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Rick Carlisle reiterates NBA's diversity as black coaches decline

Recently, a report was published by Howard Beck detailing the decline of African American head coaches in the NBA. At present, there are only eight including Sam Mitchell, who is in an interim role with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Beck notes that the league averaged 11 black head coaches from 2001-2014 and that the recent number is the lowest it has been in 16 years.

Some of the sources quoted in Beck's piece see the drop as a cyclical shift that will rebound given time. Others, though, see the decline as part of an overall shift in team strategy and thinking that has negative repercussions for black coaches going forward.