Head Coaching Candidates - Finalists Nurse/Atkinson/Griffin - Another New Poll Added

[Cooleyo47]

I'd bet it's Nurse, has been Nurse for awhile, and the 2nd Griffin interview is a favor to raise the profile of Nurse's guy.

I hope.

[Matches Malone]

If we all agree that the #1 issue we needed to solve for was in game playoff adjustments then Kenny is basically as good as any random assistant coach because we've never seen him do that

I think you’re being irrationally obtuse on him because he’s not your first choice. He clearly made the right adjustments to take the horrible nets team further than it should have gone.

He put in a good system but he rarely deviated from that, actually in a very similar manner to Bud although Bud actually deviated more than Kenny did. Also again it's a myth that he constantly overachieved with them, he did in 1 of his 4 seasons but his other 3 were either at expectations or worse. And we have zero clue how he would do as a playoff coach

If you’re going to just go off his entire tenure in Brooklyn then yeah, you probably won’t like a lot of it cause of it being bud centric. That’s why you have to do a little more digging into his background and what he’s learned over the years since then. Listen to his interviews and how he’s breaking down offense compared to the 5 out offense he ran in Brooklyn.

[H2tObes]

It was always Nick Nurse

[MVP2110]

I think you’re being irrationally obtuse on him because he’s not your first choice. He clearly made the right adjustments to take the horrible nets team further than it should have gone.

He put in a good system but he rarely deviated from that, actually in a very similar manner to Bud although Bud actually deviated more than Kenny did. Also again it's a myth that he constantly overachieved with them, he did in 1 of his 4 seasons but his other 3 were either at expectations or worse. And we have zero clue how he would do as a playoff coach

If you’re going to just go off his entire tenure in Brooklyn then yeah, you probably won’t like a lot of it cause of it being bud centric. That’s why you have to do a little more digging into his background and what he’s learned over the years since then. Listen to his interviews and how he’s breaking down offense compared to the 5 out offense he ran in Brooklyn.

Right, which is why he feels like just another random assistant we interview in my mind. The hope is that he learned from great coaches and can apply those things. But I've been consistent from the start I only wanted guys who had proven they were good coaches come playoff time.

[Magic Giannison]

Get Nurse and be done with this and then focus on players. We need young and good defenders

[tydett]

The silence was deafening re: Nurse.

Again, organization has to do right by Budenholzer and can't name his replacement 2 days after he's fired, especially in the wake of the news of the loss of his brother getting out.

Bring in a lot of people, make it seem like you really felt you had to explore all options to replace the best coach this franchise has ever had (sorry, Nelly), meanwhile Nurse doesn't get mentioned for anything because he's taking some time to "think about his future" - all while you're negotiating a contract and setting up meetings with franchise cornerstones so that you can get the ball moving quickly once the appropriate amount of time has passed. Gives Nurse a few extra weeks off and he can still get wined and dined, and the org gets cover for not negotiating behind a dude's back while he goes through the grieving process.

[FrieAaron]

Don't really get this constant obsession with "adjustments" and the confidence in which some people speak about identifying who's good at said in-game adjusting. Like, at a certain point you're literally just describing a head coach's job (doing stuff in the middle of a game) and it becomes such a meaningless and subjective term. What are the adjustment criticisms about Atkinson that I'm missing? That he didn't (or couldn't) scream enough at D'Angelo Russell to stop shooting in a playoff game 4-years ago against a superiorly talented Sixers team? Should he have taken Allen off Embiid and start trapping/spamming double teams? We need some specifics here.

I do think some fans use "adjustments" as a sort of panacea to a mythical degree. They're even more effective when a coach doesn't make them because in our mind they have a 100% success rate (surely we would have beat the Celtics if only we played Jevon!). That said, some coaches seem to me much more about micro-managing the game than others and Nurse seems to be in that mold moreso than Bud was, who seemed more to just trust the system and ask for probably better execution. I'm sure the Bucks under Bud also made plenty of adjustments that just go unnoticed and I'm not even going to pretend that I understand coaching well enough to pinpoint what they may be. I just watch the games.

I also think, though, that there are probably strengths and weaknesses to each style and at the end of the day it's the players who make the biggest difference. I'm not sure there is an adjustment Bud could have made in the series that would have been more impactful than Jrue and Bobby simply not going 12/42 and 5/18 from three.

[Ruben Quevedo]

Don't really get this constant obsession with "adjustments" and the confidence in which some people speak about identifying who's good at said in-game adjusting. Like, at a certain point you're literally just describing a head coach's job (doing stuff in the middle of a game) and it becomes such a meaningless and subjective term. What are the adjustment criticisms about Atkinson that I'm missing? That he didn't (or couldn't) scream enough at D'Angelo Russell to stop shooting in a playoff game 4-years ago against a superiorly talented Sixers team? Should he have taken Allen off Embiid and start trapping/spamming double teams? We need some specifics here.

I do think some fans use "adjustments" as a sort of panacea to a mythical degree. They're even more effective when a coach doesn't make them because in our mind they have a 100% success rate (surely we would have beat the Celtics if only we played Jevon!). That said, some coaches seem to me much more about micro-managing the game than others and Nurse seems to be in that mold moreso than Bud was, who seemed more to just trust the system and ask for probably better execution. I'm sure the Bucks under Bud also made plenty of adjustments that just go unnoticed and I'm not even going to pretend that I understand coaching well enough to pinpoint what they may be. I just watch the games.

I also think, though, that there are probably strengths and weaknesses to each style and at the end of the day it's the players who make the biggest difference. I'm not sure there is an adjustment Bud could have made in the series that would have been more impactful than Jrue and Bobby simply not going 12/42 and 5/18 from three.

It's more "system" than adjustments for me. The tactics matter, but they matter at the margins. Losing to the Heat the way we did was a systemic failure, not (only) a failure to make adjustments.

Nurse, if I recall correctly, had a reputation as a creative offensive mind when he was first hired. That will be job #1 - getting the ball to Giannis in creative ways and using his gravity in more creative ways.

Job #2 - figure out what we want to do defensively and acquire personnel accordingly (i.e. a switching scheme is not going to work with the players we have)

[JayMKE]

Why would Atkinson be a totally different coach after a couple years as an assistant? Like he finally figured out rotations and how to manage timeouts? He took some good drugs out in California and has a different more open minded personality now?

Maybe Atkinson should be Nurse's assistant.

[Matches Malone]

Why would Atkinson be a totally different coach after a couple years as an assistant? Like he finally figured out rotations and how to manage timeouts? He took some good drugs out in California and has a different more open minded personality now?

Maybe Atkinson should be Nurse's assistant.

If you're not going to take the time to research it, then idk what to tell ya. His philosophies are night and day different, so yes, I'd say a few years as an assistant has opened his mind and how he looks at basketball. Kerr has been a massive influence on him.

[M-C-G]

Why would Atkinson be a totally different coach after a couple years as an assistant? Like he finally figured out rotations and how to manage timeouts? He took some good drugs out in California and has a different more open minded personality now?

Maybe Atkinson should be Nurse's assistant.

While I am typically a fan of your takes, this one doesn't work for me. 'Why would a coach, coaching with a new coach under a different style learn anything?'

Coaches learn to coach better and cross pollinating them with other successful coaches is absolutely a good thing.

[machu46]

Why would Atkinson be a totally different coach after a couple years as an assistant? Like he finally figured out rotations and how to manage timeouts? He took some good drugs out in California and has a different more open minded personality now?

Maybe Atkinson should be Nurse's assistant.

I mean, yeah, it’s fairly normal for people to learn through new experiences/improve on things over time. Coaching is no different.


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[soxperry]

The silence was deafening re: Nurse.

Again, organization has to do right by Budenholzer and can't name his replacement 2 days after he's fired, especially in the wake of the news of the loss of his brother getting out.

Bring in a lot of people, make it seem like you really felt you had to explore all options to replace the best coach this franchise has ever had (sorry, Nelly), meanwhile Nurse doesn't get mentioned for anything because he's taking some time to "think about his future" - all while you're negotiating a contract and setting up meetings with franchise cornerstones so that you can get the ball moving quickly once the appropriate amount of time has passed. Gives Nurse a few extra weeks off and he can still get wined and dined, and the org gets cover for not negotiating behind a dude's back while he goes through the grieving process.

yeah, i guess that's one possible scenario. but it's extremely bucks centric. Nurse has to know he is the belle of the ball here, right? easily, he has the most shine of anyone out there. so why wouldn't he take all the time he can to let the playoffs resolve, let more teams get involved in his courtship, and create a very serious bidding war. Phoenix, Philly, Milwaukee, and now Boston are all going to be looking for coaches. it's blind homerism to assume that he would just pick Milwaukee because of Giannis. Let's face it, that's the only thing we have going for us right now. No assets to work with, aging flawed players, **** climate.

or he can go to Phoenix and live in a modern, upscale city where it doesn't get cold and he can coach two of the top, what, 8 players in the game?

or he can go to Boston, with all that history, and be the thing that a mostly young finals ready team needs to begin a serious run of real dominance.

or he can go to Philly.. well, he aint going to Philly.

I dont think we got him. i think maybe we do something clever to make it look like we picked one of those other two guys over him but really he was never fully in.

[humanrefutation]

In before it's leaked that Giannis is sitting down with Nurse at Cafe Hollander or something.

[JayMKE]

I see stubbornness as an enduring character trait and Atkinson's rep is as a developmental coach strictly, he should honestly coach college ball. I just don't see how you can justify firing Budenholzer for a guy with a worse resume and doubling down literally on on his worse traits. IDGI at all. We don't need a developmental floor raising coach, we need a champion!

[Frank Nova]

Was Khris around when Griffin was on Skiles staff? I’d imagine he’d be the only remaining player with even remotely close to a tenure long enough to have been here still??

[SupremeHustle]

I picked Griffin in the last poll. I feel like I should win something.

[WiscoKing13]

Was Khris around when Griffin was on Skiles staff? I’d imagine he’d be the only remaining player with even remotely close to a tenure long enough to have been here still??

Kris and Giannis came in the same year. Under Drew.

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[Badgerlander]

Why would Atkinson be a totally different coach after a couple years as an assistant? Like he finally figured out rotations and how to manage timeouts? He took some good drugs out in California and has a different more open minded personality now?

Maybe Atkinson should be Nurse's assistant.

While I am typically a fan of your takes, this one doesn't work for me. 'Why would a coach, coaching with a new coach under a different style learn anything?'

Coaches learn to coach better and cross pollinating them with other successful coaches is absolutely a good thing.

I’m sure he added a few ideas to his basic philosophy but to me when the pressure is turned up people show their true colors and for the most part they don’t change

[paulpressey25]

I picked Griffin in the last poll. I feel like I should win something.

Do your colleagues know you’ve crossed the picket line to post this material?