Coach Ideas

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Unless you guys get really lucky, firing Donovan mid season and rolling with an interim (because you aren't pulling away an assistant mid season more than likely) would be waiving bye bye to PG

Reasonably I don't see a way he stays. Better options.

PS. Didn't know you wrote until today, cool stuff!

Are you talking about Donovon, George, or both?

Do a lot of Thunder fans feel like George will leave in FA?

[bondom34]

Unless you guys get really lucky, firing Donovan mid season and rolling with an interim (because you aren't pulling away an assistant mid season more than likely) would be waiving bye bye to PG

Reasonably I don't see a way he stays. Better options.

PS. Didn't know you wrote until today, cool stuff!

Are you talking about Donovon, George, or both?

Do a lot of Thunder fans feel like George will leave in FA?

PG. I've never given it more than may be a 10 percent chance he stays. Think he's always had eyes elsewhere but it was trying to show Westbrook they'd make a move for help. So far it hasn't worked but was worth a shot given what they had wasnt a good fit either.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Reasonably I don't see a way he stays. Better options.

PS. Didn't know you wrote until today, cool stuff!

Are you talking about Donovon, George, or both?

Do a lot of Thunder fans feel like George will leave in FA?

PG. I've never given it more than may be a 10 percent chance he stays. Think he's always had eyes elsewhere but it was trying to show Westbrook they'd make a move for help. So far it hasn't worked but was worth a shot given what they had wasnt a good fit either.

Oh, I definitely agree it was worth a shot. Getting Westbrook to sign that extension already made that trade worth it for ya'll.

Regardless of early struggles though, I still think ya'll will figure it out as the season goes. You have too much talent not to. You see a lot of superstars struggle as they first start playing together. Eventually, they figure it out and are doing great by the end of the season.

[Andre Roberstan]

I'm sorry Mark Jackson, I am for real
Never gonna come to OKC, I apologize—not you, it's me

(MARK JACKSON IS A BAD COACH AND ALL OF YOU WOULD TURN ON HIM IN A MONTH)

[slick_watts]

you think melo is posting up a lot now? wait until mark jackson got a hold of him.

i'd try to get george karl.

[bondom34]

Maybe if people want Russ to put his hands up when a guy shoots even though it makes no difference. Hand down man down.

[jambalaya]

Almost no chance Presti makes a change before summer. If there is a change, it is most likely Donovan leaving "on his own".

I probably won't say much more on the topic til it ripens. But Presti probably won't pick a Coach who was a prominent NBA player and may not seriously consider any re-tread NBA coach. College or international coach seems more likely. More likely under or way under 45 yrs than over. There might be an effort to remain a contender for a year or two but it will hard to avoid going to rebuild fairly soon.

[ThunderBolt]

I think the only way we see a coaching change is if ownership is very unhappy and letting Presti hear about it. Even then,I think it’s more likely that we end up trading George than firing dononvan. Presti really struggles hiring coaches. PJ Carlisimo.

[Pillendreher]

I think the only way we see a coaching change is if ownership is very unhappy and letting Presti hear about it. Even then,I think it’s more likely that we end up trading George than firing dononvan. Presti really struggles hiring coaches. PJ Carlisimo.

He still has ~15 million left on that terrible contract of his. I don't think ownership will like paying a billion $ in luxury tax and keep paying Donovan's trash ass while also paying the new coach.

[ThunderBolt]

I think the only way we see a coaching change is if ownership is very unhappy and letting Presti hear about it. Even then,I think it’s more likely that we end up trading George than firing dononvan. Presti really struggles hiring coaches. PJ Carlisimo.

He still has ~15 million left on that terrible contract of his. I don't think ownership will like paying a billion $ in luxury tax and keep paying Donovan's trash ass while also paying the new coach.

Makes you wonder if George is gone before the trade deadline if we don’t show improvement.

[Pillendreher]

I think the only way we see a coaching change is if ownership is very unhappy and letting Presti hear about it. Even then,I think it’s more likely that we end up trading George than firing dononvan. Presti really struggles hiring coaches. PJ Carlisimo.

He still has ~15 million left on that terrible contract of his. I don't think ownership will like paying a billion $ in luxury tax and keep paying Donovan's trash ass while also paying the new coach.

Makes you wonder if George is gone before the trade deadline if we don’t show improvement.

(Assuming Durant's burner tweets were showing us how he really felt about Donovan) It would be quite poetic if Presti's nepotistic coaching buddy would lead to us losing two allstar calibre SFs in a row.

[Pillendreher]

I got one.

[Thundershock88]

you think melo is posting up a lot now? wait until mark jackson got a hold of him.

i'd try to get george karl.

George Karl trashed Melo in his memoir. Thats a no go.

[getrichordie]

As good of a college coach as Dononvan was, I always thought it strange that his success was followed by long periods of mediocrity.

It’s not like Florida is known for their basketball. It’s almost like asking a good coach to make the Alabama basketball team winners. Not going to happen.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[getrichordie]

Lowe/reddit on OKC’s struggles:

Zach Lowe: seems like a broken record that OKC offense is stagnant. They don't move move the ball, the coach has changed, supporting cast has changed, the stars have changed except for one. One thing remains constant, it's hard for Russ to play differently.

http://reddit.com/r/nba/comments/7emlwn/zach_lowe_seems_like_a_broken_record_that_okc/

Take some time to read through the comments. Damn! People are divided on Westbrook!

“It's incredible how much of a leash gets. People talk about Kobe as the inefficient chucker of all time when russ has chucked more inefficiently than Kobe ever has.”

—

“He's AI, without the need to be. Iverson was crazy high usage, creating things out of nothing, when his second option was Aaron Mackie. He was that offense, and made guys around him better. When he went to Denver with Carmelo, he became far more selective with getting his own, and his overall efficiency numbers shot way up. Russ has been this way alongside Kevin Durant, James Harden, Paul George, and Melo.”

—

“As good as they offense has been overall, it's always been criticized for boiling down to iso ball in crunch time.

This is a symptom of Westbrook's style of play.

And as good as their defense is overall, it's been bad in crunch time. Although I wouldn't blame only Westbrook for this.”


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[bondom34]

I just put up a thread in reply to that, because Lowe is off. I don't argue Westbrook has his fault in it too, but it's not his fault the offense has zero real off ball action other than a single high screen

[bondom34]

Also I know Russ has been bad but Reddit, especially r/nba, is not generally a good source. It's a massive circlejerk.

[getrichordie]

I just put up a thread in reply to that, because Lowe is off. I don't argue Westbrook has his fault in it too, but it's not his fault the offense has zero real off-ball action other than a single high screen

Oh, really? Can you link me to your thread?

Also, is it possible Westbrook only knows how to play one way? I heard Van Gundy (in reply to Lowe) said players have their "limitations" on how much a coach can change them after they have played a certain way for so long and it's the coaches job to best utilize that skill set. Which makes sense to me. If Rondo was our point instead of Russ, I think we see more ball movement because he's a pass-first point-guard and that's the way he plays. The way Westbrook plays and has always played is all action is created off of a Westbrook action, usually a drive and kick or drive and dump off. This is really the first time we've seen Westbrook give up the ball this much.

EDIT: Can't the same thing be said about HOU? They are the 2nd worst team when ranking passes made. 1st? Us. The difference? Harden is a more efficient shooter than Westbrook. No one is talking about their lack of ball movement. Why?

[bondom34]

I just put up a thread in reply to that, because Lowe is off. I don't argue Westbrook has his fault in it too, but it's not his fault the offense has zero real off-ball action other than a single high screen

Oh, really? Can you link me to your thread?

Also, is it possible Westbrook only knows how to play one way? I heard Van Gundy (in reply to Lowe) said players have their "limitations" on how much a coach can change them after they have played a certain way for so long and it's the coaches job to best utilize that skill set. Which makes sense to me. If Rondo was our point instead of Russ, I think we see more ball movement because he's a pass-first point-guard and that's the way he plays. The way Westbrook plays and has always played is all action is created off of a Westbrook action, usually a drive and kick or drive and dump off. This is really the first time we've seen Westbrook give up the ball this much.

If Rondo was this team's PG they'd have been in the lotto for years and never made the WCF. He's just bad.


And we've never seen a coach in OKC who had an offense.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/7eowqj/unpopular_opinion_in_response_to_lowe_okcs/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=new&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=nba

It's gradually being downvoted, the circlejerk is in full effect.

[getrichordie]

I just put up a thread in reply to that, because Lowe is off. I don't argue Westbrook has his fault in it too, but it's not his fault the offense has zero real off-ball action other than a single high screen

Oh, really? Can you link me to your thread?

Also, is it possible Westbrook only knows how to play one way? I heard Van Gundy (in reply to Lowe) said players have their "limitations" on how much a coach can change them after they have played a certain way for so long and it's the coaches job to best utilize that skill set. Which makes sense to me. If Rondo was our point instead of Russ, I think we see more ball movement because he's a pass-first point-guard and that's the way he plays. The way Westbrook plays and has always played is all action is created off of a Westbrook action, usually a drive and kick or drive and dump off. This is really the first time we've seen Westbrook give up the ball this much.

If Rondo was this team's PG they'd have been in the lotto for years and never made the WCF. He's just bad.


And we've never seen a coach in OKC who had an offense.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/7eowqj/unpopular_opinion_in_response_to_lowe_okcs/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=new&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=nba

It's gradually being downvoted, the circlejerk is in full effect.

That's what I don't understand. Donovan was known for his offensive system - the motion offense. We see bits and pieces of it, but it's hard to run the motion offense when you have Roberson who doesn't pull his weight offensively and Russ who likes to hold the ball. Donovan didn't put this roster together. Presti did. Donovan is just working with what he's got: three career high-usage ISO players who are having to work out these old habits and incorporate the new. It's not as easy as it might seem "in theory." It's almost like driving a racecar to suddenly having to play chess and be good at it. It would take time. That's a drastic example, but you get the idea. Kobe didn't learn the triangle in one year. It took him a few years to really get it down pat.

I also can't tell you how many times I've seen players cut and ask for the ball, but Westbrook just holds it and tries to drive which is antithetical to Donovan's offense system he's known for. Also, I noticed that you pointed out that if Westbrook isn't cutting, that doesn't mean his teammates can't. Well, he's the leader of the team. He should be cutting like everyone else should. He doesn't get a pass because he's Westbrook. The offense starts with him and he has to embrace his new coach and the new system.