[SHAMS] Spurs Asst Coach Becky Hammon closing in on WNBA Las Vegas Aces Head Coaching Job...

[Texas Chuck]

I think this is an interesting move. I like her going somewhere and showing she can be a head coach. G-League not really an option because those teams have a different priority than winning games. I think coaching in a competitive environment with women is a better pathway if she still has ambitions to be an NBA head coach.

Going to ignore the silly sexist posts, but will say I was surprised to hear criticism of her for perceived self-promotion and seeking higher opportunities. Male assistant coaches have done this forever. People in any profession want to move up, get a chance to show they can succeed in a larger role/bigger job. Yeah I get how that can turn you off maybe a fan, but IDK, its hard to see anything wrong with that.

[Doctor MJ]

Still, the lifestyle of an Assistant Coach in the NBA is far greater than the WNBA head coach. I believe she will get any job as assistant anywhere with her credentials and experience under Pop. WNBA probably offering her headline name but still she could be the most marketed WNBA name and it would not matter... no one cares about the WNBA (its true). In the NBA, she might not headline teams, but she earns high six figures to low seven figures, get exposed to the TOP tier basketball competition in the world. Heck, assistant coach in the NBA is greater gig than Commissioner of WNBA (assuming its not same as NBA).

So, first, what makes you think Hammon's getting paid "high six figures to low seven figures" as an NBA assistant? The figure I'm familiar with is $200K, and my guess is that part of this whole "biggest contract ever for an WNBA coach" is that she didn't take some massive pay cut.

Next, on "lifestyle", I feel like you're not actually thinking about what it's like to live in these roles. As an Assistant Coach, you're at the mercy of the Head Coach. Even if you like the Coach, it's not the same thing as being able to make all the decisions yourself. Some Assistant Coaches love the role because it allows them to be able to focus on basketball without worrying about politics and media, but these are not the norm. Most young Assistant Coaches want to become the Head Coach for reasons that go beyond the salary bump.

Last, "no one cares about the WNBA (its true)". It's obviously not true and you know this. Much less popular than the NBA? Obviously. That's not the same thing as not having a sizeable and growing fanbase.

[Doctor MJ]

I think this is an interesting move. I like her going somewhere and showing she can be a head coach. G-League not really an option because those teams have a different priority than winning games. I think coaching in a competitive environment with women is a better pathway if she still has ambitions to be an NBA head coach.

Going to ignore the silly sexist posts, but will say I was surprised to hear criticism of her for perceived self-promotion and seeking higher opportunities. Male assistant coaches have done this forever. People in any profession want to move up, get a chance to show they can succeed in a larger role/bigger job. Yeah I get how that can turn you off maybe a fan, but IDK, its hard to see anything wrong with that.

One of the things that I really have a hard time believing are the allegations of her being lazy and entitled within the Spurs organization. Hammon was an undersized, undrafted player who beat the odds and became a star in the WNBA...which still traditionally means nothing to people in the NBA. The idea that she would show up to the Spurs and act like a prima donna just doesn't seem grounded in reality to me. Why would someone so used to being the scrappy underdog who outhustles the giants not use the same approach when moving to a new role where she's once again starting from the bottom?

[azcatz11]

There's no spinning this. It's a downward move which really doesn't make much sense. The only explanation is she's passionate about the WNBA. If she is good, good for her.

I would rank the hierarchy like this

NBA HC
Blueblood Mens' HC



Normal Div 1 Mens' HC

Blueblood Womans' HC







WNBA HC

[prelude00]

Look I’m not sexist, but I ain’t trying to see women coaching in the NBA.

Who cares if she is female or male as long as she can coach

Male athletics/the locker room is a very vulgar place. I want be myself when around the boys. I would feel uncomfortable around a female coach, and I’m sure most males would. Why must women take everything from us?

Incel.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

[Texas Chuck]

There's no spinning this. It's a downward move which really doesn't make much sense. The only explanation is she's passionate about the WNBA. If she is good, good for her.

I would rank the hierarchy like this

NBA HC
Blueblood Mens' HC



Normal Div 1 Mens' HC

Blueblood Womans' HC







WNBA HC

What are you basing this on? Money? Prestige? Because the WNBA is clearly much higher level basketball even than say UConn, Baylor, South Carolina women's NCAA hoops. Plus if your ultimate goal is to be an NBA head coach(I don't know what Hammon's goals are), dealing with professionals is much better preparation than women's college and I'd argue more than normal men's division 1. A blue blood like Kentucky or Duke which are basically professional programs at this point probably different.

IDK I think its a lot less cut and dry and while many of the male posters on this board view the WNBA as a joke, its important to note that the NBA players treat it with a great deal of respect. So succeeding in the WNBA I think would resonate in the NBA a lot more than posters here think. The guys here who topped out as a backup PF in middle school may be too good for the WNBA but the best basketball players on the planet mostly respect their female peers as legit hoopers.

[azcatz11]

There's no spinning this. It's a downward move which really doesn't make much sense. The only explanation is she's passionate about the WNBA. If she is good, good for her.

I would rank the hierarchy like this

NBA HC
Blueblood Mens' HC



Normal Div 1 Mens' HC

Blueblood Womans' HC







WNBA HC

What are you basing this on? Money? Prestige? Because the WNBA is clearly much higher level basketball even than say UConn, Baylor, South Carolina women's NCAA hoops. Plus if your ultimate goal is to be an NBA head coach(I don't know what Hammon's goals are), dealing with professionals is much better preparation than women's college and I'd argue more than normal men's division 1. A blue blood like Kentucky or Duke which are basically professional programs at this point probably different.

IDK I think its a lot less cut and dry and while many of the male posters on this board view the WNBA as a joke, its important to note that the NBA players treat it with a great deal of respect. So succeeding in the WNBA I think would resonate in the NBA a lot more than posters here think. The guys here who topped out as a backup PF in middle school may be too good for the WNBA but the best basketball players on the planet mostly respect their female peers as legit hoopers.

Combination of money /prestige. Agreed the WNBA is a higher level of competition but I think the blueblood NCAA women's' program jobs are better than any WNBA job.

I view a WNBA HC at the same level as a G League HC...maybe even less. It's just not a stepping stone and never has been for NBA HC's.

I'm one of the few non WNBA haters on here but it's reality IMO.

[Colbinii]

Who cares if she is female or male as long as she can coach

Male athletics/the locker room is a very vulgar place. I want be myself when around the boys. I would feel uncomfortable around a female coach, and I’m sure most males would. Why must women take everything from us?

Incel.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

Massive Incel.

Lucky for us these guys rarely reproduce.

[G R E Y]

What’s landmark about it? Her salary?

Yep. Five year deal, highest paid WNBA coach.

I thought that WNBA salaries were not public?

Read on Twitter

I guess the get around is stating Hammon will be the highest paid coach without getting into specifics of the amount.

[G R E Y]

Still, the lifestyle of an Assistant Coach in the NBA is far greater than the WNBA head coach. I believe she will get any job as assistant anywhere with her credentials and experience under Pop. WNBA probably offering her headline name but still she could be the most marketed WNBA name and it would not matter... no one cares about the WNBA (its true). In the NBA, she might not headline teams, but she earns high six figures to low seven figures, get exposed to the TOP tier basketball competition in the world. Heck, assistant coach in the NBA is greater gig than Commissioner of WNBA (assuming its not same as NBA).

So, first, what makes you think Hammon's getting paid "high six figures to low seven figures" as an NBA assistant? The figure I'm familiar with is $200K, and my guess is that part of this whole "biggest contract ever for an WNBA coach" is that she didn't take some massive pay cut.

Next, on "lifestyle", I feel like you're not actually thinking about what it's like to live in these roles. As an Assistant Coach, you're at the mercy of the Head Coach. Even if you like the Coach, it's not the same thing as being able to make all the decisions yourself. Some Assistant Coaches love the role because it allows them to be able to focus on basketball without worrying about politics and media, but these are not the norm. Most young Assistant Coaches want to become the Head Coach for reasons that go beyond the salary bump.

Last, "no one cares about the WNBA (its true)". It's obviously not true and you know this. Much less popular than the NBA? Obviously. That's not the same thing as not having a sizeable and growing fanbase.

Not that other assistants or coaches are affected differently, but with two small boys at home, a shorter WNBA season so as to spend more time with the family may have been a factor as well.

[Texas Chuck]

I view a WNBA HC at the same level as a G League HC...maybe even less. It's just not a stepping stone and never has been for NBA HC's.

Agree its never been a stepping stone. Disagree compared to the G-League--at least as it pertains to an assistant coach trying to prove themselves as a head coach. G-League teams prioritize development, running a similar system to the big club, and of course have players moving on and off the roster as the big club needs them--particularly in COVID times.

I would think the WNBA is a better proving ground for showing you can establish a system, manage professionals, and demonstrate an ability to win on a level playing field(UConn gets whatever players it wants every year).

But it may be that Hammon has accepted that the NBA isn't ready for a woman head coach or maybe more specifically she learned in some interviews some specific things about why teams aren't hiring her specifically that aren't related to her gender and decided she'd rather be a head coach in a lessor league than remain an assistant. IDK.

And I'd agree this would seem to have her further away from an NBA head coaching job than she seemed yesterday.

[danvato]

finally. hopefully this is last time we hear her name on a basketball forum.

[dhsilv2]

What’s landmark about it? Her salary?

Yep. Five year deal, highest paid WNBA coach.

How much are WNBA coaches paid?

[dhsilv2]

Yeah, that's not at all what he said.

There’s not really a non-sexist way to interpret that.

Let me take care of this part for you: “you can’t say anything these days, cancel culture, woke mob, sjws, blah blah blah”

Let’s swap out just one word and see if that’s better: “Look I’m not sexist, but I ain’t trying to see blacks coaching in the NBA.” See how that looks?

You claim he says people should be excluded based on their sex. He never said that. He said he doesn't want to see it. Whether or not that's sexists is a different discussion, but at least paraphrase him accurately.

Edit: But lets entertain the sexism claim. If a woman says that she doesn't want to see a man on the View, is that necessarily sexist?

If someone watches the view...I think the conversation is already over!

[G R E Y]

I think this is an interesting move. I like her going somewhere and showing she can be a head coach. G-League not really an option because those teams have a different priority than winning games. I think coaching in a competitive environment with women is a better pathway if she still has ambitions to be an NBA head coach.

Going to ignore the silly sexist posts, but will say I was surprised to hear criticism of her for perceived self-promotion and seeking higher opportunities. Male assistant coaches have done this forever. People in any profession want to move up, get a chance to show they can succeed in a larger role/bigger job. Yeah I get how that can turn you off maybe a fan, but IDK, its hard to see anything wrong with that.

So two things stood out about the self-promotion. To be clear, it's not about shut up and coach, and I don't want to turn this into a male / female thing in terms of perceptions of self-promotion. I've been watching NBA actively for a long time and haven't seen an assistant give their resume so actively, but in fairness media hasn't always been what it is now, and it's more observations of the teams I've followed. More central to the point of distaste, as a member of the Spurs organization, for Hammon to go to Jabari Young specifically was hard to see as innocent rather than a shot a cross the bow post-Portland interview debacle. Just resonated badly.

[Pharmcat]

Well, frankly, finally. She'd been on a media tour giving her resume unlike anything heard from any other assistant coach. She's in a unique pocket in that she was the first female assistant coach in the NBA, but that Portland interview and the fallout felt like a turning point then and since then.

There were just to many times the Spurs were put on notice and it was starting to feel like the direction between the two sides were diverging. Ok, so glad that's all over and done with, good luck, and each side did what's best for them.

Were there issues between her and the Spurs organization?

I wouldn't put it that way, but I would say that the consequences of the Portland interview and then someone on the Blazers leaking info justifying their hiring of Billups over Hammon left ripple effects.

Someone said that in the feedback Blazers got from whoever on the Spurs and others around the league is that Hammon was lax in some day-to-day details of the job. I thought it was a bitch move to reveal anything of the sort, regardless of whether it may have been true. The Spurs never said anything about it publicly, so who knows what assurances (or not) were given behind closed doors, and so she went and eventually talked to Jabari Young, of all people. He has long been known as the reporter who **** on the organization throughout the whole #2 saga before leaving town.

She'd done several interviews about her job and readiness to be a head coach since the Portland thing, so it sort of felt like it was putting the Spurs on notice. I think it indicates she wasn't given any assurances with us beyond her current position, too, so the Spurs and she did what was best for each of them.

You'll never hear anything but public support, but there was definitely a thundering silence from the Spurs post-Portland leak, and a bigger media push from her as well. Felt like a turning point, or at least one of several that led to this. Finally, really, all that campaigning was getting to have a whiff. But she turned it around for herself and there's really no downside unless one considers a jump from WNBA to NBA less likely than NBA assistant coach to HC. I'm just glad all the not so subtle signalling is over and done with, decision's been made, and we move forward.

Coaches do media tours to push their candidacy all the time (or use it to rehab their image), or they use mouth pieces like SAS to advocate for them. Hell mike McCarthy lied to the cowboys during the coach search process and admitted it in the introductory press conference. You have to know how to play the game to get these gigs

[Wallace_Wallace]

I absolutely LOVE that she's taking over the job from that wanker Bill Laimbeer

Big shoes too fill, not sure how great of a coach he is cause I Don't watch the WNBA but it looks like he's had a good career there.

I don't know anything about his WNBA coaching career but I absolutely loathed him on the Pistons, so yeah...

Before Detroit Shock moved to Tulsa, I was pretty interested on the team. He won three titles in six years while bringing them from one of the worst teams to the best team. But then again, that was a decade ago. But overall, not a bad resume.

Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith are beast ballers though, no lie

[G R E Y]

What’s landmark about it? Her salary?

Yep. Five year deal, highest paid WNBA coach.

How much are WNBA coaches paid?

I don't know, sorry. Woj tweeted just those details of length and Hammon making the most now.

[dhsilv2]

Yep. Five year deal, highest paid WNBA coach.

How much are WNBA coaches paid?

I don't know, sorry. Woj tweeted just those details of length and Hammon making the most now.

I guess my expectation is that she'd have made more as a high profile assistant NBA coach than a WNBA headcoach. The WNBA just doesn't generate that much money.

[jokeboy86]

What’s landmark about it? Her salary?

Yep. Five year deal, highest paid WNBA coach.

How much are WNBA coaches paid?

I’m curious as well because we would have to assume Hammon probably wont be making more than Geno or Mulkey and probably less than what Staley just got.