bucknersrevenge wrote:yeleven11 wrote:bucknersrevenge wrote:
No, it's all good. I promise. To respond to your point (which is fair) I'll say this. Whether one believes that any of those 3 are better options is subjective and Danny may not be able to tell without doing more in-depth analysis, talking to other coaches, scouts, etc. And in the end, an interview is probably going to be the deciding factor which you obviously won't do before firing Brad. All that said, I'll tell what I like about those 3 names as potential hires.
Sam and Chauncey are former players, championship players at that. They walk in the door with a cache that Brad couldn't dream of having. They understand the players of this league which gives them an edge I think in understanding how to manage egos (something that has come up from time to time with Brad). They have tutored under respected names in this league. They're point guards who have run teams and that insight from the standpoint of understanding how good offense functions as a whole gives them a leg up.
Becky Hammon has had a distinguished college and professional basketball career in the NWBL, the WNBA, and overseas. She has a wealth of basketball experience that translates and she's spent the last 6 seasons learning under an all-time Top 5 Hall of Fame coach. She also walks in the door with a better resume then Brad.
Each of these 3 candidates have a TON of respect in this league that cannot be quantified. Each of them will command it in the lockerroom. And while I know Brad has the respect of his players as well, there have been times when some have questioned his willingness to be "the bad guy" or crack the whip when it's necessary to hold guys accountable. Some guys don't respond to the tough love approach and need prodding. But others respond to being challenged to do more. Brad doesn't have both these things in his arsenal and I wonder if it's at least in part because he's never played the game at a professional level.
I think those are all good points but we also have plenty of examples of former players being coaches and not succeeding. This is what I mean by "grass isnt always greener on the other side." We might get a former player as a coach who might be better at the things you mentioned, but they might not be as good scheme-wise. There's always a give and take. I just think that Brad is pretty good scheme-wise especially on the defensive end and because he's our coach we tend to focus on the things he SUPPOSEDLY doesnt do. FWIW, Evan Turner in his playing days said everyone thinks Brad is a nice guy because of his demeanor but in reality, hes not afraid to call guys out behind closed doors.
Hey, if the point you're making is "you never know", I get it. I will happily concede that point. And I will also concede that my feelings on Brad have changed a little. It sounds like you're still pretty confident in him and that's cool. I am less confident in him now which is why I had no problem coming up with alternatives. There are examples of players who became good coaches. Examples of guys who flamed out too. The risk in hiring a potential flameout just doesn't scare me more than it would scare me to stick with a coach who I thought couldn't get it done just because he has a good regular season record. There's risk either way, I guess is my final point. But we'll see what happens.
Yeah my biggest issue with Brad is lack of creativity on offense and playing bad vets over promising young players too much. I think the whole "motivator" thing is overrated in general, if you need your coach to motivate you to be ready for a game, you probably aint cut out for it anyways.
