Potential Coaching Options Moving Forward

Post #41 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Apr 9, 2018 11:46 am

It's the thread no one wants to consider...and it still might not be necessary.

But, fortune favors the prepared. Yahoo Sports puts forth a few candidates.

Top options

NBA executives weigh in on next generation of head coaches

Nick Nurse, Toronto: 16 Votes

Nurse, 50, is well-traveled: He was a player-coach in the British Basketball League in his early 20s, moved to the D-League in 2007 —where he became the first head coach in league history to lead two different teams to championships— before joining Dwane Casey’s staff in Toronto in 2013.

A respected offensive mind, Nurse is credited with leading the overhaul of Toronto’s offense this season, which has seen the Raptors evolve from an isolation-heavy, 3-point averse offense into a free-flowing one that fires up the third-most threes per game (32.9) in the NBA.

A link to Luka Doncic

Igor Kokoškov, Utah: 10 votes

Kokoškov’s résumé is impressive: An assistant for six teams in 17 seasons — including a spot on Detroit’s title-winning staff in 2004 — and the distinction of being the first European coach to hold a full-time position with an NCAA Division I school, working for Jazz coach Quin Snyder at Missouri. Several executives cited Kokoškov’s performance last summer, when he coached Slovenia to a championship at the FIBA EuroBasket tournament.

Kokoškov’s English, once halting, has improved significantly since he came to the NBA in 2000 — he coached the Slovenian team entirely in English. Snyder told Yahoo Sports that Kokoškov, 46, has no issues communicating with players and regularly runs practices.

The guys already mentioned

Nate Tibbetts, Portland: 4 votes

That’s a pretty good staff up in Portland. Tibbetts is a grinder, his pro coaching career beginning as an assistant with the D-League’s Sioux Falls SkyForce, continuing as the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers before landing an NBA job, as an assistant with Cleveland, in 2011. He joined Stotts’ staff in ’13 and immediately established himself as a tireless worker, while charged with overseeing the Blazers’ offense.

Chris Finch, New Orleans: 4 votes

After barnstorming through Europe, Finch landed in the D-League in 2009, where the Rockets began grooming him for an eventual move to the NBA bench. Widely regarded as a keen offensive mind, Finch helped juice up Denver’s offense in his one season on Mike Malone’s staff in ’16-17 and has been a valued member of the Pelicans’ staff that has made significant offensive improvements this season. Finch shares Pels head coach Alvin Gentry’s offensive vision: play up-tempo, don’t call many plays, give players freedom, try to be an unpredictable offensive team.

The outside the box option I hope we don't consider

Jerry Stackhouse, Raptors 905 head coach: 3 votes

Stackhouse, 43, retired in 2013 and has quickly established himself as a strong head-coaching candidate. Toronto tapped Stackhouse to coach its D-League affiliate in 2016 after just one season on the Raptors’ bench. Stackhouse responded by coaching Raptors 905 to the D-League championship and was named Coach of the Year that season.

Executives eyeing Stackhouse have been impressed by his defense-first coaching mentality, as well as his aptitude on the sideline.

Spud2nique · Post #42 » by **Spud2nique** » Mon Apr 9, 2018 12:25 pm

Lol...ya getting Stackhouse over Bud is the right move..(green font). Just wow. Sometimes you all don’t realize we have the 2nd best coach in the league and take it for granted.

I honestly hope we can’t get details of the Bud deal because it’s a lifelong deal. Love the guy.

Post #43 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:51 am

I found an old quote from GSW ownership after Mark Jackson was fired.

It doesn't directly address him, but it could shine a light on how Schlenk might approach new coaching hires:

"Obviously (the decision) was not made exclusively on wins and losses," Lacob said.

Lacob compared the decision to replace Jackson to his work as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.

"There's a different CEO that may be required to achieve success at different stages of an organization's development," Lacob said. "When you're a startup company it's one thing, when you're a small-growth company it's one thing and when you're a mature company that's trying to reach a billion in sales -- or in this case win an NBA championship -- perhaps that's a different person. And we just felt overall we needed a different person."

ESPN in 2014

Makes me think that even the person who shepherds in and develops the young talent on this team may not be the same individual who reaps the ultimate benefit.

Like we might be looking for Doug Collins at this stage -- with hopes of finding Phil Jackson later in the process.

macd-gm · Post #44 » by **macd-gm** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:27 pm

Even if you don't believe that Bud is the guy to win a championship you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. So at the very least this is just change for the sake of change. What's coming next is a head coach who's never been a head coach in the NBA. Will we get Brad Stevens or Lon Kruger?

Post #45 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:43 pm

macd-gm wrote:Even if you don't believe that Bud is the guy to win a championship you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. So at the very least this is just change for the sake of change. What's coming next is a head coach who's never been a head coach in the NBA. Will we get Brad Stevens or Lon Kruger?

I vehemently disagree. Especially considering we've seen guys like Quin Snyder and Kenny Atkinson have success.

Mike Budenholzer isn't irreplaceable. And, by multiple accounts, is not on board with the current GM.

That's not 'change for the sake of change'; it's a necessary adjustment for this new phase we're in.

Again, this is how rebuilds commence:

New GM, new players, new stadium, new coach.

macd-gm · Post #46 » by **macd-gm** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:52 pm

Jamaaliver wrote:
macd-gm wrote:Even if you don't believe that Bud is the guy to win a championship you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. So at the very least this is just change for the sake of change. What's coming next is a head coach who's never been a head coach in the NBA. Will we get Brad Stevens or Lon Kruger?

I vehemently disagree. Especially considering we've seen guys like Quin Snyder and Kenny Atkinson have success.

Mike Budenholzer isn't irreplaceable. And, by multiple accounts, is not on board with the current GM.

That's not 'change for the sake of change'; it's a necessary adjustment for this new phase we're in.

Again, this is how rebuilds commence:

New GM, new players, new stadium, new coach.

So you're criticizing Bud for losses incurred in a tanking season and you think Kenny Atkinson is having success?

I understand how rebuilding works. But I've been around long enough to know that finding a really good coach isn't easy. It's not like we're playing some archaic style of ball or that the players are fed up with Bud. A good rebuild keeps the parts that were working and Bud was most definitely working well as a coach. When we rebuilt last time we didnt' get rid of Horford and Teague. You keep the talent that is still productive whether it's players or coaches.

kg01 · Post #47 » by **kg01** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:08 pm

macd-gm wrote:
Jamaaliver wrote:
macd-gm wrote:Even if you don't believe that Bud is the guy to win a championship you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. So at the very least this is just change for the sake of change. What's coming next is a head coach who's never been a head coach in the NBA. Will we get Brad Stevens or Lon Kruger?

I vehemently disagree. Especially considering we've seen guys like Quin Snyder and Kenny Atkinson have success.

Mike Budenholzer isn't irreplaceable. And, by multiple accounts, is not on board with the current GM.

That's not 'change for the sake of change'; it's a necessary adjustment for this new phase we're in.

Again, this is how rebuilds commence:

New GM, new players, new stadium, new coach.

So you're criticizing Bud for losses incurred in a tanking season and you think Kenny Atkinson is having success?

I understand how rebuilding works. But I've been around long enough to know that finding a really good coach isn't easy. It's not like we're playing some archaic style of ball or that the players are fed up with Bud. A good rebuild keeps the parts that were working and Bud was most definitely working well as a coach. When we rebuilt last time we didnt' get rid of Horford and Teague. You keep the talent that is still productive whether it's players or coaches.

Again, eggsactly.

Successful rebuilds don't take everything down to the studs unless it's necessary. If Schlenk felt that was necessary then we need to get comfortable with being bad for a lot longer than he sold thus far.

The fact that he sold a "short-term" rebuild is worrisome because, if he actually intended to tear it all the way down, he shouldn't have put a timeframe on his plans. Savvy GM's talk around "timing" to make sure they under-sell, over-deliver.

Put me in the skeptic camp from now on.

Post #48 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:14 pm

macd-gm wrote:
Jamaaliver wrote:
macd-gm wrote:Even if you don't believe that Bud is the guy to win a championship you'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. So at the very least this is just change for the sake of change. What's coming next is a head coach who's never been a head coach in the NBA. Will we get Brad Stevens or Lon Kruger?

I vehemently disagree. Especially considering we've seen guys like Quin Snyder and Kenny Atkinson have success.

Mike Budenholzer isn't irreplaceable. And, by multiple accounts, is not on board with the current GM.

That's not 'change for the sake of change'; it's a necessary adjustment for this new phase we're in.

Again, this is how rebuilds commence:

New GM, new players, new stadium, new coach.

So you're criticizing Bud for losses incurred in a tanking season and you think Kenny Atkinson is having success?

I understand how rebuilding works. But I've been around long enough to know that finding a really good coach isn't easy. It's not like we're playing some archaic style of ball or that the players are fed up with Bud. A good rebuild keeps the parts that were working and Bud was most definitely working well as a coach. When we rebuilt last time we didnt' get rid of Horford and Teague. You keep the talent that is still productive whether it's players or coaches.

Nothing said above is a criticism of Budenholzer.

You mentioned that we'd be hard pressed to find anyone better to develop players. I disagree and mentioned two of Budenholzer's recent lieutenants as examples.

This franchise existewd for long before MIKE B got here. And it'll stand after he leaves.

Hard truth...his tenure wasn't much better than the coaches that came before when the totality is considered.

Take away that 33-2 stretch (that can't reasonably be duplicated) -- and the rest is just mediocre.

jayu70 · Post #49 » by **jayu70** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:42 pm

^ does the totality of his win loss record include this season when he was asked to lose? That's kinda foul if it does.
He's done more with less that most coaches who have far more what the NBA world deems more talented. He's never had 'The Guy'.

tbhawksfan1 · Post #50 » by **tbhawksfan1** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:43 pm

I'd like to know what it is that coach Bud was doing that didn't jib with TS's vibe. Gonna fire someone got to at least let them know why

Post #51 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:52 pm

tbhawksfan1 wrote:I'd like to know what it is that coach Bud was doing that didn't jib with TS's vibe. Gonna fire someone got to at least let them know why

Budenholzer isn't being fired.

tbhawksfan1 · Post #52 » by **tbhawksfan1** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 5:55 pm

Depends; if he's being asked to look elsewhere because TS doesn't want him with 2 years left, that's a fired

macd-gm · Post #53 » by **macd-gm** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:56 pm

Remember when we declined to let assistants interview for other jobs? Frankly, not giving a crap if Bud stays or goes is worse than firing.

Spud2nique · Post #54 » by **Spud2nique** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:26 pm

I think it’s gonna be Lawrence Frank.

Robo_Claw · Post #55 » by **Robo_Claw** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:56 pm

Spud2nique wrote:I think it’s gonna be Lawrence Frank.

what makes you say that?

Post #56 » by **ATL Boy** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:30 am

What about Steve Clifford? I like the job he did with the Bobcats the couple years before this one, and he won't have to coach Dwight Howard here. He seems to have adapted to the modern game.

jayu70 · Post #57 » by **jayu70** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:32 am

ATL Boy wrote:What about Steve Clifford? I like the job he did with the Bobcats the couple years before this one, and he won't have to coach Dwight Howard here. He seems to have adapted to the modern game.

Uuuuhhh. I don't know who I want but I know who I don't want - Mark Jackson, Clifford and a few more.

jayu70 · Post #58 » by **jayu70** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:47 am

What about Monty Williams? Is he ready to get back into coaching?

Spud2nique · Post #59 » by **Spud2nique** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 4:11 am

jayu70 wrote:What about Monty Williams? Is he ready to get back into coaching?

Bird are you selling out on Bud? #staystrong

Revived · Post #60 » by **Revived** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:35 am

Spud2nique wrote:Lol...ya getting Stackhouse over Bud is the right move..(green font). Just wow. Sometimes you all don’t realize we have the 2nd best coach in the league and take it for granted.

I honestly hope we can’t get details of the Bud deal because it’s a lifelong deal. Love the guy.

He's not coming back. You don't interview for other jobs and then return to your old job especially in something like NBA head coaching.

There's no precedent of this ever happening and it's not going to start now.