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IRS Loses Top Crypto Enforcer After Only 90 Days on the Job

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Trish Turner’s sudden exit from the IRS digital assets unit has sharpened attention on how the US will handle crypto tax enforcement going forward.

Based on reports, Turner stepped down roughly three months after taking the post, closing out a career that spanned more than 20 years at the agency.

What The Resignation Signals

According To LinkedIn posts and media reports, Turner said she looks forward to “continuing this mission from a new vantage point” and to building ties between industry and regulators.

Reports have disclosed she will join the crypto tax firm Crypto Tax Girl as tax director, a move confirmed by founder Laura Walter.

Bloomberg Tax first reported the hire. For industry players, the move is a reminder that public-sector know-how is in high demand in the private market.

Turnover At The Top

Turner follows two prior leaders who left the IRS crypto unit after roughly a year. Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks both exited before Turner’s appointment in May.

That pattern raises questions about leadership continuity as Congress and oversight bodies push for clearer policy and improved enforcement.

On July 11, House committee leaders scheduled hearings aimed at creating a formal tax policy framework for digital assets. These hearings will test the IRS’s ability to keep up while staff and senior leaders change.

BTCUSD currently trading at $114,654. Chart: TradingView

Political And Oversight Pressure

Several recent developments have fed the urgency around crypto tax work. On July 4, US President Donald Trump signed a joint resolution that rolled back a Biden-era rule requiring some DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.

On April 11, the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration urged reforms after finding failures in how IRS criminal investigators handled digital-asset cases.

And in March, the Department of Government Efficiency, or D.O.G.E. proposed cutting the IRS workforce by 20%, a plan that would reshape capacity across the agency.

Industry Reaction And Next Steps

Economist Timothy Peterson greeted Turner’s move with levity, saying, “Trish Turner left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight.”

The quip points to a wider trend: regulators are being recruited by private firms that need help navigating new tax rules and growing compliance demands.

IRS Director Trish Turner left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight. Also to make 10X what the IRS paid her. Bio listed within hours. Don’t hate on her. One less of them. One more of us. pic.twitter.com/AgzjXWn1I9

— Timothy Peterson (@nsquaredvalue) August 22, 2025

For taxpayers and companies, that means better access to specialist advice. For the IRS, it may mean a steeper challenge in keeping institutional knowledge inside the agency.

What Comes After Turner

Based on reports, Turner did not list a start date in her announcement. The IRS has not publicly detailed a replacement plan.

With hearings planned and inspector general recommendations on the table, the agency’s work on digital assets is unlikely to slow.

How quickly leadership is restored, and whether the IRS can retain senior talent, will matter to lawmakers and to the businesses that must follow evolving tax rules.

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.





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Bank Fires Workers in Favor of AI Chatbot, Rehires Them After Chatbot Is Terrible at the Job
Gaming Gear

Bank Fires Workers in Favor of AI Chatbot, Rehires Them After Chatbot Is Terrible at the Job

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Companies all over the world are currently racing to shrink their workforces and replace them with AI. Often, it seems, this isn’t working out for the firms involved. Case in point: A bank in Australia recently did so, but then had to ask its workers to come back after it turned out that the chatbot that it had launched to replace them couldn’t cut the mustard.

Last month, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced that it would be laying off 45 customer service workers as it rolled out a new AI-powered ‘voice bot’ that could supposedly do their job, Bloomberg reports. The bank claimed that the chatbot reduced the bank’s call volume significantly. However, the workers’ union got involved and says it has determined that wasn’t the outcome.

Australia’s Finance Sector Union, which represents workers in the banking industry, called BS on the bank’s claims and engaged CBA in a workplace relations tribunal. Now, it appears that the bank has admitted it made a grievous mistake, telling Bloomberg that its initial assessment that the customer service reps were no longer needed “did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations and this error meant the roles were not redundant.”

“We have apologized to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required,” a bank spokesperson told the news outlet. The same spokesperson said that the fired workers were being offered several options, including continuing in their old positions. Gizmodo reached out to CBA for more information.

FSU put out a statement on Thursday, sharing details about the situation. “CBA last month announced the jobs would be made redundant due to the introduction of a new AI-powered ‘voice bot’, which they claimed had led to a reduction in call volumes. Members told us this was an outright lie and did not reflect the reality of what was happening in Direct Banking,” FSU writes. “Call volumes were in fact increasing and CBA was scrambling to manage the situation by offering staff overtime and directing Team Leaders to answer calls.”

“Getting CBA to rescind these job cuts is a massive win – but the damage has already been done for our 45 colleagues who have had to endure the stress and worry of facing redundancy, some of whom have been with the bank for decades and were suddenly confronted with the prospect of being unable to pay their bills,” the union added.

While the particulars of this whole episode aren’t readily available, it certainly seems like yet another example of a company putting the cart before the horse with AI. Ultimately, AI is still an experimental technology, and its results are hit or miss. A much-publicized MIT study recently claimed that 95 percent of AI pilot programs at companies have, so far, been failures. With numbers like that, companies would be wise to keep their headcount high for the time being.



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Working Hard Or Hardly Working: Why Do We Play Job Simulators?
Game Updates

Working Hard Or Hardly Working: Why Do We Play Job Simulators?

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A cursory Google search of the term “job simulator” would show the 2016 VR game Job Simulator as the top result. But it is not representative of the plethora of simulation games answering the question: Can a job be fun?

From Microsoft Flight Simulator to Overcooked, the workplace has been a subject by game developers for a long time. Yet in the last few years, there has been a considerable explosion in their exposure. Likely in part from marketing strategies using Tiktok or Twitch, it has become common to find content creators role-playing as cashiers or managers, further drawing intrigue as to how these non-traditional games have garnered such popularity.

PowerWash Simulator surprised many (myself included) when its zen-focused cleaning mechanics soared in sales and popularity. Lead designer Nick McCarthy told me via email, though, that while satisfying cleaning is central to the game’s identity as a type of “anti-first person shooter,” the team did consider adding business-focused elements.

“Early on during development, we had explored more in-depth business management mechanics. But as the washing mechanics came together, we realised just how satisfying it was to clean stuff,” McCarthy said. “It became clear that PowerWash Simulator was best expressed as a zen, satisfying, no-frills experience that allowed players to just remain focused on the washing, without any of the stress and obligations accompanied with keeping a business running.”

To McCarthy’s point, finding the fun is in analyzing the workload and figuring out how to efficiently complete the job. This comes as a slight relief for those wanting to unwind and gradually work towards a completion state. With no concerns about logistics–such as buying or maintaining equipment, finding clients, and expanding your business–nor needing to earn a profit, the primary incentive of play is to finish a job as efficiently as possible.

“I’ve seen some hilarious examples of streamers/YouTubers playing together–some engaging in the chaos of blasting each other with the pressure washers, and/or leaving messages and artworks in the dirt and waiting for others to find [them],” McCarthy said. “Others use it as a wholesome means to just connect, chat, and chill out together. It’s also been great to see our community engage with each other to help finish jobs. Some of our jobs are quite large and can take many hours to finish, so understandably, a player will occasionally put the call out on Reddit or the PWS Discord, asking for someone to come help. It’s both heartwarming and amusing to imagine that a shared desire to destroy all visible dirt and grime could help to forge some friendships out there.”

Though it might not be surprising, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that about half of Americans find their jobs satisfying. A job for most is a means to an end, so long as they make enough to have a life for themselves, satisfaction is a secondary priority. However, just over 67% say they are extremely satisfied with their co-workers. What that 67% tells us is to make a job bearable is whatever camaraderie that can be mustered despite work’s soul-crushing element. Thus one explanation as to why simulation games are so appealing; you don’t have to work, you can play this for your discrete satisfaction.

PowerWash Simulator falls in the distinguished section of comfortable games that don’t cause too much stress. However, Drug Dealer Simulator 2 (yes, they made two) is as much a game about selling narcotics as it is managing time and expanding a business. When I asked lead developer Rafal Pęcherzewski how he feels about job simulators, he wrote back to me with pragmatism.

“If we boil down what makes them stand out as a medium, video games are basically different types of puzzles and challenges,” Pęcherzewski said. “Some are intellectually challenging; some are skill-based, challenging our reflexes and ability to adapt, learn, and react. Most jobs in the real world could be characterized in a similar manner–tasks, challenges, solving problems, and providing different kinds of activities. Job simulation games are only the area where we draw the arbitrary line to separate them from the rest [of games].”

Simulation games are in the unique position to tailor player experiences to whatever job or scenario they are interested in simulating. There are as many games that can be made as there are real-life occupations that can be adapted into a game: airplane pilot, drug dealer, chef, cashier, document inspector, mortician, zookeeper… the list is endless. Furthermore, there are the different levels of complexity a developer can work with.

For example, farming as an occupation requires dozens of hands, so games have taken to adapting farming through a range of styles. Where Farmville is primarily concerned with agriculture management and social media interactions, Farming Simulator strives to depict a vivid representation of farming, from equipment procedures to simulating a fluctuating economy. Ranch Simulator simplifies farming techniques but requires active care of animals and vegetation. Even in games that aren’t simulators, such as Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, players can live out a cozy farming lifestyle apropos to Animal Crossing.

A growing number of publishers have started specializing in simulation games, like Astragon Entertainment, Excalibur Games, Movie Games, and PlayWay. Their catalogs are wide and highly specific in what they simulate, but they are evidence of a demand for niche job simulators and the effect they have on those who play them.

After exchanging emails with Yvonne Lukanowski of Astragon, it began to dawn on me the certain escapism found when diving into the simulation. Yet, I was surprised to learn that many who play simulation games gravitate towards the ones that simulate their real-life jobs.

“People are drawn to simulation games for several reasons,” Lukanowski said. “Many of our players work in the professions we simulate, such as firefighters, bus drivers, construction workers, and police officers. They enjoy performing familiar tasks and exploring aspects of their jobs that they might not experience daily, like using different vehicles or handling varied scenarios. Fans of action, competitive, or RPG games occasionally play simulation games to relax and clear their minds. The slower pace and methodical gameplay provide a refreshing break from more intense genres, making simulation games appealing to a broad audience.”

Some of the most fascinating games, however, are the ones that don’t seem exciting in nature. Though Grocery Store Simulator and Police Simulator might seem vastly different from one another, they are tangentially related in that they can be as thrilling as one would like. The former could be a roleplay experiment in which players can test how expensive a can of soup can be before NPCs will refuse to buy it, while the latter can mimic mundane work’s ability to drive an obsession over counting down minutes until a shift’s end.

But just because these are monotonous activities doesn’t mean they aren’t fun. “From my experience, ‘boring’ is a very subjective thing to define,” Pęcherzewski continues. “I know people who call Tarantino movies boring, dull, and ‘talked through,’ which I strongly disagree with, but I understand where they’re coming from. People find very different kinds of tasks engaging and others frustrating or boring. We have people who love to spend 12 hours straight fishing on a peaceful lake, others parachute jumping, and [others] all the way in between. Additionally, some people have lives filled with thrilling, problem-solving, [and] complex or challenging tasks, and chilling around a garden, doing some satisfying but repetitive tasks and earning a few points, it’s what they are looking for as a refuge after a hard and stressful day. Games are simply a simulated way of spending time and people will seek all sorts of emotions and experiences in their realm.”

Having a job, as the name implies, is work, and sometimes that work scratches a perfect itch to be organized and demonstrate power. And yet, various socioeconomic realities can impede any fun factors or meaningful personal expression. The surging middle market for job simulation games makes sense when contextualized against the anxious fixation people have regarding labor. Developers, publishers, players, and even critics are worrying if a viable future is still in reach on the route we are headed. Job simulation games are proof of that.



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Microsoft says it's working on next-gen Xbox "consoles" you'll play "in your living room and in your hands"
Game Reviews

Xbox reportedly set for “major” job cuts from next week

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“Major job cuts” are set for Xbox as part of a company-wide reorganisation.

That’s according to a Bloomberg report, which states these cuts will begin next week. While Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said it is currently unclear how many people will be affected by the alleged job cuts, “it’s expected to be big”.

According to the report, sources familiar with the company’s plans said managers within Xbox are expecting “substantial cuts across the entire group”.

This would not be the first time Microsoft and Xbox have made headlines for layoffs in the last 18 months. Back in January 2024, 1900 people from across Microsoft’s video game teams were laid off. A further 650 staff were then let go that September.

Breaking: Microsoft is planning major job cuts at Xbox that will begin next week, sources tell Bloomberg News. Not yet clear how many people, but it’s expected to be big. This will be the fourth mass layoff at Xbox in the last 18 months. www.bloomberg.com/news/article…

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— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) June 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM

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Microsoft additionally laid off a “small” number of employees back in January of this year, while in May it was reported the company was laying off three percent of its workforce across the business.

Bloomberg states Xbox has been facing pressure from Microsoft execs “to boost profit margins” since its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft sealed the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard all the way back in 2023 for $68.7bn, making history as the biggest company buyout in the video games industry to date.

Eurogamer has contacted Microsoft for further comment on today’s reported layoffs and will update as and when we know more.



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NFT Gaming

AI Is Coming for Your Job, Much Faster Than Anyone Thought

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In brief

  • AI is rapidly replacing white-collar jobs. Major tech firms have slashed tens of thousands of jobs in 2025 amid rapid AI integration.
  • Reports show that 40–80% of white-collar tasks may soon be automated.
  • Experts warn AGI could spark mass unemployment across both white- and blue-collar sectors.

Every week brings another round of AI-driven layoffs. In May, Microsoft laid off over 6,000 software engineers as it leaned into AI for code generation and development. That same month, IBM cut thousands of HR jobs. In February, Meta laid off 3,600 employees—about 5% of its workforce—as it restructured around an AI-first strategy. These layoffs are not isolated incidents; they’re signs of a seismic shift in the global economy.

Last week, filings for unemployment benefits hit its highest level since last fall, with companies ranging from Procter & Gamble to Starbucks saying they’re planning big layoffs. How much of this is due to Trump’s trade war is uncertain, but the rise of automated, AI-driven systems that make mincemeat of rote work isn’t helping.

Welcome to the immediate downside to the Age of AI: economic displacement. And if it looks bad now, consider that we haven’t reached so-called artificial general intelligence, the next big phase in the AI Age. At that point, AI can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks, just like a human. AGI would be capable of reasoning, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations across any domain without being reprogrammed.

While many experts believe that AGI is still decades away, a growing number of experts say that it’s likely to happen within the next five years.



Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, made headlines last week when he repeated his warnings that AGI-level systems could emerge within two to three years. Daniel Kokotajlo, a former research analyst who left OpenAI on the grounds that the company was not taking safety risks seriously enough, said in a report published in May that AGI could arrive by late 2027.

And Ray Kurzweil, futurist and director of engineering at Google, continues to predict AGI will be reached by 2029, a date he reaffirmed last year in “The Singularity is Nearer.”

“To my mind, we’re roughly on track to human-level AGI by 2029,” said Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized, open-source platform that enables AI agents to cooperate, share data, and offer services over a blockchain-based network.

And after that? Goertzel and others believe the leap to “super intelligence” could be only a matter of a few years: “I think it’ll only be a few years from a human-level AGI to a super AGI, because that human-level AGI will be able to program and invent new chips and invent new forms of networking.”

Many experts believe that the final evolution to super intelligence could lead to a deep structural collapse of traditional employment, displacing everyone from the C-Suite to doctors, lawyers, PhD-level scientists and researchers, and even the very entrepreneurs who are currently building their fortunes on AI.

But the shift to AGI will be wrenching enough.

We’re nowhere near ready

Artificial general intelligence will extend far beyond automating routine tasks, with the ability to reason, adapt, and outperform humans across nearly every domain.

“Once AI becomes even slightly smarter than humans, we’ll see massive unemployment,” Goertzel told Decrypt. “It may start with junior white-collar jobs, but I think it will quickly extend to plumbers, electricians, janitors—everyone.”

Goertzel notes that AI has outperformed doctors in diagnostic accuracy for years, but industries like healthcare have resisted change due to institutional power and licensing requirements.

“Entry-level jobs have no one defending them,” he said. “Older people in powerful positions can protect their roles—and they’re the ones controlling how AI is rolled out. So, of course, they’re not going to replace themselves with AI.”

According to Goertzel, AI hasn’t disrupted blue-collar jobs as aggressively as white-collar jobs because physical hardware has yet to catch up. Because AI in software has far outpaced robotics, this disparity helps explain why white-collar jobs have borne the brunt of AI-driven layoffs, while blue-collar roles remain relatively untouched, for now.

Half of entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear

In a recent interview, Anthropic CEO Amodei warned that the job disruption from AI isn’t decades away—it’s already happening and will accelerate fast.

He estimates that up to 50% of entry-level white-collar roles could disappear within one to five years. These roles include early-career positions in law, finance, consulting, marketing, and technology—jobs that once offered stable on-ramps into professional careers.

As AI tools increasingly handle analysis, writing, planning, and decision-making, many of these human positions are being rendered obsolete. In a separate interview with CNN, Amodei reiterated his claim, warning that the shift would happen sooner than humanity can prepare for.

“What is striking to me about this AI boom is that it’s bigger, it’s broader, and it’s moving faster than anything has before,” Amodei said. “Compared to previous technology changes, I’m a little bit more worried about the labor impact, simply because it’s happening so fast that, yes, people will adapt, but they may not adapt fast enough.”

White-collar jobs already under threat

If you work behind a screen, then you’re already in the AI blast radius.

“The jobs most exposed are those requiring higher education, paying more, and involving cognitive tasks,” Tobias Sytsma, economist with the Rand Corporation, told Decrypt. “Historically, this type of AI exposure has been correlated with employment reductions.”

According to an April 2025 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, computer engineering graduates face double the unemployment rate of art history majors at 3% versus 7.5%, respectively.

Here are just a few of the jobs that economists say are the most immediately exposed to AI:

  • Software engineers: Companies are using AI to generate, review, and optimize code. In May, Microsoft upgraded its Github Copilot to a full AI agent.
  • Human resources: AI is being used to screen resumes, evaluate employee performance, and write termination letters.
  • Paralegals and legal assistants: AI can summarize case law, review contracts, and draft findings.
  • Customer service representatives: Chatbots are being used to interact with customers and handle routine support tickets. With voice and video AI becoming widely available, call centers are being phased out.
  • Financial analysts: AI models can analyze massive amounts of data and generate reports more efficiently and accurately than humans.
  • Content creators: Writers, editors, and graphic designers are already competing with generative AI tools. In 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, with AI protections being a key issue.

“Our research shows it’s mainly white-collar jobs—those requiring higher education, paying more, and involving cognitive tasks—that are most exposed,” Sytsma said.

However, healthcare professionals are relatively protected due to regulations. “Healthcare appears to be one where, for now, those barriers are insulating some workers. Still, exposure to these tools is increasing. What happens next remains unclear.”

“We could automate most jobs without reaching full human-level AGI, because most work is repetitive and based on prior examples—and AI handles that well,” Goertzel said. “Jobs requiring big, imaginative leaps are harder to replace, but most economic activity doesn’t rely on that.”

Goertzel suggested that superintelligence could even automate and replace political leaders. “Even the presidency could be automated,” he said, “but political norms make that off-limits—for now.”

Whether AI leads us to a post-work utopia or a deeply unequal dystopia, one thing is clear: If you still think AI is coming for blue-collar jobs first, then you’re already behind the curve. It’s coming for the desk next to you. And it’s not waiting.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.



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NBA coaching carousel - Pros, cons, what's next for every open job
Esports

NBA coaching carousel – Pros, cons, what’s next for every open job

by admin


The fifth coaching change of this summer’s job cycle happened in stunning fashion Tuesday afternoon, as the Knicks — fresh off making the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a quarter century — parted ways with Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau leading the franchise to what has easily been its best stretch of success since the 1990s — winning at least one playoff series in three straight seasons and advancing to the conference finals to culminate his five-year run with the team he grew up rooting for — was not enough for him to get a chance to end New York’s 26-year Finals drought and 52-year championship drought next season.

That task will instead fall upon whomever president of basketball operations Leon Rose chooses to replace him — that person will walk into the job with sky-high expectations.

Editor’s Picks

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It was the latest move in what’s been a relatively busy summer for off-the-court moves across the league. The Phoenix Suns fired Mike Budenholzer after the first year of a five-year contract. Before that, the Denver Nuggets moved on from Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth, with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Denver’s decision came less than two weeks after the Memphis Grizzlies fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins. Memphis has since removed the interim tag on coach Tuomas Iisalo.

The Sacramento Kings became the first franchise to fire its coach this season when they dismissed Mike Brown amid a losing streak in late December.

Will more jobs open over the next several weeks? Last season, seven teams changed coaches, including three — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns — that did so after making the playoffs.

Here’s our annual look at the NBA’s coaching carousel, with the pros and cons of each vacancy and who could fill them:

Open coaching jobs

Positive: Ready-to-win roster, finances

This is the kind of job opening that coaches dream of. New York has a roster featuring a couple of All-NBA players in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, a trio of versatile wings in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, and a pair of strong reserves in Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride. New York will also likely — with some creative maneuverings this summer — have the taxpayer’s midlevel exception available, as well as the bright lights of New York City, a contending roster and open playing time to entice veteran free agents to sign on minimum deals to bolster the franchise’s depth beyond that.

There also is low-hanging fruit for a new coach to latch on to. That starting five, despite the talent across it, got outscored by 31 points in 335 minutes in the playoffs and had a negative net rating in 379 minutes from Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season. New York also was 27th in 3-point attempts per game and 26th in pace — numbers that could potentially change with a different offensive philosophy on the sidelines.

And the Knicks have long been known as a franchise that will spare no expense in building out a staff, so that shouldn’t be an obstacle to getting whomever the Knicks want to patrol the sidelines at Madison Square Garden in Thibodeau’s place.

Negatives: Expectations, roster limitations

If the Knicks fired a coach after one of the best stretches of success for the franchise in recent history, the expectations are high for his successor. And New York didn’t mince words in its statement announcing the decision to fire Thibodeau: “Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.”

So, the person replacing Thibodeau will have no doubts about their expected mandate. And, when they do inherit this team, there will be some ability to improve the roster, as we laid out above. But, they will also need to construct a defense good enough to reach those championship aspirations with both Brunson and Towns on the court — something Thibodeau was unable to do across six games against the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals. It’s also a task that would’ve been even more difficult against the Oklahoma City Thunder had New York reached the NBA Finals.

And, if there are any stumbles along the way, there will be immediate questions about whether moving on from Thibodeau was the right move.

— Tim Bontemps

Phoenix Suns

  • 2024-25 record: 36-46 (No. 11 in West)

  • Previous coach: Mike Budenholzer

  • Lead executive: James Jones (hired in 2018)

Positive: Veteran talent

While owner Mat Ishbia’s proclamation less than a year ago that “26 out of 29” teams wouldn’t trade places with the Suns was way off base, the Suns still do — at least for now — have both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on their roster, which is a pretty good place to start in terms of evaluating a coaching vacancy.

Beyond its stars, Phoenix has solid veteran depth in Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Nick Richards and Royce O’Neale, plus a couple of rookie finds in Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro that could form the core of a decent NBA rotation.

Negatives: Instability, plus lack of roster, monetary and draft flexibility

Where do we start?

Phoenix is headed toward its fourth coach in as many seasons after firing Budenholzer, who was hired with great fanfare last spring. Ishbia has owned the team for a little over two years and has already fired three coaches — not exactly an inspiring track record for whomever replaces Budenholzer.

Overall, the Suns are stuck in a multitude of ways. The team has traded control of its draft picks for the next several seasons and is well over the dreaded “second apron” of the NBA’s salary cap, creating a wildly expensive roster with few tools to improve it. There’s a chance Durant is traded this summer, after Phoenix flirted with the idea at the trade deadline, but it remains to be seen how much value the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will have as he enters the final year of his contract. Durant will be looking for an extension at more than $60 million per season.

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0:41

The numbers behind Mike Budenholzer’s firing

Take a look at the key numbers to know after Mike Budenholzer was fired following one season with the Suns.

Who could get the job?

After weeks of interviews, ESPN’s Sham Charania reported Monday that the Suns’ search for their next head coach is down to two candidates, both from the Cleveland Cavaliers: associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott.

Bryant has served as an assistant with the Utah Jazz (2012-20) and New York Knicks (2020-24), while Ott has worked for the Atlanta Hawks (2013-16), Brooklyn Nets (2016-22) and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-24).

After firing Budenholzer on April 14, new GM Brian Gregory has led a multiround hiring process that began with more than 15 candidates, sources told Charania. A group of five finalists — including Bryant, Ott, Miami assistant Chris Quinn, Oklahoma City assistant Dave Bliss and Suns assistant David Fizdale — had in-person interviews with team officials last week.

— Bontemps

Hired jobs

Denver Nuggets

  • 2024-25 record: 50-32 (No. 4 in West)

  • Previous coach: Michael Malone (fired April 8; assistant David Adelman took over on interim basis)

  • Lead executive: None (GM Calvin Booth, promoted in 2020, was also let go)

Positive: Championship-level talent

These kinds of jobs rarely come available. Nikola Jokic might lose out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, but he’s nearly universally seen as the best player on the planet. Jamal Murray is an elite pick-and-roll partner and, after struggling in the playoffs, is back to playing at a high level — over the summer with Team Canada and at the start of this season. Aaron Gordon is a versatile defender who fits perfectly next to Jokic at both ends, and Christian Braun has come on and had a terrific season, putting him into Most Improved Player consideration.

While the Western Conference is deep with contenders, Denver still arguably was set to enter the playoffs as a favorite behind Oklahoma City before Tuesday’s shocking news of Malone’s dismissal after 10 years and unparalleled success with the Nuggets. Whoever walks into this job will believe they can win a championship immediately.

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1:32

Shelburne details how Malone, Booth dissension led to exits

Ramona Shelburne reacts to the Nuggets firing head coach Michael Malone right before the playoffs.

Negatives: Limited financial and roster flexibility

Denver has never been known to open the checkbook to pay for coaches and executives, but that’s a secondary concern to the long-term constraints on trying to keep this team at a championship level. Like most longtime championship contenders, this is a franchise that has traded away a lot of draft picks and is locked in on long-term contracts. The good part about that is the team’s core players are all under contract for at least a couple more years. The bad? The roster has few means to improve and might not be good enough to get where Denver wants to go now.

Who got the job:

After serving as the interim coach since Michael Malone was let go last month, David Adelman, son of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, was promoted to head coach Thursday. The 44-year-old Adelman was Malone’s assistant for eight seasons and led the Nuggets to a Game 7 against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the postseason. He will be part of team owner Stan Kroenke’s vision of capitalizing on the prime years of superstar Nikola Jokic.

— Bontemps

  • 2024-25 record: 34-48 (No. 13 in West)

  • New coach: Mitch Johnson

  • Previous coach: Gregg Popovich (transitioning to full-time role as president of basketball operations)

  • Lead executive: RC Buford (promoted to CEO in 2019)

Positives: Thrilling young core, loads of assets

San Antonio is the definition of a stable and supportive organization with a history of strong ownership. The Spurs have drafted the Rookie of the Year in back-to-back years with potential superstar Victor Wembanyama and guard Stephon Castle. They have two lottery picks in this year’s draft, both theirs and the Atlanta Hawks, combined giving them about a 30% chance of getting a top-four pick. They own all their future draft picks, both first and second round, going forward and beyond this year have two additional first-rounders, nine additional second rounders, and first-round pick swaps with the Hawks in 2027, the Mavericks or Wolves in 2030 and the Celtics in 2021. The Spurs also traded for a franchise point guard, De’Aaron Fox, who is in position to sign a long-term contract extension later this year.

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2:03

Stephen A. reacts to Gregg Popovich stepping down as Spurs head coach

Stephen A. Smith details why he is happy that Gregg Popovich will still be in basketball as team president for the Spurs.

Negatives: Market size, ownership spending power, big shoes

Though San Antonio is a growing city, it still is one of the league’s smaller markets and has various effects on acquiring players, though the Spurs’ organization enjoys an excellent reputation. The ownership has paid just $5 million in luxury tax in the past 13 years and with big contracts coming for Fox and Wembanyama plus the new challenges that come with high payrolls, spending is something to monitor. That said, since the Spurs were last contenders they have taken on new deep-pocketed partners, including billionaire computer magnate Michael Dell and investment firm Sixth Street. There is also the challenge of coming behind Popovich, someone who won five championships and established a massive legacy over the previous 29 years.

Who got the job:

Johnson, who was named acting coach after Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, now takes over head coaching duties on a permanent basis. Popovich had leaned on Johnson over the past several years, giving him increasing responsibility both in terms of preparation and in-game. Johnson has developed a strong relationship with Wembanyama already as well. Johnson led San Antonio to a 31-45 record in Popovich’s absence.

— Brian Windhorst

Memphis Grizzlies

  • 2024-25 record: 48-34 (No. 8 in West)

  • New coach: Tuomas Iisalo (hired on May 2)

  • Previous coach: Taylor Jenkins (fired March 28; Iisalo took over on interim basis)

  • Lead executive: Zach Kleiman (hired in 2019)

Positive: A promising young core

Despite suffering injuries throughout the season, the Grizzlies are still in the top five in the Western Conference standings, and with the league’s fifth-best net rating — trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.

With Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis’ core is entering its prime, which should give the Grizzlies runway to contend for the rest of this decade. Kleiman has shown that he can find talented second-round and undrafted players, giving Memphis a deep and versatile roster behind that star talent.

One NBA executive said this is a team that, if things break right, is reminiscent of the Cleveland Cavaliers last season before Kenny Atkinson came in and the franchise improved this season. That’s the kind of boost Kleiman and the Grizzlies believe is possible.

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1:41

Shams breaks down what led the Grizzlies to fire Taylor Jenkins

Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to detail why the Memphis Grizzlies parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins after six seasons.

Negatives: Small market, recent instability

Memphis is far from an NBA glamour market, and this team has had a lot of friction and uncertainty over the past year.

The Grizzlies fired virtually Jenkins’ entire coaching staff last summer, bringing in — among others — Iisalo and Noah LaRoche to fill it out. Then, not only was Jenkins dismissed Friday, but so was LaRoche, who hired several player development coaches.

Now, on to the roster. In addition to numerous injuries, the Grizzlies have had a series of off-court issues with Morant over the years. The team had mitigated Morant’s absence thanks to its other two stars, Jackson and Bane, its impressive depth and, until he was fired, Jenkins’ work on the sidelines.

Who got the job: Tuomas Iisalo

The expectation around the league was that Iisalo would get a long look for the job after the franchise moved on from Jenkins in late March. The Grizzlies brought him from Europe last offseason and put him on Jenkins’ staff, and he showed enough through the team’s final stretch of games and run to the first round. Iisalo is now the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history.

— Bontemps

  • 2024-25 record: 40-42 (No. 9 in West)

  • New coach: Doug Christie

  • Previous coach: Mike Brown (fired in December; assistant Doug Christie takes over on interim basis)

  • Lead executive: GM Scott Perry (hired on April 17 after Monte McNair parted ways with the team)

Positive: Veteran, ready-to-win talent

It’s hard to project Sacramento winning a title with its roster. But a coach taking over a team with Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk has a chance to be competitive in each game. That gives the Kings’ vacancy a boost, given the typical level of talent at open jobs.

With all of those players under team control for at least a couple of more seasons, there is some runway for them to play together, adding to the appeal for a new coach.

play

1:13

Shams: Kings felt Mike Brown had ‘underperformed’

Shams Charania details the factors that led the Kings to fire coach Mike Brown after a disappointing start to the season.

Negatives: Small market, decades of instability

Here’s all you need to know about the Kings: Since moving to Sacramento in 1984, two coaches have had at least one full season with a winning record: Rick Adelman, who did it for eight straight seasons from 1999 to 2006, and Mike Brown the past two seasons. Sacramento has made the playoffs in three of the 33 seasons not coached by Adelman, underscoring the difficulty of this job.

Longtime NBA executive Scott Perry Perry now replaces McNair, who parted ways with the Kings following their elimination in the play-in tournament. The team had also seen the departure of assistant general manager Wes Wilcox, who took the GM job for the Utah Utes earlier this month. Another drawback is the club’s unwillingness to pay into the luxury tax, something owner Vivek Ranadive has avoided.

Who got the job: Christie is finalizing a multiyear contract to become the franchise’s next coach, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday. Christie has long-standing ties to the organization, going back to being a starter on those iconic teams of the early 2000s under Adelman, and he had done a solid job the past few months since taking over for Brown. Sacramento went 27-24 this season under Christie, ranking ninth in offensive efficiency during that span and going 13-10 in clutch-time games compared to 6-13 earlier in the campaign under Brown, according to ESPN Research.

— Bontemps



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Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau - What's next for New York's open job?
Esports

Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau – What’s next for New York’s open job?

by admin


What lies ahead for the New York Knicks after the franchise fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday?

Thibodeau guided the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000, defeating the Detroit Pistons in the first round and dethroning the defending champion Boston Celtics in the second round before falling in Game 6 to the Indiana Pacers. He finishes his tenure in New York with 24 playoff wins, 17 more than the team’s past 13 coaches combined, according to ESPN Research.

Why fire Thibodeau now, and where could the front office turn in its search? Which high-profile names could be available? And what other moves might follow now that one of the most successful runs in franchise history has ended without a title, extending the Knicks’ championship drought to 52 seasons?

Our NBA insiders examine every angle of the Thibodeau firing, including what could be next for the 67-year-old coach.

Why did the Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau now?

The theory of Occam’s Razor says that when trying to solve a problem, the simplest solution is likely the correct one.

In this case, Thibodeau’s time in New York ended because of the first line of the statement the Knicks released in response to his firing: “Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.”

That, sources around the league said, is why a change was made. The Knicks decided a new voice was needed to lift this franchise to the next level, despite Thibodeau leading the Knicks to their best stretch of play this century, including winning a playoff series in three consecutive seasons and advancing to the conference finals for the first time in a quarter century.

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After making a pair of splashy moves to land Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last summer, New York often felt like it was less than the sum of its parts. The starting lineup of Bridges, Towns, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby was outscored by 31 points in over 300 minutes in the playoffs, and was outscored from Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season.

The defense was at times an issue — particularly against the Pacers in the conference finals — though that also shouldn’t come as a huge surprise with Brunson and Towns operating as the team’s point guard and center (and it’s not like Thibodeau isn’t regarded as one of the best defensive coaches of his generation). New York could also shoot more 3-pointers and adopt a faster pace offensively.

Plenty of teams have made the same choice New York has. In the cases of Steve Kerr replacing Mark Jackson with the Golden State Warriors in 2014, or Nick Nurse replacing Dwane Casey with the Toronto Raptors in 2018 — it resulted in a championship. Others, like when Adrian Griffin replaced Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks, or when Fred Hoiberg replaced Thibodeau himself with the Chicago Bulls, things went in a very different direction.

— Tim Bontemps

Who should the Knicks consider for the vacancy?

The most obvious candidate is Michael Malone, who led the Denver Nuggets to the 2022-23 title before a surprise firing with three games left in the regular season in April. Over the past eight seasons, Malone’s Nuggets led all Western Conference teams with 401 wins — 28 more than the second-place LA Clippers — which emphasizes his consistency as a coach. Malone wouldn’t be able to rely on Nikola Jokic in New York, but his success working with offensive stars who have defensive question marks would make him a solid fit for the Knicks roster.

It must be said, however, that the demanding Malone has a similar personality to Thibodeau, which could be a point against him if Knicks management wants to go in a new direction. If not Malone, both Mike Budenholzer and Frank Vogel have also won titles this decade, and their inability to wrangle the messy Phoenix Suns shouldn’t be held against them.

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1:48

What’s next for Knicks after firing Tom Thibodeau?

Shams Charania reports on what the Knicks are looking for in a new coach after firing Tom Thibodeau and whether Michael Malone is an option.

Ultimately, the Knicks might be able to cast as wide a net as they desire, as the glamor and prestige of the job could attract just about any candidate Leon Rose is interested in interviewing. Could Jay Wright — who won NCAA titles with Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges at Villanova — be coaxed out of retirement for his first NBA job? What about fellow two-time national champion Dan Hurley, who flirted with the Lakers gig last summer before signing a new contract at Connecticut?

All options are on the table for the most attractive NBA coaching job available: a reigning conference finalist with bona fide stars, competing in a weak conference in the biggest market in the country.

— Zach Kram

What will the Knicks’ next coach need to focus on?

Perhaps this is obvious after watching the conference finals play out, but finding a way to get more out of a group that plays Brunson near the point of attack and Towns closer to the rim.

Neither player is well-equipped to handle those respective tasks: Brunson is undersized on that end, while Towns isn’t the most “fleet of foot” and often commits silly fouls that leave him heading to the bench at inopportune times.

In the Pacers’ series specifically, the Knicks were twisted into defensive pretzels with how Indiana was forcing their defense to stay in rotation. “You can stop one action, but then it’s the next action, and the next action,” Josh Hart said of the Pacers’ game plan.

New York scrambled to stay connected. In many cases — the Game 2 loss in particular — Towns seemed lost trying to stay with Indiana’s fast-paced, spaced-out attack. If this rotation is back fully next season, the next coach will need to consider changes to the starting lineup. Someone like Mitchell Robinson would give Towns a back-end defender more along the lines of a Rudy Gobert. Or perhaps there’s another rangy wing defender that could bolster what Bridges and Anunoby seek to do to cover for Towns and Brunson’s shortcomings.

Either way, the fix on defense figures to be a heavier lift than what’s necessary on offense.

— Chris Herring

Are there more dominoes to fall in New York?

There is an old mantra in sports that you can’t fire the players, so you fire the coach. The Knicks’ decision to fire Thibodeau is the latest example.

A change at coach does not absolve New York for its roster flaws, which were evident despite a 51-win season and became glaring in the conference finals loss to Indiana. President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose and his front office have work to do in building a bench better than the one that was barely used by Thibodeau.

Knicks reserves averaged the fewest minutes and points among all teams this season, while the team’s starters averaged the second-most points per game of any team since 1986-87.

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1:33

Why Stephen A. is upset by Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau

Stephen A. Smith voices his disappointment in the Knicks for firing Tom Thibodeau.

Finding capable role players could prove to be difficult for New York this offseason. While the team’s top two reserves, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, are under contract next season, New York has only the veteran minimum exception and part of the $5.7 million tax midlevel exception available to use in free agency. They will need to convince established veterans to sacrifice money elsewhere for a chance at competing for a championship.

The trades to bring in Bridges and Towns last summer left the Knicks depleted in draft assets and top-heavy in salary, making a more seismic change difficult. New York has only one tradeable first-round pick in the next seven years, a 2026 top-8 protected first from Washington. They have five players next season who will earn over $20 million: Towns, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Bridges and Josh Hart.

— Bobby Marks

What is Thibs’ legacy in New York and what could be next for him?

Thibodeau spent his career building up to the point where he got this job. A Connecticut native who grew up a Knicks fan, Thibodeau understood everything that came with the job — the intense scrutiny it brings, along with the notoriety that accompanies both success and failure.

And despite the immediate sting of losing the job, Thibodeau’s tenure will increasingly be viewed with fondness as time passes. The Knicks had won just one playoff series this century before Thibodeau led them to at least one in each of the past three years.

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Perk: Thibs didn’t deserve to lose his job!

Kendrick Perkins sounds off on the Knicks parting ways with Tom Thibodeau after five seasons.

He instilled an identity and a work ethic into the franchise that resonated with the city and was a natural callback to the glory days of the ’90s, given his time with the franchise as an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy.

The better question is what could be next for him. Thibodeau had already finished the season as the NBA’s oldest coach, and he doesn’t always get enough credit for shifting toward the modern game because of the heavy minutes he plays his starters.

But Thibodeau has a very long and established track record of turning teams around and raising ceilings, and it’s also hard to believe that his passion for coaching has dimmed even slightly. That’s particularly true after this charmed run for the Knicks was capped off by Thibodeau returning to the conference finals for the first time since 2011, his first season with the Bulls.

— Bontemps



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