Updated Coaching Candidate List
by Tom Ziller on May 6, 2009 8:58 AM PDT
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PrintSam Amick, in his story on the Byron Scott situation, offers up the most current list of potential coaching candidates culled from his sources.
* Eddie Jordan. Of course.
* Bernie Bickerstaff, who hasn't been successful on paper but has earned a lot of respect around the league.
* Lon Kruger, unsuccessful in 2-1/2 years in Atlanta but respected as a teacher.
* Dave Cowens, who took this team to 51 wins but this team to only 17.
* Rick Pitino. (Pick up your jaw.)
* Paul Westphal.
By the way, killer analyst Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus -- a former Sonics employee and Seattle native -- checked in with his perspective on Westphal a couple weeks ago. You need to read it.
Westphal took over in a tough spot at the end of the Sonics’ run, and I give him credit for his willingness to play young players and develop Rashard Lewis. Still, he hastened the end of the team’s run with his mismanagement. He inexplicably started Billy Owens (picked up, along with Olden Polynice, from the Kings — I’m sure I don’t have to tell you guys) over first Hersey Hawkins — who had started all 82 games the previous five seasons and never come off the bench in his life — and then Detlef Schrempf. Not only was Owens terrible and out of shape, it was a slap in the face to the team’s veterans.
Westphal also did poorly in terms of managing the team’s stars. Again, not an easy task, but he tried to coddle Gary Payton (who did not respect him at all) and went tough on Vin Baker (who crumbled mentally). By the time he was fired at the start of the 2000-01 season, there was little question he had lost the team.
I think Westphal has a pretty good eye for talent and is handy to have in a front office, but you don’t want him as your head coach.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler confirms the team's interest in Jordan, Bickerstaff and Kruger, and adds Tom Thibodeau (who doesn't meet the "head coaching experience" criterion Petrie has publicly stated.
There's no mention of Avery Johnson anywhere, nor does the latest round mention Mike Fratello or Jeff Van Gundy.
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It feels that way to me too
That’s the problem when there really isn’t a coaching search going on.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
I hate this list
And I hate this list. If this is Petrie’s idea of restoring the franchise, he’s full of it. None of those guys is likely to make an impact at the NBA level minus maybe Rick Pitino or Eddie Jordan. Even then, it would take a huge level of convincing that those guys are the right fit for this team.
In otherwords, gotta see it to believe it. And, I don’t really trust Petrie on this. His track record, outside of the draft, doesn’t’ glow.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
yeah, not a great list
I am happy AJ, Fratello and JVG (or as I call them annoying, annoyinger and OMG I’m going to stick a fork in my eye if I have to watch another one of his teams play ever again), are no longer on the list.
Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott
by Kfan in Korea on May 6, 2009 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Pitino
Mitch Richmond is not walking through that door, fans. Joe Kleine is not walking through that door, and Vlade Divac is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they’re going to be gray and old. What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we’re going to improve. People don’t realize that, and as soon as they realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us because there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their asses off. I wish we had $90 million under the salary cap. I wish we could buy the world. We can’t; the only thing we can do is work hard, and all the negativity that’s in this town sucks. I’ve been around when Olden Polynice was booed. I’ve been around when Funderburke was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy. The only thing that will turn this around is being upbeat and positive like we are in that locker room… and if you think I’m going to succumb to negativity, you’re wrong. You’ve got the wrong guy leading this team.
Never forget: I am a complete idiot
by Exhibit G on May 6, 2009 10:02 AM PDT reply actions 8 recs
beat me to it
I was about to say the same thing but figured I would scan the comments first to make sure somebody hadn’t already posted it. solid work.
by Travis Mays Hayes on May 6, 2009 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions
This is all I could think about when i saw that picture...
“You want this, don’t you. The hate is swelling in you now. Take your basketball. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant.”
There now I've met the 75 word count. -pookeyguru
by moproblemz on May 6, 2009 10:17 AM PDT reply actions 2 recs
haha
Star Wars Reference!
Blessings.Love.Peace
by lifestyleforthesellout on May 6, 2009 10:28 AM PDT up reply actions
Weird, I was thinking of someone else...someone who needs more cowbell.
"Yeah, totally! Totes Magotes! Cool."
Forgive me
if this has already been addressed (which seems likely). But as long as names are still presumably being thrown out there without much information, why hasn’t Sam Mitchell been mentioned? He seems to meet the criteria correct?
Interesting
Very similar to Eddie Jordan in terms of coaching success. Went to the playoffs twice, elimnated in first round twice (EJ made it to the 2nd round once, but had more season where he went to the playoffs). 2006-07 NBA Coach of the Year.
Surprising that we haven’t discussed him much yet.
Never forget: I am a complete idiot
I'd be very suprised if Mitchell an And Avery don't at least get a phone call to check interest
"Shut up and Coach!"
Vfettke
Not interested in Avery
Sam maybe depending on the price.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
I'm pretty sure Mitchell was being paid
around a million a year in Toronto.. he wouldn’t be too expensive.
"Greed is the inventor of injustice as well as the current enforcer." - Julian Casablancas
Not after his contract raise
Was he only making a mil.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Don't know if Avery is the guy or not but
here is why I believe you have to at least put him in consideration. What did the team do before, during, and after he was there?
03-04 (Before he came) .634
04-05 before he came .523 The 18 games he coached: .889
05-06 .732
06-07 .817
07-08 .622 (the only year he had lower than a .700 record)
08-09 (First year without him) .610
I know stats aren’t everything. But if you had a player join and leave a team and you saw that difference in the W/L record wouldn’t you want to at least consider adding that player to your team? Especially if that was the first team he ever played for.
Again, not saying he is the guy. That’s totally a GP call. But I’ll tell you what, if I’m considering some of the other names on that list. Avery should at least get an interview.
"Shut up and Coach!"
Vfettke
Avery is top choice behind Scott
Mine at least
I honestly don’t understand some people’s disdain for Avery. He’s a young coach, people talk about his adjustments in the Golden State series but don’t even mention his adjustment to start Devin Harris in Game 2 of the 2006 Western Conference Semi-Finals that led the Mavs to a win over San Antonio and a TRIP TO THE NBA FINALS.
None of those coaches who are available can say they led their team to the NBA Finals except Jeff Van Gundy. Don’t blame Johnson for the Mavs failing to win the championship that year.
BOOK IT!
I don't like Avery
Because he rubs every player the wrong way in his locker room. I’m not convinced he has the chops as a head coach to see the matchup’s it takes in winning playoff basketball. I would like a coach that the team could grow with as it matured. I see Avery as a short term fix, and not much else.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Mitchell
I too would rather see Mitchell’s name on this list. What about Ettore Messina or the CKSA Moscow coach(his name is eluding me), weren’t they part of the discussion as well? Althought the most successful available coaching prospect was not listed (Johnson), going to be a very interesting offseason, to say the least.
Member of play JT and Donte Greene 40 mins a game club.
Don't a lot of these guys have jobs?
You’re going to piss Grant off by talking about this…
And 1 – I liked Paul Westphal, but anyone that would start Billy Owens over Hersey Hawkins, Connie Hawkins, or Sadie Hawkins worries the livin’ sh*t out of me.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
+1
Yep. I had forgotten about that until KPelton schooled me. I did remember the problems with Payton, but I thought that was Gary being Gary.
Any word on Ettore Messina?
I thought I read somewhere that Petrie was in Europe and talked with him.
The longer I've given thought to this
I’d be much more in tune with Ettore Messina or Mike Budenholzer or Jeff Ruland even, before a guy who has “head coaching experience” at the NBA level. Messina has nothing to prove. The only reason Budenholzer DOESN’T leave SA is if he gets the guarantee to coach the Spurs whenever it is that Popovich quits as the head man. That could be some years down the road. Why waiting that long is good for him i don’t know, but I guess, it’s possible. If Ruland is the best possible choice to Petrie, I suppose that’s not a terrible thing.
I’m just not enamored by the idea of a “proven” track record guy because Reggie Theus failed.
Evil Cowtown Inc: Screwin' Suckaz over since Nineteen Eighty-Five.....
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Back to Sam Mitchell
Here are some other reasons to think the Kings might want to consider Mitchell…
- As a player he was supposedly instrumental in the development of a young Kevin Garnett. He has also been applauded for his work with Chris Bosh in Toronto.
- He has significant coaching experience in the NBA having been an assistant with Milwaukee (under George Karl) and Charlotte (Bernie Bickerstaff), and then obviously as head coach of the Raptors.
- He was an established player, having spent 17 seasons in the league playing for Minnesota and Indiana.
- (As Exhibit G mentioned) Mitchell won the 06-07 NBA Coach of the Year award when Toronto reached the playoffs after winning the Atlantic Division.
- He has a career .452 winning percentage as a head coach which is slightly better than Eddie Jordan (though Jordan has coached over 500 games and Mitchell only 345). It is also slightly better than Bickerstaff (.447) though again he has not coached as long.
Hollinger's Consensus
from the article (above):
Thus, although Mitchell took the bullet Wednesday, Colangelo is the one who must bear the brunt of the blame for the Raptors’ sluggish start. This move says more about his performance than about Mitchell’s.
Pitino is Musselman on steroids
OMG – scary thought – the Maloofs and Pitino. GP would just retire. No thanks.
Sam Mitchell is someone I have respect for – remember when he called out his team? The guy has cojones. I think he has learned diplomacy and is a decent combination of a players’ coach and a discipline coach – Kenny Natt with some coaching skills.
With all the youth on this team and their skill set
Pitino might be a great fit. I think Avery might also be a good choice. When you win 17 games you don’t need a coach who is going to come in and be your best friend, This past season our guys were great at tuning out Natt and rubbing him the wrong way. i think it’s about time we bring in a coach who is going to rub the players the wrong way if they don’t play the way he wants and play with energy, scappiness and hustle on both ends of the court.
"We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good." - Charles Barkley
Pitino
Let me preface this with the comment that I am a Louisville fan, so I might not be objective. Pitino is not coming to coach the Kings, and the Kings shouldn’t want him.
First, he has no reason to leave. His mindset changed after 9/11, and he is no longer looking for new and better. He’s done the pro thing, is happy and well paid, has a great recruiting class coming in, and is getting a new arena next year.
Second, his coaching style is unsuited to wealthy pro atheletes. He needs to use control and a bit of intimidation with his players. I think that he cannot or doesn’t want to deal with a system that won’t allow him to bench a high-dollar star for as long as it takes to turn him around.
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