# Basketball: What if the entire coaching staff is ejected? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 13, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360 "2012-08-13T09:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/1 "2012-08-13T09:54:33Z")
In basketball, in a situation in which the entire coaching staff is ejected, who becomes coach? Logically I guess it would be the team captain, but would that make him ineligible to return to the playing floor? Or would they proceed without a coach, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/2 "2012-08-13T11:16:36Z")
There have been player-coaches in the NBA in relatively recent history. Have the rules changed since then? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/3 "2012-08-13T11:38:07Z")
Yeah, the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement now prohibits the use of player-coaches. Since coaches’ salaries aren’t counted against the salary cap, having a player-coach could circumvent the salary cap. As you said, though, there have been several notable player-coaches in NBA history, most famously Bill Russell, whom I believe won his final two NBA championships as a player-coach with the Celtics. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/4 "2012-08-13T13:32:22Z")
There is probably a rule much like there is for players, your last six can’t be ejected. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/5 "2012-08-13T14:06:27Z")
Any team sports team should be able to play without a sideline coach or manager. If not, they’re doing something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/6 "2012-08-13T14:13:23Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Yeah, the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement now prohibits the use of player-coaches. Since coaches’ salaries aren’t counted against the salary cap, having a player-coach could circumvent the salary cap. But would that come into play if the departing coach just puts a player in charge without an permanent official promotion? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/7 "2012-08-13T17:27:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Any team sports team should be able to play without a sideline coach or manager. If not, they’re doing something wrong. They should be able to run plays yeah, but should they decide on substitutions also? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/8 "2012-08-13T19:13:03Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > They should be able to run plays yeah, but should they decide on substitutions also? Well, yeah. There should be a field captain or other understanding of who’s in charge on the field. For example, in baseball, the catcher is traditionally considered to have seniority on-field. I should imagine that in American football it could be the quarterback (or maybe the center) and in basketball perhaps the center. Unfortunately, players these days are probably not taught the big picture that would allow them to do this. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/9 "2012-08-14T01:07:45Z")
I wouldn’t think the center in basketball but probably the point guard. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/10 "2012-08-14T02:01:22Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I wouldn’t think the center in basketball but probably the point guard. Oh I think I am offended by that, spoken as a centre… It has happened at a rep level in Aus and we have had the team manager step in, but could easily be the captain. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/11 "2012-08-14T04:10:55Z")
There’s no rule that says a dog can’t coach… ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/12 "2012-08-14T08:39:41Z")
Better a dog than say, Isiah Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-what-if-the-entire-coaching-staff-is-ejected/631360/13 "2012-08-14T17:09:18Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Yeah, the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement now prohibits the use of player-coaches. Since coaches’ salaries aren’t counted against the salary cap, having a player-coach could circumvent the salary cap. They could have just said that a player-coach’s salary counts towards the salary cap, right? Then there’s a disincentive to have a player-coach, but not an outright ban.