Best candidates for new GM and Head Coach

[Bassman]

I sincerely hope these owners are considering cleaning the house soon by firing Mitch and Clifford. I get the obvious that it’s easier to ride out their deals to expiration in ‘24, but is that really in the best interests of the team and players?

Who would you put at the top of your wish list for a coach and GM available NOW?

My coaching pool has Mike Budenholzer on the top shelf. Did a great job with the Bucks. Not sure what happened in the playoffs but he’s bound to be a better coach after going through that. Next best options? Not sure…probably the best assistant coach available that is ready to rock. No retreads or pound puppies.

As for GM, I have no clue. So much goes into that role. It takes people deeply in the know on who would be a great candidate. Likely a deserving and budding star assistant GM for a great organization, willing to leave and rescue this franchise.

Your ideas?

[Braggins]

Dont know about GM, but Jordi Fernandez has been getting buzz as a head coaching candidate. He is Mike Browns lead assistant for the Kings and coached the Canadian national team during their recent run.

I'm not the biggest fan of Budenholzer, but he would be the best coach the team has ever had. Hes kind of rigid and a strict system coach and I'm not particularly a fan of his style, but his system works and hes had success turning around multiple franchises. This franchise is so far away from it being relevant that Bud might not be the best at making adjustments necessary for deep playoff runs and hes a guy that can get you to the point of being good enough to make a playoff run in the first place, so it would be hard to complain if this option was on the table.

[Diop]

id be interested to see if a rigid, strict system would work with Ball who is a bit of a free spirit.

[JDR720]

The coach can't be another retread. Look at how the Pistons are doing with Monty. Get somebody new and fresh.

The only exception is Bud. I think he'd be attracted to our offensive talent, but will probably wait for a higher level job.

I suppose I'd like the GM to be analytical, but not so much they ignore common sense. No idea about candidates though.

In relation to GM, we need a whole new bball ops department. It doesn't matter who the GM is if the scouts and infrastructure suck.

[Braggins]

id be interested to see if a rigid, strict system would work with Ball who is a bit of a free spirit.

I think it could work. Hes not really rigid in the sense that hes conservative in style. He likes to pace and space and all that and has been a good offensive coach with a pretty aggressive approach.

Hes mostly just struggled with being slow/ineffective at countering other teams counters in the playoffs, but I think there is a lot of reason to be confident he could build a team identity and setup a really effective offensive/defense system for this roster.

Clifford is bad at both aspects. He struggles to build an effective identity and when he does find something he falls apart as soon as teams adjust to it.

Bud will at least get a team to play really good basketball and be difficult to adjust to themselves. He can be slow to change up and when really good teams start to figure him out in the playoffs he doesn't always have a good answer on the fly, but I think the Hornets would be absolutely thrilled to be a "pretender" team that wins 50 games and loses in the second round at this point. Thats honestly not even really a bad place to be right now with how much parity there is in the league at the moment.

[Diop]

bring in Perth Wildcats winningest coach and former Nick Nurse assistant coach Trevor Gleeson, if I can't have an aussie player can I get an aussie coach?

[JustBuzzin]

Our young core are all athletic and can run the floor LaMelo/Miller/Bridges/Mark.

Mike Dantoni is old, but his system does wonders for teams who have athletes that can run the floor. Melo in the fastbreak would be Nash 2.0.

If not Dantoni a guy like Doc Rivers. At least he demands respect and gets his teams to the playoffs. We need someone who can change the culture.

[fatlever]

i'd like either a coach with proven playoff success
or
a younger former player with clout, success as a player, bit of a touch nose guy

this team a coach who they can see have had recent success, comes with credibility

[yosemiteben]

I don't care how the season goes, I say keep Cliff until the season is over then let him and Mitch go and start over. No big moves at the deadline unless it's moving a vet for picks and/or prospects. I'm ok with letting Mitch go during the season, and letting the new GM control both the trade deadline and the draft.

I do not want the Tepper approach of firing your HC in a way that looks like there are unreasonable expectations for the job or lack of reasonable job security for the coach.

[JMAC3]

I would prefer a defensive minded coach, if we could get to be a top 16 defense we have enough talent on offense to be a consistent playoff team. GM? I have no idea who would be good, that kind of stuff isn't really talked about much until is a guy is already being hired.

[Rich4114]

i'd like either a coach with proven playoff success
or
a younger former player with clout, success as a player, bit of a touch nose guy

this team a coach who they can see have had recent success, comes with credibility

I'm with you there. Thinking Bud as my top choice (not because of what he did in Milwaukee but because of the job he did in Atlanta, which is a similar team to this one) or Chris Quinn. I love the idea of pillaging the Heat front office and coaches.

Imagine Alonzo Mourning as our next GM?

[GoBobs]

What I don't want is a guy who just runs one system and needs to remake the roster with guys that can run it.

That doesn't work in the NBA. You have to be able to come up with a system that works with the talent that is available.

DAntoni is probably to old, but if you also give me Steve Nash as the head coach in waiting to take over after a year or two it could work.

We should also be looking at all the best college and foreign coaches as well. Question is are we going to spend money on a search, and a new coach. Cheapest thing is to keep Clifford until his contract is up.

[JMAC3]

Dantoni seems like the type of coach that would turn Miller into a 1 dimensional player. No thanks.

Let alone we would probably be just as bad on defense.

[Rich4114]

Dantoni seems like the type of coach that would turn Miller into a 1 dimensional player. No thanks.

Let alone we would probably be just as bad on defense.

He's also really old now. That ship has sailed, I don't see Mike D getting back into coaching at this point.

[JDR720]

It'd be embarrassing, but I wouldn't hate bringing Borrego back if we also hired a defensive minded associate HC.

[JMAC3]

It'd be embarrassing, but I wouldn't hate bringing Borrego back if we also hired a defensive minded associate HC.

Spoiler alert, we were really never that good with Borrego. We lucked out to go 43-39 if you look at our net rating.
He would be like 15th on my coaching candidate list.

[JDR720]

It'd be embarrassing, but I wouldn't hate bringing Borrego back if we also hired a defensive minded associate HC.

Spoiler alert, we were really never that good with Borrego. We lucked out to go 43-39 if you look at our net rating.
He would be like 15th on my coaching candidate list.

Because our defense was awful.

Ironically, not quite as bad as it is now.

I think Williams and to a lesser extent Miller would've added a few wins to that record too. Melo is also better now, if his ankles don't fall off.

[JMAC3]

It'd be embarrassing, but I wouldn't hate bringing Borrego back if we also hired a defensive minded associate HC.

Spoiler alert, we were really never that good with Borrego. We lucked out to go 43-39 if you look at our net rating.
He would be like 15th on my coaching candidate list.

Because our defense was awful.

Ironically, not quite as bad as it is now.

I think Williams and to a lesser extent Miller would've added a few wins to that record too. Melo is also better now, if his ankles don't fall off.

Well we probably have a better record if Miles, Rozier and Martin played ala what happened with Borrego. Honestly I think they are both equally meh.

[yosemiteben]

Dantoni seems like the type of coach that would turn Miller into a 1 dimensional player. No thanks.

Let alone we would probably be just as bad on defense.

He's also really old now. That ship has sailed, I don't see Mike D getting back into coaching at this point.

Completely agree, he hasn't been a head coach in 3 years and is 72. Let's get someone who, if he works out, can be here for a long time.

[Braggins]

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/jordi-fernandez-nba-head-coaching-candidate-team-canada/febfb41fc3a980f1c41907e7

Jordi Fernandez worked in player development for Cleveland during Mike Browns tenure there as head coach.

He was then a long time assistant under last seasons NBA champion coach Mike Malone. Since last year he has been lead assistant for Mike Brown in Sacramento (MB has recent championship experience as lead assistant for the Warriors under Kerr). I watch about 75% of Kings games and can personally attest to them being one of the very best coached teams in the league since that staff has taken over.

This summer he took over as a last second replacement for Nick Nurse as head coach for Canadas national team and coached them to a very impressive 3rd place finish.

This summer he was a finalist for the Suns job that ultimately went to Frank Vogel. He also was a candidate for the Raptors and Bucks job. Hes also still young for a head coach at just 40 years old.

He has an academic history and is apparently "one published work away from earning a Ph.D. in sports psychology".

Spoiler:

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/22/jordi-fernandez-nuggets-assistant/

Long before patrolling the sideline at NBA Summer League, Jordi Fernandez examined how the effectiveness of an offensive play can be determined by the team’s behavioral patterns before a shot goes up.

That was the subject of a 11-page academic article — complete with detailed charts, tables and a diagram of a full court — co-written by Fernandez in 2009 that appears in the 41st volume of the Behavior Research Methods scientific journal. The findings, the authors hope, will provide coaches with a new model to analyze how to efficiently call as well as construct various plays.

Fernandez is one published work away from earning his PhD in sports psychology. Perhaps he’ll finish his advanced degree whenever he is fired from his current gig, he jokes. But Fernandez is already putting his research into practice as the Denver Nuggets assistant who just guided the organization’s five-game run in the Las Vegas summer league.

Maybe I'm biased because I love this Kings teams, but I think he would be my top choice, especially if they could get Jay Triano to be his lead assistant. We've seen what Triano can do with a less talented version of this group on offense.