Karl Officially Out, Who's the best fit to replace him?

[codydaze]

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With the inevitable out of the way, who do you think is the best candidate to take over the head coaching position next year?

Pretty much every candidate available has been discussed but we're probably most likely looking at Kevin McHale, Vinny Del Negro, David Blatt and Jeff Hornaceck.

I think whoever we hire needs to be given some time to work with the team. Something like a four year deal and actually let them see it through, regardless of anything happening with Boogie. I personally didn't have McHale on my radar, initially, I thought Blatt or Hornaceck would be good but I'm actually intrigued by the prospect of McHale now.

Thoughts?

[blind prophet]

Well Thibs was probably most of our top choices. Now we know that its not going to happen.

McHale is the guy out of that group I'd want. I like the fact he is a former big man, played himself for a stable organization, won multiple rings, and is in the hall of fame.

I'd like to see what he could do with a WCS & Cousins combo. Also if we run a more big man friendly offense I think Rudy may be a better fit than he was last year.

Blatt makes me nervous as a non NBA guy and foreigner.

[SacSanity]

I have to say definitely no to Vinny D and Hornaceck.

I wouldn't prefer Blatt.

I would want McHale out of that bunch. Big man and successful. You can see he wasn't holding the Rockets back.

[codydaze]

Well Thibs was probably most of our top choices. Now we know that its not going to happen.

McHale is the guy out of that group I'd want. I like the fact he is a former big man, played himself for a stable organization, won multiple rings, and is in the hall of fame.

I'd like to see what he could do with a WCS & Cousins combo. Also if we run a more big man friendly offense I think Rudy may be a better fit than he was last year.

Blatt makes me nervous as a non NBA guy and foreigner.

I think Blatt did a decent job in Cleveland. As much as people talk about how hamstrung Karl was with our organization, Blatt was even moreso in Cleveland due to the Lebron influence. If I'm remembering correctly, Blatt is a Princeton alum too so maybe he could bring the Princeton offense back to town.

[blind prophet]

Well Thibs was probably most of our top choices. Now we know that its not going to happen.

McHale is the guy out of that group I'd want. I like the fact he is a former big man, played himself for a stable organization, won multiple rings, and is in the hall of fame.

I'd like to see what he could do with a WCS & Cousins combo. Also if we run a more big man friendly offense I think Rudy may be a better fit than he was last year.

Blatt makes me nervous as a non NBA guy and foreigner.

I think Blatt did a decent job in Cleveland. As much as people talk about how hamstrung Karl was with our organization, Blatt was even moreso in Cleveland due to the Lebron influence. If I'm remembering correctly, Blatt is a Princeton alum too so maybe he could bring the Princeton offense back to town.

He was a pg under Yoda that's true. That may be of intrigue to Vlade. Do you think we have good enough ball handlers to run something like that though?

Ben is one of the worst SG ball handlers/passers in the league, WCS seldom got the ball, Rondo has the ball in his hands for most of the clock, Rudy is like a black hole.

I'd expect lots of roster tinkering if that's the case.

[codydaze]

Well Thibs was probably most of our top choices. Now we know that its not going to happen.

McHale is the guy out of that group I'd want. I like the fact he is a former big man, played himself for a stable organization, won multiple rings, and is in the hall of fame.

I'd like to see what he could do with a WCS & Cousins combo. Also if we run a more big man friendly offense I think Rudy may be a better fit than he was last year.

Blatt makes me nervous as a non NBA guy and foreigner.

I think Blatt did a decent job in Cleveland. As much as people talk about how hamstrung Karl was with our organization, Blatt was even moreso in Cleveland due to the Lebron influence. If I'm remembering correctly, Blatt is a Princeton alum too so maybe he could bring the Princeton offense back to town.

He was a pg under Yoda that's true. That may be of intrigue to Vlade. Do you think we have good enough ball handlers to run something like that though?

Ben is one of the worst SG ball handlers/passers in the league, WCS seldom got the ball, Rondo has the ball in his hands for most of the clock, Rudy is like a black hole.

I'd expect lots of roster tinkering if that's the case.

We'd definitely need a few roster tweaks if this were the case but I think if we added Ryan Anderson, who I expect us to go after pretty aggressively, he could fit that offense. Then we'd need to make a move or two on the wings.

[jeffjtk1234]

Blatt may work because he will be motivated after the Cleveland debacle.

McHale is eh but he's he best of the bunch so I'd be alright with it.

What about Patrick Ewing?


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[KF10]

I found this Q&A session by McHale not too long ago pretty interesting -- especially this part where he talks about his coaching style:

Question: I think if people just looked at your coaching style last year in a vacuum they’d come away thinking that the Kevin McHale offense is going to feature a heavy dose of pick-and-roll and giving the point guard a lot of freedom and opportunities to make plays. Because the personnel is so different this year do you think we can expect a dramatically different offensive approach, or with Jeremy Lin on board – someone who really excelled in isolation and pick-and-roll situations last season – will it largely be the same with just a greater emphasis on playing more uptempo to take advantage of the young legs up and down the roster?

Kevin McHale: Again, ideally if you asked me how I’d like to play I’d say that I’d like to have a big guy to throw the ball to and pound the hell out of the other team. If you don’t have those guys then it’s very hard to do that. I don’t foresee those guys being on our team right now, so we’re probably going to have to create offense from the outside-in even though I’d prefer my offense from the inside-out. I’d rather be a team that’s a great rebounding, great pound-it-inside, throw it out for jump shots after you’ve explored pounding it inside type of team. But those teams in the NBA are few and far between these days.

So we’re just going to have to do whatever fits our team the best. If our best playmaker is our two-man then we’ll run a ton of stuff that will allow him to make plays. If our best playmaker is our four-man, then we’ll run a ton of stuff for him to make plays. The object is not to run your offense, the object is to run an offense that fits your team. I’m not playing, so it doesn’t matter what I like; it matters what these guys can and can’t do.

I’ve never believed in a one-size-fits-all offense. I always believed that was a copout. I always thought whenever I heard that: ‘You’ve got Kareem and you’re a high-post offensive coach so you’re going to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the high-post? That doesn’t make much sense.’ So I think you have to adapt to your players.

So what kind of offense are we going to run this year? I’ll let you know in a few months when we’ve been around them a little bit more.

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/qa-kevin-mchale-part-i

[teerfour+40LG]

Reminder that Thibs loves Cousins as of Feb 2016.

https://youtu.be/TJADnwgN_gA?t=28m35s

[Jstock12]

What about Patrick Ewing?

This is a really nice thought. I don't know how Ewing is at Xs & Os, but who better to command respect from Cousins than a HOF big man. McHale is in a similar boat I guess, but he just seems too soft as a coach. If Ewing the coach in anything like Ewing the player, he could be an interesting option to consider for the head coaching job.

[SacKingZZZ]

I found this Q&A session by McHale not too long ago pretty interesting -- especially this part where he talks about his coaching style:

Question: I think if people just looked at your coaching style last year in a vacuum they’d come away thinking that the Kevin McHale offense is going to feature a heavy dose of pick-and-roll and giving the point guard a lot of freedom and opportunities to make plays. Because the personnel is so different this year do you think we can expect a dramatically different offensive approach, or with Jeremy Lin on board – someone who really excelled in isolation and pick-and-roll situations last season – will it largely be the same with just a greater emphasis on playing more uptempo to take advantage of the young legs up and down the roster?

Kevin McHale: Again, ideally if you asked me how I’d like to play I’d say that I’d like to have a big guy to throw the ball to and pound the hell out of the other team. If you don’t have those guys then it’s very hard to do that. I don’t foresee those guys being on our team right now, so we’re probably going to have to create offense from the outside-in even though I’d prefer my offense from the inside-out. I’d rather be a team that’s a great rebounding, great pound-it-inside, throw it out for jump shots after you’ve explored pounding it inside type of team. But those teams in the NBA are few and far between these days.

So we’re just going to have to do whatever fits our team the best. If our best playmaker is our two-man then we’ll run a ton of stuff that will allow him to make plays. If our best playmaker is our four-man, then we’ll run a ton of stuff for him to make plays. The object is not to run your offense, the object is to run an offense that fits your team. I’m not playing, so it doesn’t matter what I like; it matters what these guys can and can’t do.

I’ve never believed in a one-size-fits-all offense. I always believed that was a copout. I always thought whenever I heard that: ‘You’ve got Kareem and you’re a high-post offensive coach so you’re going to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the high-post? That doesn’t make much sense.’ So I think you have to adapt to your players.

So what kind of offense are we going to run this year? I’ll let you know in a few months when we’ve been around them a little bit more.

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/qa-kevin-mchale-part-i

And.... search over!

Seriously though, McHale is the easy choice. He'll do wonders for Cuz' game. I noticed a lot of McHale esque moves out of Omri since his return. Cuz could learn a thing or two down low from McHale.

[KF10]

And.... search over!

Seriously though, McHale is the easy choice. He'll do wonders for Cuz' game. I noticed a lot of McHale esque moves out of Omri since his return. Cuz could learn a thing or two down low from McHale.

Yeah, McHale would be a very good fit, imo.

[Wolfay]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

[Kings2013]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

He played for a coach who put feelers out on him last summer who then tried to utilize him incorrectly - pace and perimeter dribble drive stuff - who the team quit on. Can't make a determination on that until I see another coach in here who actually tries to form a relationship with him and game plan for him, IMO

We will go down the path as long as there isn't a viable deal on the table that makes us a better team, on the court, regardless of who likes his disposition or not (doesn't bother me personally). Vlade has supported him as well as Vivek and I can't imagine them wanting to deal one of the best bugs at a discount. I don't think that deal will come, because of what your complaining about

All this is to say that I'd like to see him with another coach, and a lot of the fanbase feels the same

[FrodoBaggins]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

Yep. It's a shame a hall of fame decorated 30 year coach like George Karl got sucked underneath Demarcus' ego. I've said it before and i'll say it again. Karl's performance this season was not nearly a true measure of his coaching, and despite it, he was but a symptom of the true problem, which is 6-11 and always slightly overweight. I wonder where we'd be had we allowed Karl to trade Cousins... Probably on a much more positive, bright future outlook than right now. Changing coaches won't really matter. If we keep Cousins, we're going to be here in this exact same situation this time next year, contemplating firing another coach.

[jeffjtk1234]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

I like McHale too and think he would he a good fit but I do tend to agree with your points. We won't win anything with DMC as our "leader" and best player. I honestly hate watching him play because of his attitude and his constant taking plays off. It's nearly time to consider trading him but he will be around this year with a new coach. I have no doubt about that.


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[FrodoBaggins]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

He played for a coach who put feelers out on him last summer who then tried to utilize him incorrectly - pace and perimeter dribble drive stuff - who the team quit on. Can't make a determination on that until I see another coach in here who actually tries to form a relationship with him and game plan for him, IMO

We will go down the path as long as there isn't a viable deal on the table that makes us a better team, on the court, regardless of who likes his disposition or not (doesn't bother me personally). Vlade has supported him as well as Vivek and I can't imagine them wanting to deal one of the best bugs at a discount. I don't think that deal will come, because of what your complaining about

All this is to say that I'd like to see him with another coach, and a lot of the fanbase feels the same

The 3pt shot was actually a great addition to DMC's game. He's actually more efficient from the 3pt line than the post... But either way, all the 3pt addition was, was extending some of his inefficient long twos out to 23-9. It's funny how you say he was being used incorrectly. Because that's not entirely what happened. As early as December they started to get Cuz more post touches, I recall George actually said something about this in the media at the time. This all led to a perfect offensive balance and use of Cousins. That January was the best Cousins has ever played, and the best this team has been in a LONG time. You mean to tell me we were using him wrong? He's no Shaq. You post him up every possession, he'll break the all time blocked shots record, seeing as how he usually leads the league in that category. Our problem was a lack of effort, primarily with perimeter defense. Karl's scheme demands high movement and activity on defense. Hard to get that out of a post injury Rondo who is clearly not the same as he used to be on defense (Allows penetration on pretty much every PnR), McLemore who has no energy (just along for the coin and ride), and Belinelli. Our best defender was Seth by far. Mainly because he was the only one to bring the effort. Collison did from time to time too.

And despite all this, Karl had us at the 8th seed at 21-23, despite multiple injuries to Cousins, WCS, Rondo, Casspi, Collison, and despite a 1-7 start... This team was working, then they got complacent and as soon as the loses started piling up and the doubt set in, the locker room issues returned. All Karl wanted was this team to play winning basketball. Team basketball. And he had us doing that. But as soon as the effort dissipated, he got thrown under the bus with Cousins' victim games, got the whole team against him, and this started the sour grapes from Karl.

So, no. "Incorrect use of Cousins and pace and space drive and dribble" isn't why this team failed. Was a top 10 offense during the first half of the season. I'd call that a win with a rotating door defense that limits fastbreak opportunities.

[blind prophet]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

Yep. It's a shame a hall of fame decorated 30 year coach like George Karl got sucked underneath Demarcus' ego. I've said it before and i'll say it again. Karl's performance this season was not nearly a true measure of his coaching, and despite it, he was but a symptom of the true problem, which is 6-11 and always slightly overweight. I wonder where we'd be had we allowed Karl to trade Cousins... Probably on a much more positive, bright future outlook than right now. Changing coaches won't really matter. If we keep Cousins, we're going to be here in this exact same situation this time next year, contemplating firing another coach.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

[FrodoBaggins]

I like McHale, but let's get real. I can't see Cousins respecting anybody mentioned, or anybody yet to be mentioned, or anybody who won't get mentioned. I never seen any person demand so much respect when he's given zero to anybody else. He's a career malcontent, and a career loser. His behavior down the stretch was as bad as it's ever been, and six seasons in, I think we've seen his true colors by now. He's just a douchebag with the thinnest skin in all of pro sports. Enough is enough. The Cousins experiment failed, and I can't believe we're going to continue to go down this path.

Yep. It's a shame a hall of fame decorated 30 year coach like George Karl got sucked underneath Demarcus' ego. I've said it before and i'll say it again. Karl's performance this season was not nearly a true measure of his coaching, and despite it, he was but a symptom of the true problem, which is 6-11 and always slightly overweight. I wonder where we'd be had we allowed Karl to trade Cousins... Probably on a much more positive, bright future outlook than right now. Changing coaches won't really matter. If we keep Cousins, we're going to be here in this exact same situation this time next year, contemplating firing another coach.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

And? I don't give a **** about hurt feelings. I care about winning, and I don't see many winners in that group. I see a bunch of cancers. Iggy is the only winner out of the bunch.

[blind prophet]

Yep. It's a shame a hall of fame decorated 30 year coach like George Karl got sucked underneath Demarcus' ego. I've said it before and i'll say it again. Karl's performance this season was not nearly a true measure of his coaching, and despite it, he was but a symptom of the true problem, which is 6-11 and always slightly overweight. I wonder where we'd be had we allowed Karl to trade Cousins... Probably on a much more positive, bright future outlook than right now. Changing coaches won't really matter. If we keep Cousins, we're going to be here in this exact same situation this time next year, contemplating firing another coach.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/6/23/8830539/george-karl-snake-demarcus-cousins-history

And? I don't give a **** about hurt feelings. I care about winning, and I don't see many winners in that group. I see a bunch of cancers. Iggy is the only winner out of the bunch.

Really now?

What has Karl won?

Tell me the fellas who don't get along with Pop or Adleman?