |
| Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | +500 | 16.7% |
| Jordi Fernández | Brooklyn Nets | +800 | 11.1% |
| Brian Keefe | Washington Wizards | +1000 | 9.1% |
| Will Hardy | Utah Jazz | +1200 | 7.7% |
| Tyronn Lue | LA Clippers | +1400 | 6.7% |
| Jordan Ott | Phoenix Suns | +1600 | 5.9% |
| Taylor Jenkins | Milwaukee Bucks | +2000 | 4.8% |
| Tiago Splitter | Chicago Bulls | +2000 | 4.8% |
| Nick Nurse | Philadelphia 76ers | +2500 | 3.8% |
Odds via Mr. Gamble’s own handicapping as of Nov. 5, 2026. Not a sportsbook market.
Doug Christie, +150 (was +200)
Sacramento started 0-5. Loss No. 5 came against a Pelicans team that was also winless. The Spurs beat them by 27 before that.
They finally got a win on the road trip. Then the Lakers came into Golden 1 Center last night and won 116-103. So it’s 1-7.
Here’s the thing, though. The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported the Kings want to judge Christie with a healthy roster. That’s fair. Ben Simmons tore his Achilles and is done for the year, and Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell have all missed time.
Christie’s also reportedly a favorite of Vivek Ranadive and his family. That counts for a lot in Sacramento.
But he’s in the last guaranteed year of his deal, and it’s hard to see a 1-7 team getting healthy enough to save this. He’s still the clear favorite. Darius Acuff Jr. putting up 34 in a loss isn’t going to change that.
Kenny Atkinson, +500 (no change)
Cleveland is 4-4. Not a disaster, but not what you want from a team that thinks it’s a contender.
The Cavs lost back-to-back games to OKC this week. In the first one they missed 10 free throws in a five-point loss at home. In the second, they never led once.
Atkinson pointed to turnovers. Fine. People are still talking about the 29-point lead they blew in Philly on opening night.
Now look at the schedule. The Sixers come to Cleveland on Friday. The Knicks, who swept them in the conference finals, are there Saturday. Two losses this weekend and this gets loud.
Jordi Fernández, +800 (was +900)
The Nets started 0-5 before beating Indiana on Sunday. They beat Charlotte last night 114-104, so they’re 2-6 now.
This was supposed to be the year Brooklyn pushed for the playoffs. They added Julius Randle for that. Instead, they’ve lost to a Tatum buzzer-beater and dropped their 15th straight to the Knicks.
Fernández keeps talking about effort and process. He’s 46-122 coming into this season. At some point that number matters more than effort.
Brian Keefe, +1000 (was +600)
Washington is 4-4 after a 120-105 loss to Atlanta last night.
That’s .500 for a team that won 17 games last season. We’ll take it, and so will the Wizards front office. Keefe keeps sliding down our board.
Will Hardy, +1200 (was +1400)
Utah is 1-7 after an overtime loss in New Orleans last night.
The Jazz went 22-60 last year, so losing isn’t new. They’ve been patient with Hardy through a full rebuild. But a second straight bottom-three season would make anyone take a look.
The Rest of the Board
Tyronn Lue (+1400) is one of the stranger cases on here. The Clippers are 1-7, and they just lost in overtime to Miami last night. But Steve Ballmer is suspended and so are the team’s top executives. Who’s even making that call?
Jordan Ott (+1600) has Phoenix at 1-6 after the Suns won 45 games last season.
Taylor Jenkins and Tiago Splitter are both +2000. Milwaukee and Chicago are each 1-7. Both are first-year hires in Year 1 of a rebuild, so we’d be shocked.
Nick Nurse falls all the way to +2500. Philly is 8-1 after winning in Detroit last night. Ime Udoka is out of the top 10 too, with Houston sitting at 7-2.
And those 0-3 starts in New York and Miami? The Knicks are back to 4-4. The Heat are 3-5. Everybody relax.
When Will We Know?
Could be soon. Steve Nash got fired at 2-5 back in 2022. Willie Green went last year on Nov. 15 after a 2-10 start.
Christie is 1-7 right now. Do the math.
The NBA Cup group stage runs through Nov. 27. If the Kings are still stuck in the low single digits by then, we don’t think Christie sees December.
Odds and implied probabilities reflect our own handicapping for informational and entertainment purposes only, not a licensed sportsbook market. Gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
