Amen! Fantastic news!
I have no issue with MDA the person and I wish him the best for whatever he does in the future. (And I hope he’s not doing so for health reasons.) But as a coach I wanted him out asap. After he lost out on the Blazers opportunity I thought we’d be stuck with him for the season. The fact that he voluntarily stepped down is GREAT news.
It was no secret how I felt about him. I disliked much about our offensive strategy and thought we could get so much more out of a team that possesses arguably the greatest collection of individual offensive talent in league history. I was appalled that the guy who helped revolutionize NBA offenses with SSOL had us constantly running basic ISOs in the playoffs with occasional variation, consequently making us so easy to defend.
I don’t know if it’s true but I heard that he doesn’t want the expectations that come along with being an assistant coach and that he’ll only really entertain head coaching positions. So in other words, he doesn’t want to do the grunt work that is commonly associated with assistant coaching. I could only speculate that he wasn’t fully invested in being a (hardworking) assistant coach, but now we have confirmation. No wonder why he always sat so calmly on the sidelines as if there was nothing to do…he didn’t want to do the job!
Depending on if we replace him and with whom, I honestly believe our offense can be even more efficient and lethal, especially when it matters most against elite competition.
I hope this also means that our offensive strategy will better complement our defensive strategy by seeking to achieve a better balance of offense and defense in our lineups. Udoka had a good defensive track record before coming to us but I honestly couldn’t get a vibe for what he brought to us, considering how often our lineups favored 5-out offense.
I look forward to seeing what Vanterpool can do (since he doesn’t have to contend with the privilege given to MDA’s seniority) and who will replace MDA. I pray it’s a younger, hungry offensive coach.





















