NBA head-coaching pursuit hindered by working for only Spurs, never being head coach

For people eager to see a female NBA head coach, especially those who pinned their hopes on Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, Hammon leaving for the WNBA feels like a step back.

Only one WNBA head coach has become an NBA head coach. And former Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper was a former NBA player who became merely the Nuggets’ interim coach in 2004-05.

But head-coaching the Las Vegas Aces could make Hammon more attractive to NBA teams, she beleives.

Here is Hammon, via Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press:

These feel like fairly assessed flaws in her resumé. Hammon would be a stronger candidate if she had more experience in other systems and as a head coach. As a head coach, Hammon would have to work outside the shadow of Gregg Popovich, who has put such a strong imprint on how the Spurs operate. Being in charge, at any level, is different than being an assistant. There’s value in having been the person who makes final decisions.

Ime Udoka (whom the Spurs hired as an assistant two years before they hired Hammon) got hired as Celtics head coach last year only after spending a couple seasons with the 76ers and Nets. Philadelphia hired Brett Brown as head coach in 2013 based on his experience both as a San Antonio assistant and head coach in Australia.

To be fair, the Hawks hired Mike Budenholzer in 2013 with a resumé nearly completely comprised of work as a Spurs assistant. But he spent far longer as a San Antonio assistant (17 years) and experienced far more success there (four championships) than Hammon. He also was head coach of two youth teams while playing professionally in Denmark in…