If this passage from Eric Musselman's latest Pro Basketball News column on what unemployed coaches should do made me laugh, am I a bad person?
I've gotten into the habit of planning a practice every day as if I'm part of a coaching staff. I date it, give it a practice number and plan out drills for the day. This type of daily ritual stimulates me to come up with new drills, ideas and schemes. It also allows me to apply some of what I've learned while observing a lot of other terrific coaches. I'd literally pick a different NBA team each week of the season, and act as if I'm part of that team's staff. I do it in alphabetical order -- so the first week, I was with Atlanta, the next week I was with Boston, and so on. The practice would vary depending on the team's personnel, schedule, strengths and weaknesses, upcoming opponents, and so on. On the one hand, out-of-work Musselman probably had more detailed gameplans for the Kings last year than the Kings' actual staff did. (That's only a slight exaggeration.) He could have been a valued assistant under Reggie Theus. On the other hand, Eric Musselman -- who hasn't gotten any bites, apparently, for NBA assistant coach jobs or college head coach jobs -- is advising out-of-work coaches on what to do with their sloppy selves. Who's the target audience here? I mean, Jeff Van Gundy and Avery Johnson get paid by The Mouse. Sam Vincent went back to the D-League to hone his craft. Marc Iavaroni is going to latch on in Toronto, Maurice Cheeks will find a home as an assistant. Who's the target audience of this column? Oh. Eric Musselman is the target audience. Whoops. Sorry, E.