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Nyce_1 wrote:May be because of the finals game tonight? Might be some silly rule to not break non-finals news on game days.RookieStar wrote:SOUL wrote:I think it's official but can't be reported yet.
Any reason why not? Something to do with the team usa select?
j-ragg wrote:SOUL wrote:RookieStar wrote:
Any reason why not? Something to do with the team usa select?
Perhaps. There was a time a few years ago Woj couldn't report on draft picks so he had to phrase it different.
Might just be simple as he isn't signed yet but is going to.
Robbins said they’re working on contract details. Maybe he’s just waiting until that’s done to make it official?
RookieStar wrote:Nyce_1 wrote:May be because of the finals game tonight? Might be some silly rule to not break non-finals news on game days.RookieStar wrote:
Any reason why not? Something to do with the team usa select?
hmmmm... well hooefully we will know...
You'd be surprised. All eyes on the finals.Magic#1 wrote:RookieStar wrote:Nyce_1 wrote:May be because of the finals game tonight? Might be some silly rule to not break non-finals news on game days.
hmmmm... well hooefully we will know...
Somehow I doubt the NBA is really concerned with what is happening in Orlando. We're not exactly headline stealers.
Magic#1 wrote:RookieStar wrote:Nyce_1 wrote:May be because of the finals game tonight? Might be some silly rule to not break non-finals news on game days.
hmmmm... well hooefully we will know...
Somehow I doubt the NBA is really concerned with what is happening in Orlando. We're not exactly headline stealers.
EasternMagic wrote:Magic#1 wrote:RookieStar wrote:
hmmmm... well hooefully we will know...
Somehow I doubt the NBA is really concerned with what is happening in Orlando. We're not exactly headline stealers.
Woj was just talking about us during Finals coverage.
RookieStar wrote:EasternMagic wrote:Magic#1 wrote:
Somehow I doubt the NBA is really concerned with what is happening in Orlando. We're not exactly headline stealers.
Woj was just talking about us during Finals coverage.
He just mentjoned we might get Mosley?
Jamahl Mosley
Dallas Mavericks, assistant (2014-2021)
Cleveland Cavaliers, assistant (2010-14)
Denver Nuggets, assistant (2005-10)
Professional player in Mexico, Australia, Spain, Finland, Korea (2001-05)
What are his defining characteristics as a coach?
His energy always stood out to me in individual workouts, in presenting things to the team before games and during games. He is always energetic, upbeat, very to the point.
Also, he’s a very good communicator. He does a great job of talking to people. Players really respond to him. He can talk to different guys in different ways to really speak to them or to get through to them and also to staff. He was able to really speak to me in that way where I felt like he appreciated the experience I already had. But also, he was teaching me. And I thought he threaded that needle well and it made me respect him and listen to him and I felt like he respected me and where I was coming from.
Do you have a feel for how he views the game from a strategy standpoint?
He’s very defensive-minded. He’s always been a defensive-minded type of guy, intense in that sense. If you watch him coach during games, he’s always up. He’s yelling out coverages. He’s yelling out information to the team. He’s very intense when he’s coaching defense, so I would say — I know it’s a broad answer, but he’s a very defensive-minded and intense type of coach.
Is there anything the Mavericks have done — whether with a player, a scheme or anything else — that you look at and see his fingerprints on?
I would say the level of pressure (the Mavericks have) defensively. I definitely see fingerprints of his on that. … As involved as he was with the defense, I would just say the intensity and pressure, because he’s an intense guy in a positive way and in a good way, and he’s definitely not a passive, sit-back-and-just-let-things-happen-to-you type of coach. He isn’t for a Mike Budenholzer-style type of defense or whatever. So, I would say ball pressure and aggressiveness. Even with guys that aren’t necessarily the best defenders or the most gifted physically, he’s still asking those guys to pressure the ball, to be aggressive, especially on-ball defenders.
Have you had any moments where you saw him do something and you thought, that looks like a future head coach?
It goes back to the communication. … Guys respond to him, whether in a one-on-one workout or coaching them. He ran our defense and when he talked to guys, they listened to him. Whatever he was coaching, whatever he was trying to sell, he did a good job of selling it. I think right from there, when I saw how players responded to the way he talked to them and the way he coached them, that to me made me immediately think that he would be a good head coach someday.
You know him well. Let’s say he gets this job. What would you predict is his coaching demeanor?
He’s gonna smile a lot. He loves to smile. He’s got a great smile. That always stands out to me every time I see him coach.
He’s intense. He’s energetic. But he always seems to be having fun while he’s being serious. He’s gonna yell. He’s gonna scream out stuff. Not scream at guys, just screaming to communicate. Again, it all goes back to ‘energetic,’ but he’s also gonna have fun while he’s doing it but have fun while being serious. I think that’s the best way to describe it.
He’s gonna smile and be having a good time but also be expecting guys to do what they’re supposed to do and hold them accountable to do those things that they’re supposed to do. He’s not afraid to tell a guy that he messed up. I know that. And I think that’s what’s good about him is he can do that in a way that guys don’t get upset with him. He’s gonna hold you accountable and they listen to him because he’s able to communicate with them so well.
Wes Unseld Jr.
Denver Nuggets, assistant (2015-present)
Orlando Magic, assistant (2012-15)
Golden State Warriors, assistant (2011-12)
Washington Wizards, scout/assistant (1997-2011)
Washington Mystics, assistant (1998)
What are his defining characteristics as a coach?
The one thing that you want when you’re talking to a head coach or an assistant is for them to be humble and just listen to your ideas, and Wes does all those types of things. Wes doesn’t pretend to know the answers to everything. He’s willing to listen, to hear. And he’s going to explain why he might go with your idea and why (he might) not go with your idea.
He’s very meticulous. Like, he has the answer to every question you can have for a game. So, (for example): pick-and-roll with Russ (Westbrook) and Bradley Beal; how are we gonna defend it? How are we gonna cover it? And he’s gonna have the best option and the next six options after that. So, he’s prepared every single step of the way, and he’s willing to listen to every member on staff.
Do you have a feel for how he views the game from a strategy standpoint?
When people have asked me about Wes when it comes to X’s and O’s, he’s worked with so many different types of guys. He’s worked in the Princeton offense. He’s worked in fast tempo, up and down. He’s worked with Steph Curry. He’s worked in the San Antonio system with Jacque Vaughn.
He’s a first-time head coach, so when he gets there, I don’t know what exactly he’s gonna determine when it comes to what’s gonna make them most successful in Washington. ‘Are we gonna be a fast, uptempo team like Scott Brooks ran? Are we gonna be a slow-it-down team?’ I don’t know what his final decision is going to be on that end. But I will say this: he’s gonna evaluate every step of the way. Whatever he ends up deciding, it’s going to be because he did the research.
One of the benefits I’ve told people is Wes is one of those very unique people as a head coach because I can see him being successful with a veteran team. I can see him being successful with a young, rookie team and developing that. So, there’s very few coaches in this league that can handle both.
Is there anything the Nuggets have done — whether with a player, a scheme or anything else — that you look at and see his fingerprints on?
I mean, you got guys like Joker, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., where their strength is not defense, and he has them near the top 10 (Denver finished 11th in points allowed per possession this past season). That’s all you need to know.
The fact that he makes them even average defenders in this league is an impressive feat, because a lot of guys would come in and they’ll put those guys in positions that would not be successful. They would try to do things like, we gotta make them superstar defenders. I’m like, no, we don’t need them to be superstar defenders. We need them to be average to slightly above average defenders, and we just need to put them in positions of success. And Wes always puts his players in successful positions.
He’s never gonna ask them to do something they can’t do. He’s gonna ask them, ‘Are you comfortable playing up on screens or are you comfortable playing back on screens? OK, you’re comfortable playing back? Not a problem. Now, how can I adjust our defense to make that work for that certain player?’ So, he’s never gonna put guys in bad situations to embarrass them or to make them uncomfortable.
He wants to get input from the players. He wants to know how they feel like they would be successful and how he can carry it out within his system, which a lot of guys don’t do. A lot of guys come in and like, hey, this is how we play our pick-and-roll defense. This is what we’re gonna do, and we gotta do it every single time. And Wes is like, how can I put my player in the best place to succeed?
Have you had any moments where you saw him do something and you thought, that looks like a future head coach?
Yeah, I see it all the time, just how he communicates with the staff. As I said, I don’t care who you are. I don’t care if you’re the head coach or the video guy. You always have input with Wes, and a lot of guys don’t do that. A lot of guys are set in their ways, and Wes speaks to everybody on staff and he wants their honest opinion and he’ll give them their feedback.
You know him well. Let’s say he gets this job. What would you predict is his coaching demeanor?
Even keel. Listen, some of the coaches that he’s worked for have been very intense coaches, and his demeanor is just accepting it. A lot of the time people listen to how the message is being delivered and not what the message is, and Wes listens to what the message is. So, he has a very calm, cool demeanor.
He’s usually the first one in and he’s the last one out of the office. Everyday. Every, single day. Off days, practice days, shootaround days; he does not take days off. Like, he’s always in the office trying to figure out how to help the team. You could see how much (Nuggets head coach) Mike Malone puts on his shoulders, how much trust he has of him to basically run the defense every single play. And when (Malone) wants to change something on the fly, he’ll tell Wes and Wes will just go out there and yell, ‘control it!’ and he’ll be eased with it.