Is Earl Watson doing a good job?

[Frank Lee]

He a walking talking fortune cookie..... but it appears to be effective on young impressionable minds.

[bigfoot]

I'm a firm believer of taking care of things in this order

1) Employees
2) Customers
3) Business

I think this philosophy is encompassed in Watson's positive, family first attitude and is surely making an impact on the players. When employees are treated well they will go the extra mile for the customers and the business. I hope the hell it migrates to the front office and ownership. It's one of the reasons I'm not fan of making very many trades at all. I think Nash hated the constant turnover in players and we saw how PJ reacted to being traded. Obviously some trades need to be made but they should be very, very few and far between so the players aren't completely distrustful of the front office.

[lilfishi22]

You could also look at it from a different angle, the guys he's playing more now, they didn't really get many opportunities to play earlier in the season so I'm not surprised they want to still be playing hard.

[bigfoot]

You could also look at it from a different angle, the guys he's playing more now, they didn't really get many opportunities to play earlier in the season so I'm not surprised they want to still be playing hard.

Or you could look at it as the guys who didn't get an opportunity are trying to play only for themselves to earn a spot next year ... meaning they would play selfishly try to put up big numbers (e.g., a Goodwin-type player). That is not what we are seeing from new players but instead we are seeing teamwork and role acceptance.

[lilfishi22]

You could also look at it from a different angle, the guys he's playing more now, they didn't really get many opportunities to play earlier in the season so I'm not surprised they want to still be playing hard.

Or you could look at it as the guys who didn't get an opportunity are trying to play only for themselves to earn a spot next year ... meaning they would play selfishly try to put up big numbers (e.g., a Goodwin-type player). That is not what we are seeing from new players but instead we are seeing teamwork and role acceptance.

I definitely don't see that. It's better to make good team plays than playing for yourself, especially when you're not on that level of contribution where they can be productive playing for themselves.

[jcsunsfan]

I'm a firm believer of taking care of things in this order

1) Employees
2) Customers
3) Business

.

I am a firm believer that if you neglect any one of those, it won't matter about the other two. I have seen many businesses fail because an owner prioritized employees and neglected the bottom line.

[bigfoot]

You could also look at it from a different angle, the guys he's playing more now, they didn't really get many opportunities to play earlier in the season so I'm not surprised they want to still be playing hard.

Or you could look at it as the guys who didn't get an opportunity are trying to play only for themselves to earn a spot next year ... meaning they would play selfishly try to put up big numbers (e.g., a Goodwin-type player). That is not what we are seeing from new players but instead we are seeing teamwork and role acceptance.

I definitely don't see that. It's better to make good team plays than playing for yourself, especially when you're not on that level of contribution where they can be productive playing for themselves.

Of course it is better to play team ball ... but often players will not buy into the coaches system and philosophy. At the end of the year when you put in young players they want to prove they can be the man. Goodwin is an example I used. What I am trying to point out is Ulis, Williams, Jones, Barbosa, and Dudley are all playing team ball. No one is trying to dominate the second unit. And because this thread is about "Is Watson doing a good job?" I would say yes because he has convinced these new players that they need to play as a team and has them working hard ... even the starting unit ... when there is little left to fight for near the end of the season. My answer to this was in my original post, however, ...

because you didn't quote it much of my context is missing. Simply put ... I believe Watson's style of putting family first (treating employees right) has promoted much of what we are seeing from the second unit. They are playing hard for each other instead of self and we are seeing the rewards ... the fans are happier and I imagine the business owner is too.

[bigfoot]

I'm a firm believer of taking care of things in this order

1) Employees
2) Customers
3) Business

.

I am a firm believer that if you neglect any one of those, it won't matter about the other two. I have seen many businesses fail because an owner prioritized employees and neglected the bottom line.

I agree ... all three are important. But if **** customers have more sway than employees then there is a problem. I would much rather lose a few customers who are turds and treat my employees poorly than say "the customer is always right". Costco and Quik Trip are very good examples of companies that treat their employees right in terms of pay and promotion. Just check out their employee ratings on Indeed versus say Sams Club or AM/Pm gas stations. As a customer, I'd rather pay a few pennies more for gas than deal with disgruntled employees at a checkout.

[gaspar]

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[blee732]

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That's really interesting, thanks for sharing.

I think Watson is a bit unfairly represented in the Development rating. They just take straight RPMs for rookies (rather than YoY improvement) so you're "punished" if you have a high number of rookies getting PT but aren't quite effective yet (Chriss, Bender, Ulis). Looking at YoY improvement, Booker/Warren/Len have all improved their RPM (although still negative haha).

Along the same lines, some coaches unfairly benefit b/c they inherited incredible talent that would have hit their stride regardless. Kidd/Thibs are good examples of that.

Good stuff regardless, haven't seen a coaching rating/ranking like this before.

[MathiasPW]

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That's really interesting, thanks for sharing.

I think Watson is a bit unfairly represented in the Development rating. They just take straight RPMs for rookies (rather than YoY improvement) so you're "punished" if you have a high number of rookies getting PT but aren't quite effective yet (Chriss, Bender, Ulis). Looking at YoY improvement, Booker/Warren/Len have all improved their RPM (although still negative haha).

Along the same lines, some coaches unfairly benefit b/c they inherited incredible talent that would have hit their stride regardless. Kidd/Thibs are good examples of that.

Good stuff regardless, haven't seen a coaching rating/ranking like this before.

A better solution for rookies would be to compare their RPM to the average historical RPM of rookies (in their rookie year) drafted on the particular draft spot the rookie in question was drafted.

Nice ranking nevertheless

[bwgood77]

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[Jdiddy701]

No doubt in my mind that Watson is the perfect coach for this team. Still happy he's the Suns coach and hope he's the coach for a very long time. Hope the wins come sooner than later, we are still 2 years away though for playoffs.

A lot of players talk so high about him. Last week, I heard Sage Steel talking about how she lives in Phoenix and that the Suns have something good with Watson running the show. I agree and no I am not Earl Watson. Lucky to have that guy, he will lead this team where we need to be.. patience guys patience!


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[m1chal]

... and no I am not Earl Watson...

One of his assistants then?

[MrMiyagi]

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That's the thing I've liked about this recent stretch - everyone seems to get into spots they can succeed in. I do think Ulis plays a big part in that, but this shows that Watson understands what his guys are good at and wants to put them in a position to succeed.

[Zelaznyrules]

I have no idea if Earl is a good coach. But I have no doubt he's a good man and his players love to play for him and right now, I think that's more than enough for us. If we don't see improvement over the next season or two, that will be soon enough to go looking for his replacement.

[lilfishi22]

Players seem to like playing for him and respect him even though he's a rookie coach. That's a hard thing to earn so early in his career.

I still have doubts about his actual on court coaching abilities though.

[LukasBMW]

He has won me over.

1. He's managed to keep a positive and upbeat locker room despite having the 2nd worst record in the NBA.
2. He's embraced the tank and front office orders.
3. Booker, Chriss, and Ulis have all taken big steps under him.
4. The vets respect him. Bledsoe embraced a role as a leader. Chandler was given the option to leave and asked to stay. Tucker wanted to stay.

Watson has been asked to turn the sky blue and gray at the same time and he's done a pretty damn good job of making that happen.