Quake Griffin wrote:I certainly hope the Clippers think outside of the box and get creative. Anybody can hire a "proven" retread coach. We need to be beating teams to the future.
I also hope that coach we get back to investing in the draft and this coach is interested in developing talent for our roster.
Doc refused to develop talent unless it was his son or a "proven" vet that needed thousands of reps to get back to themselves.
I hope those days are over.
I agree on not wanting a re-tread. I don't think that's our FO's MO, not for Ballmer and not for West. 'Re-tread' is a somewhat subjective term, but personally I don't think it's going to end up being Lue or Van Gundy, the other name currently being mentioned (although I believe they are candidates at this point, and I think Lue should be seriously considered.) I think having West as a guiding hand will give Frank more confidence to make his best choice, not the safest choice (they can be the same guy, but not always.)
I think it's going to be someone at least somewhat surprising, but will work out in the end. Of the names thrown around so far, Chauncey Billups and Brett Brown wouldn't surprise me. I'm not saying I think they're the top candidates (I honestly don't know enough about most head coaches or head coach candidates to have a strong opinion), but someone like that. I personally like D'Antoni, but not for this job- this is a team that can and should be coached to be a force at both ends of the floor- not in a 'just hire a good defensive assistant coach' way, but in a total team culture/priority way. IMO that's how you maximize our 2 stars, they are both 2-way players after all...
No one totally out of left field, but somewhat surprising. Someone who's floor is at least moderate competency, and whose upside may not yet be established but is favorably viewed by the FO. I say this because there's no seemingly obvious choice out there, unless say Pop wanted to coach here and Kawhi wanted him here as well. I don't think that's actually out of the question, I think Kawhi might be more favorably inclined given our early exit this year (if this was actually the case and there was mutual interest, then it's a done deal in the next couple of days.)
I think anyone who thinks this team is standing still or playing it safe has forgotten just how much turnover and franchise-altering moves we've made the last couple of years. Letting go of Doc was not an easy choice to make regardless of the disappointment of the playoffs, he has meant a lot to this organization over the years and deserved to be treated with respect. But we still went ahead and did it, and I think we are going to be assertive as possible with both coaching staff and roster moves this offseason.
EDIT- I also agree with your point about personnel development. Obviously winning a title is priority, but there also needs to be a balance between trying to win every game and also developing your young players. Giving a young guy decent bench minutes may result in a couple of losses now, but can pay off with more wins later over multiple seasons.
