The simplest knock on Becky Hammon’s head-coaching candidacy: The Spurs rated her at least fourth in the hierarchy of their assistant coaches. Ettore Messina, James Borrego and Ime Udoka sat on the bench, a more prestigious position. Hammon was relegated to behind the bench.
But, with Borrego leaving to become the Hornets’ head coach, Hammon will fill that hole on her résumé.
Spurs release:
Hammon is on the right track. By all accounts, she performs well in her job. Now, she’s getting more responsibility. Succeed in that position, and she’ll get even more head-coaching looks.
She’s a pioneer as woman coaching in the NBA, and because of that, her career gets more attention. That sometimes includes calls for teams to hire her as a head coach.
Maybe she’s a prodigy and ready despite her relatively limited experience.
More likely, she’ll need time in her new position to become adequately prepared to succeed as a head coach.
