Marc Stein: Next in line Avery,Casey and TT

[JOHN]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=DAntoni-FAQ-080511

Where will the Bulls turn now?

They will interview recently dismissed Dallas coach Avery Johnson after moving away from Johnson this week to focus on D'Antoni.


They will continue to consider former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, who has already interviewed once with the Bulls and is bound for Dallas as an assistant to Rick Carlisle if he can't get the Bulls' job.


And they will request permission to speak with Boston Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, architect of the defense that's giving LeBron James so much trouble in the playoffs.

The Bulls will almost certainly hire one of those three -- odds favor the less experienced (but less expensive) Thibodeau -- and then start working on boosting the morale of players like Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Joakim Noah, who were hoping so much to play for D'Antoni.

So the Bulls have interviewed Dwane Casey??

[step]

So the Bulls have interviewed Dwane Casey??

Yes, during the time they interviewed Carlisle.

They will continue to consider former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, who has already interviewed once with the Bulls and is bound for Dallas as an assistant to Rick Carlisle if he can't get the Bulls' job.

Well that's one positive thing, I thought he was long gone.

[JOHN]

Positive or not just thinking of having Bums Bros
(aka Ron Adams and PEte Myers) on our bench makes me feel safe[green]

[coldfish]

Dwane Casey, 1.5 years with Minnesota
33-49 28th offense, 9th defense
20-20 25th offense, 21st defense

I can't speak much to him as a coach or his systems. His time was very short.

It should be noted that everyone who gives KG the credit for Thibodeau's defense should be horrified by Casey. He achieved a much worse defense with a younger KG.

[Jujuba69]

and then start working on boosting the morale of players like Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Joakim Noah, who were hoping so much to play for D'Antoni.

OMG

Again.

Bunch of midget mind players.

EMO.

[JOHN]

Is it safe to say beforehand that Avery Johnson will not be considered since he will command more than 3 million dollars?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Yep - none of those choices are "sexy".

I'm on the Mark Jackson express - for the simple fact that he isn't a life-long assistant or recycled head coach.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Dwane Casey, 1.5 years with Minnesota
33-49 28th offense, 9th defense
20-20 25th offense, 21st defense

I can't speak much to him as a coach or his systems. His time was very short.

It should be noted that everyone who gives KG the credit for Thibodeau's defense should be horrified by Casey. He achieved a much worse defense with a younger KG.

It should be noted that those rosters were absolute crap outside of Garnett, and Casey had them playing .500 ball in the West.

[JOHN]

-= original quote snipped =-




It should be noted that those rosters were absolute crap outside of Garnett, and Casey had them playing .500 ball in the West.

Which quite possibly could ve been due to Garnett again.

[nitetrain8603]

I'd go for Casey, if not for the simple fact that Duck wants him. I've always wondered why he was fired in Minny after taking a poop team and making them look way better.

[Jujuba69]

Any chance of a combo of TT and Casey?

[dougthonus]

Any chance of a combo of TT and Casey?

Doesn't seem like it. Casey is set to go with Carlisle if he doesn't get the head coaching job. It seems highly unlikely that we'd be bale to get TT to come here as an assistant for Casey.

[DuckIII]

They will continue to consider former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, who has already interviewed once with the Bulls and is bound for Dallas as an assistant to Rick Carlisle if he can't get the Bulls' job.

Sweet. This is very good news. Give this guy a shot Pax. Its the right thing to do.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

They will continue to consider former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey, who has already interviewed once with the Bulls and is bound for Dallas as an assistant to Rick Carlisle if he can't get the Bulls' job.

Sweet. This is very good news. Give this guy a shot Pax. Its the right thing to do.

What kind of offense did this guy have in Minny?

[coldfish]

I would like to hear more about what Casey or Curry bring to the table. Based on my limited knowledge, its not much.

One thing lost in all of the Paxdorf bashing is that it was mentioned many times that both Reinsdorf and Paxson want to run defined systems on both sides of the court. It will be interesting to see what they could find. I agree with the concept and would love for the Bulls to get to the 90's setup with an offensive and defensive guru running effective NBA systems.

[DuckIII]

Dwane Casey, 1.5 years with Minnesota
33-49 28th offense, 9th defense

Thats a pretty damn good defensive rating for that season, considering the roster was absolute dog ****. People need a refresher in what Dwane Casey was working with in the Western Conference during his short tenure:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2006.html

That's for the 33 win season.

20-20 25th offense, 21st defense

Those rankings are for the entire season, of which he was not even allowed to coach half in one of the most absurd mid-season firings in the history of professional athletics.

The important stat here is that he had a dog **** team playing WAY above their abilities with a 20-20 record, which was currently good for the projected 8th seed in the West. Once he was replaced by Randy Whittman, that same roster went 12-30 the rest of the season. That is what matters. Don't taint Casey's abilities with rankings that are infected with Randy Whittman's performance (a performance which, at 12-30, actually reflects the true quality of that horrible team.)

The crap roster that Casey took to 20-20 and on pace to make the playoffs in the West can be viewed here:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2007.html

Its awful. Just awful. Give me the guy who is proven to make awful into good over the "proven" guys who have a history of making elite into decent.

It should be noted that everyone who gives KG the credit for Thibodeau's defense should be horrified by Casey. He achieved a much worse defense with a younger KG.

Give me a break. Click those links and look at those rosters. I do credit Thibo for his performance in Boston. But try to recognize context.

[coldfish]

Info on the fence post that is Dwane Casey:

In less than two seasons as head coach of the Timberwolves, Casey posted a 53-69 record (.434 winning percentage). Casey came to Minnesota after spending 11 seasons as an assistant with the Seattle SuperSonics. Prior to arriving in Seattle, Casey spent five years as a head coach in Japan, including coaching the Japanese National Team with basketball legend Pete Newell. He also served as an assistant to Eddie Sutton at the University of Kentucky from 1985-90

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wo ... 70123.html

Star Tribune sports columnist Pat Reusse says Wittman is a better tactician than Casey, and the team will probably start running better plays. But he doesn't think Casey should shoulders the blame for the team's erratic performance and he's skeptical a change in coaches will make a difference.

"This is not going to be a more consistent team, because the players aren't that good," according to Reusse. "Everybody is inconsistent except the seven or eight elite teams, and this sure isn't one of those.

Reusse says the blame ultimately falls on Timberwolves management. He says the McHale is the one who picks the players, and he hasn't done a good job at it.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/displa ... 3/twolves/

The biggest problem was a lack of intensity. Casey, who preaches defensive fundamentals, sharing the ball and thorough preparation, pledged to rekindle that.

He's also serious about re-establishing locker-room unity, something that helped the Sonics surpass expectations last season and win the Northwest Division with a 52-30 record.

"To win a championship, it takes a lot of togetherness," Casey said.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/f ... lvescoach/

Anyway, while with Minnesota, Coach Casey was never known for his ability to make in-game adjustments. But when a team (like, ahem, the Hawks last week) is raining outside jumpers all over your team, and a fan sitting at home watching on TV (like, ahem, me) is wondering why you

[DuckIII]

What kind of offense did this guy have in Minny?

I've lost a link to an article I once found that briefly described his offense as a motion system. But I don't know how much stock we can put in whatever strategies he employed in Minny. That roster was Garnett surrounded by nothing but bums and rookies. I strongly suspect the basic offensive strategy was to bring it down, give it to KG in the high post and see what he could do with the ho-hums around him.

[DuckIII]

I would like to hear more about what Casey or Curry bring to the table. Based on my limited knowledge, its not much.

I can only assume that when you say "its not much" that you are referring to experience. And that is an inaccurate statement as to Casey.

Casey has a short, but distinct, record of over-achievement as an NBA coach preceded by a long history as an assistant, which includes serving as associate head coach to Nate McMillan, who is one of the very best two-way coaches in the business.

[coldfish]

I can only assume that when you say "its not much" that you are referring to experience. And that is an inaccurate statement as to Casey.

Casey has a short, but distinct, record of over-achievement as an NBA coach preceded by a long history as an assistant, which includes serving as associate head coach to Nate McMillan, who is one of the very best two-way coaches in the business.

I'm open minded. Tell me about Casey:
- What kind of offense does he run? How would it work with Bulls players?
- What kind of defense does he run? How would it work with Bulls players?
- How does he manage the team in games? Does he make adjustments?
- How does he interact with players? Is he a player's coach?
- How is he with player development? Does he believe in 1 on 1 training?

His time with Minnesota was short and as you said, it was a bad situation. That being said, google searches leave virtually nothing describing him as a coach. He should have some philosophies. I only found two vague comments saying that:
- He isn't much of a tactician
- He isnt' good at in game adjustments

Note: I'm really not being a smart ass. I know virtually nothing about him and freely admit it.
Note2: I love McMillan as a coach. If he is McMillan like, sign me up.