cosmofizzo wrote:Coaching search thread!! All rumors, speculation, suggestions, etc. here!
I doubt it will be Watson. Good guy, but probably a better coach for a team more solidly in the "rebuilding" category. After this draft, I can't see us staying down - we'll be moving up the standings and trying to compete for 2017 free agents, not the 2017 draft class. Besides, we have a small insurance policy in that Miami pick...
So who's it gonna be? Thibs? Walton? D'Antoni's probably taking over in Philly, and Wright's not coming here. I, for one, would prefer to see a seasoned coach who can instill discipline and focus on X's and O's rather than character. We no longer have any rotten Morrises to keep in check. We don't need a player's coach to take orders from a LeBron. We need a general. We have the talent, now we just need to make it work for us.
I've never been more interested in getting a top-notch coach than I am right now. The coaching problem was evident as early as preseason, when we got our butts kicked by Dallas's much worse roster. No reason for that. Now is the time to get a great coach and start moving up the standings. Now. GO GET HIM, MCD!!!
I am not sure that the Suns will stick with Watson, but I fail to see how they are not "solidly in the rebuilding category." The draft is a crap-shoot, especially in this era—Phoenix is not going to be drafting Tim Duncan or Grant Hill with four years of college experience, a polished product ready to play at an elite NBA level right away. Just look at how Minnesota fared this season with the last two number-one overall draft picks, Anthony Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns—and both of those guys have "hit." Yet even with them and another high lottery pick of relatively recent vintage, Ricky Rubio, the Wolves have remained awful. Presumably, they will improve in the years ahead, but the point is that they are involved in a long-term building process, as the Suns could be as well. Indeed, what does "trying to compete for 2017 free agents" even mean? Outside of Steve Nash, how many good free agents under the age of thirty-three have Phoenix signed since the 1990s? And how much value did the Suns receive from Tom Gugliotta, Luc Longley, and Anfernee Hardaway after inking them in 1999? Free agency is a crap-shoot, much like the draft.
For all that we know, the Suns could be five years away (if that), and they absolutely need to keep developing character. Phoenix's roster is nowhere near the point of having an array of polished, mature, cohesive pieces in place who simply need strategic refinement. Devin Booker is very promising, but he needs to become much more consistent. Alex Len remains a project. Brandon Knight is a question mark at best, Eric Bledsoe remains an inadequate playmaker with questionable knees, T.J. Warren's all-around game still needs a lot of work, Archie Goodwin remains an uncertain proposition, and where defensive-minded veterans like P.J. Tucker, Ronnie Price, and Tyson Chandler fit into the mix moving forward is also debatable. The Suns might as well place an enormous "Under Construction" banner on the arena's edifice, and that banner may be in place for years.
The Suns have a lot of reasonable coaching options to pursue—Watson,Walton, D'Antoni, Dan Majerle, Scott Brooks, maybe even Jeff Van Gundy. But the roster is certainly in a rebuilding state, and it was not better than Dallas' roster last preseason. People (media members and analysts like Mark Jackson, too) have been overrating the quality of Phoenix's personnel for a long time now. Sure, there are some guys with some ability, some guys who can play, but in the NBA, you need a lot more than that in order to win on a consistent basis.
The Suns should be better next year, yes, but they have a long ways to go just to make the playoffs.
