[WOJ] Wizards and Head Coach Scott Brooks Part Ways.....

Shoe · Post #41 » by **Shoe** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:06 pm

If the front office wanted Brooks back, he'd be back. The negotiations were a dog and pony show for Westbrook.

Hammond has a lot of experience with an international focused staff and front office. Billups probably has the most gravitas, Cassell is buddy buddy with Beal, not sure we need that. Unseld could be good.

DCZards · Post #42 » by **DCZards** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:06 pm

badinage wrote:I'm intrigued by the possibility of Becky Hammon, who, it seems, won't be the hire in Boston -- apparently, they're going for a Black coach. That was the report. Those words (albeit no cap on Black).

I would love for the Zards to hire a Black head coach. There are not enough of them in the NBA.

There were only seven Black head coaches this season and four of them (Rivers, McMillan, Williams, Lue) made it to the conference semifinals.

80sballboy · Post #43 » by **80sballboy** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:08 pm

Let's say they hire Wes Jr. or Sam I am. When was the last time they hired an assistant coach with no head coaching experience in the NBA or college? Not counting interim coaches, you have to go back to Wes Sr. from 1988-94. We know how that turned out, but that doesn't mean an assistant won't work and as we know, Wes did it as a favor to Abe Pollin. He wasn't an assistant coach. So I think you have to go back to K.C. Jones, but he was an ABA head coach.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Baltimore Bullets days. We haven't had a head coach with no pro or college head coaching experience who went from assistant to head coach.

80sballboy · Post #44 » by **80sballboy** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:12 pm

DCZards wrote:
badinage wrote:I'm intrigued by the possibility of Becky Hammon, who, it seems, won't be the hire in Boston -- apparently, they're going for a Black coach. That was the report. Those words (albeit no cap on Black).

I would love for the Zards to hire a Black head coach. There are not enough of them in the NBA.

There were only seven Black head coaches this season and three of them (Rivers, McMillan, Williams) made it to the conference semifinals.

True, the worst issue is the lack of general managers/presidents/vice presidents who are Black.

Teams need to stop hiring the Van Gundy's of the world and think a little more out of the box instead of just going for the name.

DCZards · Post #45 » by **DCZards** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:30 pm

80sballboy wrote:Let's say they hire Wes Jr. or Sam I am. When was the last time they hired an assistant coach with no head coaching experience in the NBA or college? Not counting interim coaches, you have to go back to Wes Sr. from 1988-94. We know how that turned out, but that doesn't mean an assistant won't work and as we know, Wes did it as a favor to Abe Pollin. He wasn't an assistant coach. So I think you have to go back to K.C. Jones, but he was an ABA head coach.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Baltimore Bullets days. We haven't had a head coach with no pro or college head coaching experience who went from assistant to head coach.

The NBA is full of former assistant coaches who are excelling as head coaches. In fact, most NBA head coaches were former assistants.

long suffrin' boulez fan · Post #46 » by **long suffrin' boulez fan** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:31 pm

1. Budz
2. Atkinson
3. Hammons
4. Jay Wright
5. Billups

Post #47 » by **Ruzious** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:36 pm

long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:1. Budz
2. Atkinson
3. Hammons
4. Jay Wright
5. Billups

I'm thinking if Nash was good enough for Brooklyn, Billups makes sense for Washington.

Post #48 » by **nate33** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:40 pm

badinage wrote:A lot of you aren't really grasping how canny Tommy Sheep is.

Never forget: he was in PR before becoming a hoops exec.

This was all pretty shrewdly done, with an enormous grasp of the politics in play.

I agree with this take. I don't buy for a minute that they actually had a negotiation on price. I think this was the polite way to fire Brooks without embarrassing him. Either that, or Sheppard was insisting on a 1-year deal and Brooks refused, which I suppose is plausible.

badinage wrote:And we got good news last night, with Milwaukee imploding. Coach Bud, here we come.

I'm intrigued by the possibility of Becky Hammon, who, it seems, won't be the hire in Boston -- apparently, they're going for a Black coach. That was the report. Those words (albeit no cap on Black).

I'd definitely be interested in Bud. He may not be a very good playoff coach, but he can install an effective system to win lots of regular season games. Let's first try and win 50 games a couple of times. Maybe then, we'll decide Bud can't deliver a title and move on, but one step at a time.

I don't really know much about Hammon. Everyone mentions her, but I just don't know if they're trying to demonstrate their political sensitivity in suggesting a female, or if she is actually a great coach. There's no way to know as an outsider. She doesn't have any track record as a head coach.

NatP4 · Post #49 » by **NatP4** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:43 pm

badinage wrote:A lot of you aren't really grasping how canny Tommy Sheep is.

Never forget: he was in PR before becoming a hoops exec.

This was all pretty shrewdly done, with an enormous grasp of the politics in play.

And we got good news last night, with Milwaukee imploding. Coach Bud, here we come.

I'm intrigued by the possibility of Becky Hammon, who, it seems, won't be the hire in Boston -- apparently, they're going for a Black coach. That was the report. Those words (albeit no cap on Black).

Yep, this is all about optics to not upset Brad and Russ(mostly just Russ) Sheppard has been brilliant with the stuff.

It’s a very important step for this franchise. Sheppard had no intention of moving forward with Brooks.

Post #50 » by **nate33** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:48 pm

80sballboy wrote:Let's say they hire Wes Jr. or Sam I am. When was the last time they hired an assistant coach with no head coaching experience in the NBA or college? Not counting interim coaches, you have to go back to Wes Sr. from 1988-94. We know how that turned out, but that doesn't mean an assistant won't work and as we know, Wes did it as a favor to Abe Pollin. He wasn't an assistant coach. So I think you have to go back to K.C. Jones, but he was an ABA head coach.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Baltimore Bullets days. We haven't had a head coach with no pro or college head coaching experience who went from assistant to head coach.

Wes Sr. was actually a very good coach. He got a lot out of a really bad roster.

NatP4 · Post #51 » by **NatP4** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:49 pm

I’m 100% all in on Jay Wright, but if you can’t pry him away from his great situation at Nova, then you have to look for another intelligent person that values analytics and has an advanced understanding for spacing and ball movement.

No part of the search should involve activism or feel good stories/DC area natives. The only thing that matters is winning a championship.

I don’t know much about other possible candidates, but someone like Kara Lawson would also be a great hire, or if she’s not interested in coaching, someone that thinks like she does would be terrific. Wes Jr has always come off as a very intelligent person in interviews. Tony Bennet would not be a bad hire either.

Post #52 » by **nate33** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:52 pm

Ruzious wrote:
long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:1. Budz
2. Atkinson
3. Hammons
4. Jay Wright
5. Billups

I'm thinking if Nash was good enough for Brooklyn, Billups makes sense for Washington.

Maybe.

But I think the former player prototype of coach typically does better with a veteran roster. They're good at managing a season, managing egos, and understanding strategic matchups in a playoff scenario. But they may not be so good at organizing a team system and player development system from scratch.

Given the youth of the roster and the general lack of direction of the franchise, I think we'd be better off with a top tier assistant coach/former college coach prototype more so than the former player prototype. Of course, Beal and Westbrook might disagree.

payitforward · Post #53 » by **payitforward** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:04 pm

80sballboy wrote:
DCZards wrote:
badinage wrote:I'm intrigued by the possibility of Becky Hammon, who, it seems, won't be the hire in Boston -- apparently, they're going for a Black coach. That was the report. Those words (albeit no cap on Black).

I would love for the Zards to hire a Black head coach. There are not enough of them in the NBA.

There were only seven Black head coaches this season and three of them (Rivers, McMillan, Williams) made it to the conference semifinals.

True, the worst issue is the lack of general managers/presidents/vice presidents who are Black....

No, the worst issue is the lack of OWNERS who are black -- & everything that underlies the fact.

Eli Babak · Post #54 » by **Eli Babak** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:04 pm

YES! AMAZING! That's all, have a nice day folks.

80sballboy · Post #55 » by **80sballboy** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:11 pm

nate33 wrote:
80sballboy wrote:Let's say they hire Wes Jr. or Sam I am. When was the last time they hired an assistant coach with no head coaching experience in the NBA or college? Not counting interim coaches, you have to go back to Wes Sr. from 1988-94. We know how that turned out, but that doesn't mean an assistant won't work and as we know, Wes did it as a favor to Abe Pollin. He wasn't an assistant coach. So I think you have to go back to K.C. Jones, but he was an ABA head coach.

Bottom line, I'm not going back to the Baltimore Bullets days. We haven't had a head coach with no pro or college head coaching experience who went from assistant to head coach.

Wes Sr. was actually a very good coach. He got a lot out of a really bad roster.

He won 37% of his games. Don't agree with that one, despite the bad roster.

80sballboy · Post #56 » by **80sballboy** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:12 pm

payitforward wrote:
80sballboy wrote:
DCZards wrote:I would love for the Zards to hire a Black head coach. There are not enough of them in the NBA.

There were only seven Black head coaches this season and three of them (Rivers, McMillan, Williams) made it to the conference semifinals.

True, the worst issue is the lack of general managers/presidents/vice presidents who are Black....

No, the worst issue is the lack of OWNERS who are black -- & everything that underlies the fact.

Of course, but that will take a lot of time to change. You can't hire owners. You can hire GMs.

payitforward · Post #57 » by **payitforward** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:18 pm

Right you are....

80sballboy · Post #58 » by **80sballboy** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:21 pm

I have no interest in getting a college coach. Been there, done that with Leonard Hamilton. Why would Jay Wright have any interest in leaving being the king of Philadelphia to going to a dumpster fire of a franchise. Boston Celtics would be a different story.

I'm ok with Wes Jr. Time to try something new and as I mentioned, we have never hired an assistant coach with no experience as a head coach at a high major college program or as a pro coach. He's a defensive whiz and an associate head coach in Denver.

Kenny Atkinson would be my top choice in terms of those who have experience. He got the Nets to be competitive well before they added the Big 3.

payitforward · Post #59 » by **payitforward** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:21 pm

For clarity -- there was no negotiation about a new contract in which, alas, the 2 sides were not able to agree on terms.

Nothing of that kind took place. What happened was they told him he wasn't coming back, & then they all had a conversation about how to make it look best for all concerned. Duh.

doclinkin · Post #60 » by **doclinkin** » Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:22 pm

MDStar wrote:I don't know if I should be happy that Brooks is gone or sad that they were actually negotiating a new contract and Brooks opted to not take the offer. Honestly, I think it's the latter for me and I have less confidence today in Tommy than I did yesterday.

I expect it is more likely they offered him a lesser position on the bench as an assistant coach and he opted not to take the demotion when he can point to the late season push (managing the 3 center rotation, etc) as a star on his head coach resume.