In an offseason of massive changes in the league's coaching ranks, the Tokyo Cinq Reves, Rizing Fukuoka and Oita Ehime HeatDevils have yet to fill their coaching positions.

Twenty-one of 24 teams have announced who'll run the show for the 2015-16. The just-cited clubs are still behind schedule — way behind schedule.

From a public relations standpoint, weeks after team schedules have been released, with tickets orders being solicited and rosters being cobbled together, this makes all three franchises appear to have neither a sense of urgency nor a commitment to winning for the upcoming campaign.

Sure, a team can wait until the 11th hour to hire a coach. But by doing so, it can appear as a cost-cutting tactic. And it can also reflect poorly on that team's front office in terms of having a plan and executing that plan in a timely, logical order.

What's more, all three were among the league's bottom feeders, finishing a combined 36-120 last season.

Of the three teams, only the HeatDevils appeared in the postseason, placing seventh in the 10-team Western Conference, where only half of the clubs finished above .500. And then Oita bench boss Yukinori Suzuki moved on to the expansion Kanazawa Samuraiz after four seasons in charge.

The HeatDevils, formerly based in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, have shifted their team headquarters to Matsuyama, Ehima Prefecture, under new management this season. They are set to play home games in both prefectures.

But will they snap their streak of eight straight losing seasons?

The Cinq Reves went 5-47 in their third and final season with Motofumi Aoki at the helm. Since his last game in charge in late April, the team has not had a mentor in place.

As for the Rizing, who were the championship runnerup in the 2012-13 season under Atsushi Kanazawa, followed thereafter by Mack Tuck, Kimotoshi Sano (interim), James Duncan and Ken Hamanaka (interim) before Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, former Tokyo Apache sideline supervisor, returned to Japan for the second half of the 2014-15 campaign, another change appears in order.

Despite Bryant's popularity as a player's coach, the fact that Fukuoka has gone nearly three months without issuing a press release on his status leads one to believe that the overwhelming odds are this: He has coached his final game for the Rizing.

And, then, it would be back to square one again for the Rizing, who finished 13-39 last season. After an 11-17 start, they rebounded nicely under Duncan, going 15-9 after he took over to close out the season and reach the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year in 2013-14. (The next winter, he was fired after the team, with a big cast of newcomers, stumbled to a 6-16 start.)

"This coaching carousel is a terrible mistake," one league observer told The Japan Times this week.

Bryant has not responded to messages seeking confirmation of his status with the team.

Staying put: The Shiga Lakestars have brought back star forward Jeff Parmer for a second season, it was recently announced.

In May, Parmer helped the Lakestars reach the Final Four for the first time in franchise history.

"First I would like to say that I'm overjoyed to be a part of the Shiga Lakestars for a second consecutive season," Parmer said in a statement posted on the team website. "I would like to thank the Lakestars organization giving me another opportunity to build on last year's successful season. I want to thank Coach (Koto) Toyama for trusting me as a leader on and off the court to push our team to the top. I also would like to thank my teammates and boosters for welcoming me again with open arms as a part of their family.

"Day in and day out it's a blessing to be doing something I love while being wanted in a city such as Shiga. . ."

The Florida Atlantic product averaged 13.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 52 games for the Lakestars. He shot 55.9 percent from 2-point range, collected 64 steals and swatted 39 shots.

Parmer suited up for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix from 2010-13. He was named the 2010-11 regular-season and playoff MVP after leading the squad to its second title in as many years. Before joining the Lakestars, he played for the Shinshu Brave Warriors (2013-14).