Who is the best player you'd trade for an all-time coach like Popovich or Phil Jackson?

[giordunk]

The question isn't that hard to frame - pick any NBA team and think about who is the best player you would be willing to trade for the all-time coach you think is the best fit for your current team. On the current Lakers I think Russell Westbrook for Pop would be a pretty easy trade to make.

Also you have to realize that a good coach can elevate a lot of your players. I'd say Mark Jackson/Steve Kerr elevated the values of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson more than if the Warriors had a more 'traditional' coach. A guy that can manage and elevate your entire team may be more valuable than a pretty one dimensional guy giving you 18 points a game.

A good coach can also change the entire culture of your team or implement a defensive system that may be more valuable than your team's best individual defender.

[MyUniBroDavis]

The question isn't that hard to frame - pick any NBA team and think about who is the best player you would be willing to trade for the all-time coach you think is the best fit for your current team. On the current Lakers I think Russell Westbrook for Pop would be a pretty easy trade to make.

Also you have to realize that a good coach can elevate a lot of your players. I'd say Mark Jackson/Steve Kerr elevated the values of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson more than if the Warriors had a more 'traditional' coach. A guy that can manage and elevate your entire team may be more valuable than a pretty one dimensional guy giving you 18 points a game.

A good coach can also change the entire culture of your team or implement a defensive system that may be more valuable than your team's best individual defender.

Dog I would trade Westbrook for a pile of crap

Also why’re we talking about mark jackson, I would genuinely give away like the third best player on most teams if it meant mark Jackson isn’t gonna get hired

[Mazter]

I feel like Pop needs less of a superstar to succeed than Phil. Phil had prime Kobe or MJ or Shaq. Pop did it with old Tim Duncan. Yes he had Kawih but San Antonio worked to get the absolute best out of Danny Green and other Mills, or even other guys who were nothing without San Antonio's system.

Of course Kawih and Duncan are special. But are they as special as Kobe, MJ and Shaq?

Maybe he did not always have superstar Duncan but till 2016 he for sure had Duncan's leadership. Note how fast it all fell apart after Duncan retired with Kawhi leaving after 2 seasons. Phil on the other hand made Jordan and Grant work. Than he made Jordan/Pippen and Rodman work. Then he prolonged the Shaq and Kobe combo for 4 more seasons resulting in 2 more titles and a Finals loss. Phil can make almost everything work. Not saying he will automatically win it all but he almost is a guarantee for improvement.

[MyUniBroDavis]

I feel like Pop needs less of a superstar to succeed than Phil. Phil had prime Kobe or MJ or Shaq. Pop did it with old Tim Duncan. Yes he had Kawih but San Antonio worked to get the absolute best out of Danny Green and other Mills, or even other guys who were nothing without San Antonio's system.

Of course Kawih and Duncan are special. But are they as special as Kobe, MJ and Shaq?

Maybe he did not always have superstar Duncan but till 2016 he for sure had Duncan's leadership. Note how fast it all fell apart after Duncan retired with Kawhi leaving after 2 seasons. Phil on the other hand made Jordan and Grant work. Than he made Jordan/Pippen and Rodman work. Then he prolonged the Shaq and Kobe combo for 4 more seasons resulting in 2 more titles and a Finals loss. Phil can make almost everything work. Not saying he will automatically win it all but he almost is a guarantee for improvement.

Pops a bit behind the times, but he adjusted well and probably would if his team became competitive again, but pointing that out is a bit weird when Phil was telling coaches to run the goddamn triangle for the Knicks lol

From a players perspective and managing personalities Phil is great, I’d assume pop, more so late 2000s early 2010s pop, absolutely clears in terms of schematic stuff, which is more important nowadays than it was before when every team was kinda dumb in that regard, altho both would be behind by that scale.