POLL: Fire Chris Finch This Summer?

[jscott]

HELL NO.

[Ethomasp31]

Finch saw something in NAW when no one else did. He might be the right coach to keep NAW. Also Naz and Finch might be close. If I could sign both without Finch I would vote hell yes. I would keep Finch with the understanding that a bad start to the season will end his employment, that a bad result in the playoffs will end his employment, and that he will exist on a constant state of hot seat for his failures the year prior. He has proven he is not an elite NBA coach, and you don’t win a lot of chips without an elite coach.

I generally like your takes, but NAW and Naz are not going to NOT maximize their worth because of chris finch. That one is out there.

Finch is horrible, only way he stays is we make something happen in the playoffs..

NAW and Naz are in different situations with very different potential outcomes. Before NAW came to MN he was on the verge of being out of the league. He had a resurgence with us, but his shooting is too inconsistent for SG, and his handle isn’t good enough for PG. This puts NAW as a defensive SF with the overall role of 3 and D. Any team that pays him might make him the 6th man, or they might even try to start him. That said, NAW cannot afford to fail in his new situation. The risk is higher for NAW, and playing without a Rudy and Jaden could cause a quality slide. Not to mention the positives of having Ant, KAT, Julius, ect…, feeding him for open 3s and clean drives. NAW will have to be very careful about what team he goes to and what expectations are set for him.

Naz is the reigning 6th man of the year, and seems to be able to handle starting at multiple positions. His game does have limits and flaws, but his leash will be much longer and his worst case is significantly better than NAWs. The variable for Naz is the level of love and acceptance he has found in MN. Our fanbase has made him a cult hero. He may not find anything close to that on another team. The issue with Naz is he might resent Finch for not giving him more opportunities, or he might love Finch for his coaching style. Without knowing more it is hard to say how firing Finch will affect Naz.

If I knew we could fire Finch and keep both, I would do it tomorrow.

NAZ has played behind guys who are better than him. He plays a lot of minutes and is a valuable piece, but we are trying to win games. Everyone on this team, besides ANT, is replaceable. I'm not saying to just let him walk away, but if the right deal was available for NAZ, he is definitely movable.

[winforlose]

I generally like your takes, but NAW and Naz are not going to NOT maximize their worth because of chris finch. That one is out there.

Finch is horrible, only way he stays is we make something happen in the playoffs..

NAW and Naz are in different situations with very different potential outcomes. Before NAW came to MN he was on the verge of being out of the league. He had a resurgence with us, but his shooting is too inconsistent for SG, and his handle isn’t good enough for PG. This puts NAW as a defensive SF with the overall role of 3 and D. Any team that pays him might make him the 6th man, or they might even try to start him. That said, NAW cannot afford to fail in his new situation. The risk is higher for NAW, and playing without a Rudy and Jaden could cause a quality slide. Not to mention the positives of having Ant, KAT, Julius, ect…, feeding him for open 3s and clean drives. NAW will have to be very careful about what team he goes to and what expectations are set for him.

Naz is the reigning 6th man of the year, and seems to be able to handle starting at multiple positions. His game does have limits and flaws, but his leash will be much longer and his worst case is significantly better than NAWs. The variable for Naz is the level of love and acceptance he has found in MN. Our fanbase has made him a cult hero. He may not find anything close to that on another team. The issue with Naz is he might resent Finch for not giving him more opportunities, or he might love Finch for his coaching style. Without knowing more it is hard to say how firing Finch will affect Naz.

If I knew we could fire Finch and keep both, I would do it tomorrow.

NAZ has played behind guys who are better than him. He plays a lot of minutes and is a valuable piece, but we are trying to win games. Everyone on this team, besides ANT, is replaceable. I'm not saying to just let him walk away, but if the right deal was available for NAZ, he is definitely movable.

The right deal is hard to quantify. Naz is pre prime. His prime is almost a perfect overlap with Jaden and Ant. NAW is in a similar situation, as is TSJ. There is value in that.

[Ethomasp31]

NAW and Naz are in different situations with very different potential outcomes. Before NAW came to MN he was on the verge of being out of the league. He had a resurgence with us, but his shooting is too inconsistent for SG, and his handle isn’t good enough for PG. This puts NAW as a defensive SF with the overall role of 3 and D. Any team that pays him might make him the 6th man, or they might even try to start him. That said, NAW cannot afford to fail in his new situation. The risk is higher for NAW, and playing without a Rudy and Jaden could cause a quality slide. Not to mention the positives of having Ant, KAT, Julius, ect…, feeding him for open 3s and clean drives. NAW will have to be very careful about what team he goes to and what expectations are set for him.

Naz is the reigning 6th man of the year, and seems to be able to handle starting at multiple positions. His game does have limits and flaws, but his leash will be much longer and his worst case is significantly better than NAWs. The variable for Naz is the level of love and acceptance he has found in MN. Our fanbase has made him a cult hero. He may not find anything close to that on another team. The issue with Naz is he might resent Finch for not giving him more opportunities, or he might love Finch for his coaching style. Without knowing more it is hard to say how firing Finch will affect Naz.

If I knew we could fire Finch and keep both, I would do it tomorrow.

NAZ has played behind guys who are better than him. He plays a lot of minutes and is a valuable piece, but we are trying to win games. Everyone on this team, besides ANT, is replaceable. I'm not saying to just let him walk away, but if the right deal was available for NAZ, he is definitely movable.

The right deal is hard to quantify. Naz is pre prime. His prime is almost a perfect overlap with Jaden and Ant. NAW is in a similar situation, as is TSJ. There is value in that.

I think you'll need a better second player than those four to win a championship. Are they good role players? Yes. I honestly value Jaden more than NAZ.

[minimus]

I wonder how this pool will look like by the end of the season (playoffs)

[BlacJacMac]

I honestly value Jaden more than NAZ.

As you should. Jaden is a much more valuable player than Naz.

2025 Jaden is an ascending 2-way star on a value contract.

[Klomp]

Part of being a coach is getting players to buy in to their roles for the better of the team. Is there anyone who you could say seems disgruntled? Probably Josh Minott I guess, but that's really it.

[Ethomasp31]

I honestly value Jaden more than NAZ.

As you should. Jaden is a much more valuable player than Naz.

2025 Jaden is an ascending 2-way star on a value contract.

I think more people value NAZ because he is a better scorer.

[winforlose]

I honestly value Jaden more than NAZ.

As you should. Jaden is a much more valuable player than Naz.

2025 Jaden is an ascending 2-way star on a value contract.

I think more people value NAZ because he is a better scorer.

It’s a mixed bag. Jaden is the more valuable player because he is all NBA defense and because he can legit guard 1-4 with some small ball 5. Naz is really a SF/PF combo being asked to spend a lot of time at C and doing it well. The thing that people love about Naz is the quick decision making and how it generates offensive gravity. Naz doesn’t need much time or space to load up a 3. He also has the foot work and finishing package to make him a very tough cover in the low or even mid post. Jaden and Naz both have a lot of untapped upside. That said I do think Jaden has the advantage in overall value. But, Jaden is on a 5 year deal, and Naz is essentially a free agent, so that will give Naz the edge in salary, if not value (the cap went up, and Jaden was an RFA whereas Naz is a UFA.)

[WolfAddict]

Who would be available to replace him is my only question - Obviously it needs to be a step up in talent but I wouldn't know who's available.

[bluethunder0005]

Finch has his flaws, but I'm positive there aren't 20 better coaches out there. Sure maybe an unproven assistant or college coach "could" be better but I don't want the team to take that roll of the dice. Spoelstra, Popovich, Mazulla, etc aren't walking through our doors as a future coach and outside of a handful like them, there aren't many elite options.

Is someone like Budenholzer who has a championship but was fired shortly after and isn't doing anything noteworthy with the Suns a better coach than Finch? Finch is better than Thibs and Thibs is considered a good coach. I'm not sure where Finch would rank on a coaching list but it'd be closer to the top 10 than the bottom 10. So, while in theory I wouldn't have a problem with firing him for a proven better coach, there just aren't many of them out there and the ones that are elite, aren't getting fired. Hiring a loser like Mike Brown or someone like that is a guaranteed way to get worse going forward.

[TimberKat]

Finch has his flaws, but I'm positive there aren't 20 better coaches out there. Sure maybe an unproven assistant or college coach "could" be better but I don't want the team to take that roll of the dice. Spoelstra, Popovich, Mazulla, etc aren't walking through our doors as a future coach and outside of a handful like them, there aren't many elite options.

Is someone like Budenholzer who has a championship but was fired shortly after and isn't doing anything noteworthy with the Suns a better coach than Finch? Finch is better than Thibs and Thibs is considered a good coach. I'm not sure where Finch would rank on a coaching list but it'd be closer to the top 10 than the bottom 10. So, while in theory I wouldn't have a problem with firing him for a proven better coach, there just aren't many of them out there and the ones that are elite, aren't getting fired. Hiring a loser like Mike Brown or someone like that is a guaranteed way to get worse going forward.

I think Thibs is a better coach on the floor. You may not like his style and he was a terrible GM.

[frankenwolf]

No. How can you fire the second most successful coach in Wolves History to get who knows what. Yes, he can be annoying and doesn't coach the way some of us would, but then, how many of us have coached above the High school level? No, until he proves he can't win the big one, let him ride.

[shangrila]

Moan all you want, he's not getting fired.

He's loved by the FO, owners and players, and IIRC widely regarded around the league. He's also led arguably the most successful period of this team's history.

Do you have references? Kind of seems like you are making a statement that sits right with your feelings, yet is unjustified.

Is that not what this entire thread is?

On a serious note, Dane Moore has talked about it, the players all rave about him, Connelly is always more than positive about him in interviews. You don't get the level of player buy in that Finch gets if players don't like and/or respect him.