Bill Laimbeer?

[AQuintus]

All the recent talk about firing Rambis has me thinking about who would replace him. Generally, when a coach is fired mid-season, someone from the current coaching staff is temporarily promoted until a more permanent solution can be found during the offseason. Out of all the current assistants, Laimbeer seems like the obvious choice for a replacement. After all, he's the only one that's had any real success as a head coach (even if it was only in the WNBA).

So, my question for anyone who's actually seen him when he was coaching at Detroit is what kind of coach is he? Is the reason he's never gotten any real NBA head coaching looks because he's too much of a totalitarian or is he being frozen out because of his conduct during the bad boys days? And, most importantly, does he run a system that's more conducive to Point Guard success?

[john2jer]

All the recent talk about firing Rambis has me thinking about who would replace him. Generally, when a coach is fired mid-season, someone from the current coaching staff is temporarily promoted until a more permanent solution can be found during the offseason. Out of all the current assistants, Laimbeer seems like the obvious choice for a replacement. After all, he's the only one that's had any real success as a head coach (even if it was only in the WNBA).

So, my question for anyone who's actually seen him when he was coaching at Detroit is what kind of coach is he? Is the reason he's never gotten any real NBA head coaching looks because he's too much of a totalitarian or is he being frozen out because of his conduct during the bad boys days? And, most importantly, does he run a system that's more conducive to Point Guard success?

That's why. And he'd be perfect for Kahn because Rubio/Flynn = Dumars/Thomas.

[UK-Wolf]

I'd actually like the Wolves to have a similar reputation to the Detroit bad boys because at the moment every team in the League wants to play us. Having a reputation like that mentally could put us in good stead in some games, a bit of passion never hurt anyone! I for one loved B-Easy's rants last night.

[Krapinsky]

We can't consider firing Rambis. Too much $ owed. We only fired Casey and Whitman before their contracts were up because McHale could coach the team in the interim.

Firing Rambis would mean firing Kahn. They are a package deal. At this point it's too early in the decision making process.

Even assuming we could fire Rambis, Lambier would be the last guy I would choose to replace him. Our big men have only seemed ot get worse under his tutilage. Give me Dave Wohl.

[Basti]

I'd actually like the Wolves to have a similar reputation to the Detroit bad boys because at the moment every team in the League wants to play us. Having a reputation like that mentally could put us in good stead in some games, a bit of passion never hurt anyone! I for one loved B-Easy's rants last night.

The way the league is right now, I'm not sure it would be good to have a bad boy image. Especially if you're not good. Boston kinda gets away from it because they are Boston but other than that Stern and his minions will make sure a bad team such as ours will feel his power.

[AQuintus]

We can't consider firing Rambis. Too much $ owed.

I'm not sure I buy this. Glen Taylor is a billionaire. You don't think he'd take a short term hit in his pocketbooks to field a better team and potentially make back more money down the road?

We only fired Casey and Whitman before their contracts were up because McHale could coach the team in the interim.

That's kind of the point of this thread, to see if we have a similar situation with Laimbeer.

Firing Rambis would mean firing Kahn. They are a package deal. At this point it's too early in the decision making process.

I'm not sure I buy this one, either. When's the last time a coach and GM got fired as part of a "package deal?" When a team starts out struggling horribly (like we are), the coach is pretty much always the first to go, regardless if the struggling is even their fault or not. It's more of a PR move to show fans that the team is at least trying to do something to stop the bleeding. On the other hand, the GM is pretty much always given second, third, and even fourth chances to fix their mess. McHale lasted for how long? And Mike Dunleavy got how many years before he was kicked out? Etc, etc, etc.

Even assuming we could fire Rambis, Lambier would be the last guy I would choose to replace him. Our big men have only seemed ot get worse under his tutilage.

Rambis, Laimbeer, Wohl, and Theus all joined the coaching staff at roughly the same time. Why blame Laimbeer for the team's failings over any of those other guys? For all we know, Laimbeer could be doing a tremendous job, but the system, the other coaches, or the players themselves could be sabotaging his work.

Give me Dave Wohl.

Why? What has Wohl done to make you want him over Laimbeer (I'm being completely sincere with this question because I honestly don't know)? At least Laimbeer has the track record of turning a bad Detroit Shock (0-10 when he joined) into a 3 time champion.

[Klomp]

I wanna see JB as head coach...

[Krapinsky]

We can't consider firing Rambis. Too much $ owed.

I'm not sure I buy this. Glen Taylor is a billionaire. You don't think he'd take a short term hit in his pocketbooks to field a better team and potentially make back more money down the road?

We only fired Casey and Whitman before their contracts were up because McHale could coach the team in the interim.

That's kind of the point of this thread, to see if we have a similar situation with Laimbeer.

Firing Rambis would mean firing Kahn. They are a package deal. At this point it's too early in the decision making process.

I'm not sure I buy this one, either. When's the last time a coach and GM got fired as part of a "package deal?" When a team starts out struggling horribly (like we are), the coach is pretty much always the first to go, regardless if the struggling is even their fault or not. It's more of a PR move to show fans that the team is at least trying to do something to stop the bleeding. On the other hand, the GM is pretty much always given second, third, and even fourth chances to fix their mess. McHale lasted for how long? And Mike Dunleavy got how many years before he was kicked out? Etc, etc, etc.

Even assuming we could fire Rambis, Lambier would be the last guy I would choose to replace him. Our big men have only seemed ot get worse under his tutilage.

Rambis, Laimbeer, Wohl, and Theus all joined the coaching staff at roughly the same time. Why blame Laimbeer for the team's failings over any of those other guys? For all we know, Laimbeer could be doing a tremendous job, but the system, the other coaches, or the players themselves could be sabotaging his work.

Give me Dave Wohl.

Why? What has Wohl done to make you want him over Laimbeer (I'm being completely sincere with this question because I honestly don't know)? At least Laimbeer has the track record of turning a bad Detroit Shock (0-10 when he joined) into a 3 time champion.

I never buy the "he's a billionaire arguement". Billionaires aren't billionaire's becuase it's in their nature to waste money. My point is Rambis is 6 games into coaching this team. Why would Taylor fire him and pay him $5M/year jsut so anothr coach can come in and coach a team that is just as bad.

I think Rambis/Kahn are a package deal because Kahn won't fire Rambis. The entire team has been handpicked by Rambis jsut as much as it has Kahn. I think if Rambis is fired it's coming from Taylor with one swift blow that cleans house again and I don't think that decision can be on the table until after this year.

Maybe Laimbeer could make a difference, and maybe I'm being too dismissive with him, but I was under the belief that he was our big man coach (maybe that's wrong). Since he's been here the longer our big mean have spent with him the worse they have got. He does seem like a guy that will get into a player's face and yell at him and I think this team needs that more than Rambis' passive approach (which seems better suited for a veteran squad).

Regarding Wohl -- He's a longtime assistant, went to an Ivy League School (smarty), and even has front office experience. Nothing really to back me up here, I've just always generally liked the guy and been impressed by him whenever I've heard him interviewed.

[AQuintus]

I never buy the "he's a billionaire arguement". Billionaires aren't billionaire's becuase it's in their nature to waste money. My point is Rambis is 6 games into coaching this team. Why would Taylor fire him and pay him $5M/year jsut so anothr coach can come in and coach a team that is just as bad.

I think that he'd do it based on the same assumption that a lot of us have; the team is as bad as it is because of Rambis, and it would be better (but probably still not great) with another head coach.

Also, like I said, firing a head coach is just as much a PR move as anything else. If Taylor sees fan attendance plummet, he might do it (or force Kahn to do it) just to show the fans that he's not happy with the team's situation either, and that he's at least making an effort (even if it is only a token effort) to change that situation.

I think Rambis/Kahn are a package deal because Kahn won't fire Rambis. The entire team has been handpicked by Rambis jsut as much as it has Kahn. I think if Rambis is fired it's coming from Taylor with one swift blow that cleans house again and I don't think that decision can be on the table until after this year.

Okay. I get where you're coming from with this.

'Regarding Wohl -- He's a longtime assistant, went to an Ivy League School (smarty), and even has front office experience. Nothing really to back me up here, I've just always generally liked the guy and been impressed by him whenever I've heard him interviewed.

Rambis was also a longtime assistant and look where that's gotten us. Personally, I'd rather go with a guy that has a proven track record of success as a head coach for our interim. The only guy currently with the organization that has those credentials is Laimbeer (even if it is only with the WNBA).

[fleet40]

Laimbeer seems to have the players respect. And I see him working with the bigs hard everyday. I don't see how anyone can say the bigs have (digressed) under Laimbeer. Love is playing well, and Darko is blocking shots well. Pek looks like he could be a good strong roll player, and Laimbeer has been working hard with him.

I know Love talks with Bill all the time about his issues with the scheme, and playing time. So what's important is the players are not simply tuning him out. While I do see some of that tuning out on Rambis.

Bill is a good coach, I can see him working hard out there. You cant blame him for this teams problems out of the gate. Hell Patrick Ewing worked with Darko in Orlando and while he is not the Coach that Laimbeer is, he could have taught Darko something about a low post game. So what I am saying is, Darko will never be a strong scorer. But what Laimbeer has been working with him about is positioning. And I think he will improve as the season goed on the Def end.

[shangrila]

I think if the axe came mid-season Theus would be step up. He's the only one on the staff with NBA head coaching experience and while he wasn't very good he could at least hold down the fort until we go someone better. Preferably someone like Mike Budenholzer, Kelvin Sampson or anyone that has never worked for the Lakers.

[Breakdown777]

I think if the axe came mid-season Theus would be step up. He's the only one on the staff with NBA head coaching experience and while he wasn't very good he could at least hold down the fort until we go someone better. Preferably someone like Mike Budenholzer, Kelvin Sampson or anyone that has never worked for the Lakers.

I thought Theus left MN to coach somewhere else? Was that only an interview? I haven't been paying attention to the bench that closely but I thought he was gone this year...

[AQuintus]

I thought Theus left MN to coach somewhere else? Was that only an interview? I haven't been paying attention to the bench that closely but I thought he was gone this year...

He was interviewed by DePaul, but is apparently still an assistant here. Either way, I don't think I'd be happy with Theus. He was pretty bad in Sacramento.

[john2jer]

I thought Theus left MN to coach somewhere else? Was that only an interview? I haven't been paying attention to the bench that closely but I thought he was gone this year...

He was interviewed by DePaul, but is apparently still an assistant here. Either way, I don't think I'd be happy with Theus. He was pretty bad in Sacramento.

The reason why he was bad in Sacramento was mostly due to losing the players when he started micro-managing them on everything. He basically told them when they could and could not use the bathroom 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

[LordBaldric]

I say we bring in Chilly after the Vikings can his ass.

[Twolves98]

If Laimbeer is such a good coach. Why can't we make a shot in the post?

[AQuintus]

If Laimbeer is such a good coach. Why can't we make a shot in the post?

Because even the best coaches aren't allowed to take shots for their players.

[Klomp]

I think if the axe came mid-season Theus would be step up. He's the only one on the staff with NBA head coaching experience and while he wasn't very good he could at least hold down the fort until we go someone better. Preferably someone like Mike Budenholzer, Kelvin Sampson or anyone that has never worked for the Lakers.

WRONG!
Wohl coached the New Jersey for over two seasons starting with the 1985-86 season, when he led them to the playoffs. His career record is 65-114 (.363).

[Klomp]

This is waaaaaaaaaay to early to think we'll make coaching changes. We all know this team is tied to Rubio, and I don't think any sudden changes will be made until after hes here.

[AQuintus]

This is waaaaaaaaaay to early to think we'll make coaching changes. We all know this team is tied to Rubio, and I don't think any sudden changes will be made until after hes here.

If the team's fortunes really are directly linked to Ricky Rubio, wouldn't it be a good idea to have a coach whose system doesn't diminish the contributions of the Point Guard?