Igor fired - New Coaching Search Discussion
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Saberestar
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
Why Kokoskov hates Bender so much?
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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NTB
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
Saberestar wrote:Why Kokoskov hates Bender so much?
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender at all, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
Serbians and Croatians don't like each other.
carey wrote:It is 2-time, every time.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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m1chal
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
NTB wrote:Saberestar wrote:Why Kokoskov hates Bender so much?
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender at all, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
Serbians and Croatians don't like each other.
I know they don't but I really want to believe this is not the real reason, it must be something else.
I've been thinking about it too. I believe in Dragan and think he's been horribly misused by the Suns. He's not a 3-point shooting SF. Those 3 games he got minutes his play was really encouraging and I would like Koko to build on it.
Dragan is going to leave in the summer and become a solid player for some other team. And we will all be pissed off.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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hollywood6964
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
Saberestar wrote:Why Kokoskov hates Bender so much?
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
Igor's just not a good coach. Not everyone's cut out for it. That doesn't mean he go through the motions, or be below average.
He also is enamored with small ball, and will never play two big at once. Only one or two times this season has holmes n ayton been on the court at the same time, even when we've been getting killed on the boards, he just won't do it.
I think he should be getting minutes too, but this will be a fallout of his coaching, Bender may very well find a spot on another team, meanwhile we were the ones who burnt the draft pick n a few years.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
NTB wrote:Saberestar wrote:Why Kokoskov hates Bender so much?
I mean... I am not a fan of Bender at all, but we have been dealing with injuries and Bender played a three solid games with Ayton and Holmes out.
Then Holmes came back and Bender played a bit less agressive in a couple of plays in a game and BOOM... he is not allowed to play anymore.
In the last game against the Spurs it was just incredible. Holmes fouls out and Kokoskov prefers to play Oubre at C (with more than 3 minutes left or something like that) to try to defend Aldridge...with Bender available on the bench who just played 3 minutes. Yeah, obviously Aldridge took advantage of the situation.
It is just weird.
Serbians and Croatians don't like each other.
Disclocated thumb.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- JDJ26
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
I don't think Igor is truly the problem. This roster is a mess and I doubt any good coach could do any better.
I hope the Suns can get a veteran point guard that can run Igor's offense. I think the team will look a lot better when that happens.
I hope the Suns can get a veteran point guard that can run Igor's offense. I think the team will look a lot better when that happens.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Saberestar
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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HiddenLeaf 44
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
We need to keep Koko for continuity sake. (assuming Koko keeps respect of Ayton/Book/Josh/Bridges)
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- wheezy
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
lilfishi22 wrote:Scutt wrote:My biggest gripe with Koko has been his use of Ayton on the offensive end, or rather lack thereof. He has really been a mixed bag in that the Suns have had some really bad blowouts, but they have also been really competitive against good teams, despite the injuries and lack of starting PG.
I fully expect to see Ayton have a much larger role in the offense next year, or I will unable to support Igor. I don't want to have the development of our #1 pick stifled because the Suns do not want the bad press of making another coaching change. Igor, like most rookies, needs to improve and make some adjustments.
Igor mentioned this was part of the plan. Basically to keep things as simple as possible on the offense while working him on D. Igor believes in Ayton's offensive development so Igor's not focused on that in Ayton's rookie season. I think this offseason is when he'll start to really work on Ayton's offensive abilities
There was a story about Brett Brown (by all accounts a good coach) saying something about needing the first year of his head coaching stint with the tanking 76ers to really lean into the basics. After that foundation was set he built up the schemes the next few seasons and whatever else. Continuity really matters for this.
This certainly doesn't account for his rotations not being great, but I have faith he'll get better next season given the opportunity.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
wheezy wrote:lilfishi22 wrote:Scutt wrote:My biggest gripe with Koko has been his use of Ayton on the offensive end, or rather lack thereof. He has really been a mixed bag in that the Suns have had some really bad blowouts, but they have also been really competitive against good teams, despite the injuries and lack of starting PG.
I fully expect to see Ayton have a much larger role in the offense next year, or I will unable to support Igor. I don't want to have the development of our #1 pick stifled because the Suns do not want the bad press of making another coaching change. Igor, like most rookies, needs to improve and make some adjustments.
Igor mentioned this was part of the plan. Basically to keep things as simple as possible on the offense while working him on D. Igor believes in Ayton's offensive development so Igor's not focused on that in Ayton's rookie season. I think this offseason is when he'll start to really work on Ayton's offensive abilities
There was a story about Brett Brown (by all accounts a good coach) saying something about needing the first year of his head coaching stint with the tanking 76ers to really lean into the basics. After that foundation was set he built up the schemes the next few seasons and whatever else. Continuity really matters for this.
This certainly doesn't account for his rotations not being great, but I have faith he'll get better next season given the opportunity.
Yeah, none of our core players have ever had the same NBA coach for two full years. Kind of hard to learn or grow much with that kind of turnover.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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sunsbg
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
What about Rick Pitino as the next coach once the Kokoskov experiment is over ?
He can take this guy with him, he will surely do much better as the PG on this team than current players.
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/821770/rick-pitino-ive-coached-against-magic-johnson-bird-and-calathes-is-the-best-passer-ive-ever-seen/
Check also this EL game, which was posted on the GB - Calathes(15+ assists) vs Doncic
He can take this guy with him, he will surely do much better as the PG on this team than current players.
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/821770/rick-pitino-ive-coached-against-magic-johnson-bird-and-calathes-is-the-best-passer-ive-ever-seen/
Check also this EL game, which was posted on the GB - Calathes(15+ assists) vs Doncic
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- darmani
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
For the love of God, please send this **** idiot back to Serbia. Nothing pisses me off more than watching Igor's blank stare on the sidelines. He's a head-coaching version of Dragan Bender. Unjustified hype, no heart and an endless stream of excuses.
"Can’t talk basketball with everybody" - Devin Booker
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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sunsbg
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
darmani wrote:For the love of God, please send this **** idiot back to Serbia. Nothing pisses me off more than watching Igor's blank stare on the sidelines. He's a head-coaching version of Dragan Bender. Unjustified hype, no heart and an endless stream of excuses.
I agree. Unfortunately it's more about the personalities with these two than BBIQ.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- bwgood77
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
sunsbg wrote:What about Rick Pitino as the next coach once the Kokoskov experiment is over ?
He can take this guy with him, he will surely do much better as the PG on this team than current players.
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/821770/rick-pitino-ive-coached-against-magic-johnson-bird-and-calathes-is-the-best-passer-ive-ever-seen/
Check also this EL game, which was posted on the GB - Calathes(15+ assists) vs Doncic
That would be the worse PR move ever.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Fo-Real
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
I'd hate to again start over with yet another head coach next year, destroying yet another year of team buildind and continuity. But with that said I am not enjoying Koko. Choices of who to play together, actual distribution of minutes, fire and involvement with the game and officiating and overall offensive and defensive SYSTEM all **** SUCK so far. Hopefully whoevever earlier mentioned that this year is fundamentals teaching and next they take off, is right cause this can't be our style next year. We could plug the best pg into this current style of offense and the results would be near the same, the system sucks and the only time something works is when players go away from it and get hot with hero ball, witch **** sucks.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- Puff
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
We are 27th in offensive efficiency and 29 in defensive efficiency.
So we cannot score and we cannot defend.
It would seem that we could somehow be good at something.
I have no idea why anyone is supporting Koko. He has had zero positive effect on this team. If he has please explain, without the normal excuse about no point guard. I am really tired of hearing that one. It seems like the only one.
It won't happen but we need a new GM and a new Coach. James Jones was in those meetings that decided to:
1. Hire Koko
2. Draft Ayton
3. Draft JJ
4. Give Booker the max contract (He may be our best player but if you think he is a max payer - I think you are sadly mistaken). I would have waited until this summer and I doubt that I would have given him the max this summer. Nice guy, nice player but not a max player or Super Star. We have gotten worse every year he has been on this roster but yet people heap praise on him.
5. Spend our salary space on miscellaneous garbage so we do not even have a max contract to hand out if we wanted to.
The problem is who would Jones replacement be and who would that replacement hire as head coach?
I thought we had hit the low point last year. However we have set the bar even lower, which I did not think possible.
So we cannot score and we cannot defend.
It would seem that we could somehow be good at something.
I have no idea why anyone is supporting Koko. He has had zero positive effect on this team. If he has please explain, without the normal excuse about no point guard. I am really tired of hearing that one. It seems like the only one.
It won't happen but we need a new GM and a new Coach. James Jones was in those meetings that decided to:
1. Hire Koko
2. Draft Ayton
3. Draft JJ
4. Give Booker the max contract (He may be our best player but if you think he is a max payer - I think you are sadly mistaken). I would have waited until this summer and I doubt that I would have given him the max this summer. Nice guy, nice player but not a max player or Super Star. We have gotten worse every year he has been on this roster but yet people heap praise on him.
5. Spend our salary space on miscellaneous garbage so we do not even have a max contract to hand out if we wanted to.
The problem is who would Jones replacement be and who would that replacement hire as head coach?
I thought we had hit the low point last year. However we have set the bar even lower, which I did not think possible.
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- grumpysaddle
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
HiddenLeaf 44 wrote:We need to keep Koko for continuity sake. (assuming Koko keeps respect of Ayton/Book/Josh/Bridges)
Continuity of being the worst team in the league?

Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
- JDJ26
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
I just want to see some adjustments. I know the roster is bad but it seems like Igor doesn't want to make changes or move away from his system to fit the players. The team just doesn't look competitive at all.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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handsome salary
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
Saberestar wrote:
All year with quotes from around the league talking about how lucky the Suns are to have Booker, Ayton, Koko. Why should they speak the truth about the Suns? It's a guaranteed win for their team. Why ruin that honeypot.
Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
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Fo-Real
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Re: Will Koko be our coach next year?
I want to like Koko, I DO NOT want to go through another coaching change, we have had too many and another would just be starting back at square one. I also could NOT see us being worse if there were not a coach on the bench. This group of players could be this bad while playing pick up basketball without a coach at all. I dont see what semblance of organization he has instilled, I dont see a definition of ROLES, I dont see any adjustments, I dont see much off ball movement/organization (as the ball is being brought up the players look lost, just standing around where as teams like the Warriors are already setting up back screens and moving). I just dont see us being worse against the Clippers last night if not one coach existed on the bench, and refs would still do exactly what they are doing with him standing there quietly ANYWAY! It is foolish to just think that we dont have any nba quality talent on this team at all, but if its not coaching and system, and it is ONLY the players then WE JUST DONT HAVE ANYONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL! Can that really be!







