Coaching Candidates for next season (merged)

At the end of the day, there are only so many of these jobs available on the planet.
How many of these guys would rather go unemployed than be the savior of this team? That seems not only cowardly but really stupid.
 
Thibodeau, Brooks, McHale... one of these will be the next coach.
agreed.

The only way we can actually get someone solid in is to overpay. And i am all for that.

We should overpay to get Thibs in. Vastly overpay to get him in.

A real coach, a top candidate is worth more then any free agent signing we can make.

the Wiz are going at Brooks and thats fine for me.

From the pool of established coaches its Thibs by a long way for me then McHale.

To offset our dysfunction and joke stock in the league we need to pay. Open your checkbook Vivek or enjoy watching your investment dwindle in a new arena.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hmm, Grant just mentioned Udoka as a possibility that he likes. And apparently he mentioned him a couple weeks ago too. I hope he's on Vlade's radar.

The Kings job is not a desirable one for a number of reasons - small market, lots of coaching turnover, relatively inexperienced owner with a (likely) poor reputation league wide,not a great roster and the prospect of coaching a notoriously difficult player in Cousins.

I'm counting on Vlade being able to lay out a vision for creating a lasting strategy and culture to help convince a good coach to take the gig.
 
I saw this posted over on RealGM and I am reposting here word for word. McHale sounds like what the Kings need:

"Question: I think if people just looked at your coaching style last year in a vacuum they’d come away thinking that the Kevin McHale offense is going to feature a heavy dose of pick-and-roll and giving the point guard a lot of freedom and opportunities to make plays. Because the personnel is so different this year do you think we can expect a dramatically different offensive approach, or with Jeremy Lin on board – someone who really excelled in isolation and pick-and-roll situations last season – will it largely be the same with just a greater emphasis on playing more uptempo to take advantage of the young legs up and down the roster?

Kevin McHale:Again, ideally if you asked me how I’d like to play I’d say that I’d like to have a big guy to throw the ball to and pound the hell out of the other team. If you don’t have those guys then it’s very hard to do that. I don’t foresee those guys being on our team right now, so we’re probably going to have to create offense from the outside-in even though I’d prefer my offense from the inside-out. I’d rather be a team that’s a great rebounding, great pound-it-inside, throw it out for jump shots after you’ve explored pounding it inside type of team. But those teams in the NBA are few and far between these days.

So we’re just going to have to do whatever fits our team the best. If our best playmaker is our two-man then we’ll run a ton of stuff that will allow him to make plays. If our best playmaker is our four-man, then we’ll run a ton of stuff for him to make plays. The object is not to run your offense, the object is to run an offense that fits your team. I’m not playing, so it doesn’t matter what I like; it matters what these guys can and can’t do.

I’ve never believed in a one-size-fits-all offense. I always believed that was a copout. I always thought whenever I heard that: ‘You’ve got Kareem and you’re a high-post offensive coach so you’re going to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the high-post? That doesn’t make much sense.’ So I think you have to adapt to your players.

So what kind of offense are we going to run this year? I’ll let you know in a few months when we’ve been around them a little bit more."


Link to article--> http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/qa-kevin-mchale-part-i

Link to post by KF10 on realGM--> http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1436377
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
I'm rooting hard for Kevin Mchale as both a coach/GM. He knows talent and was a truly underrated GM. He did what he could with a less than desirable situation in Minnesota with Garnett's contract bascially hamstringing them from day 1. He's also proven he knows talent in the draft as well. I remember how bashed he got in that Love/Mayo trade. He also got a terrific trade package for Garnett and set them up for a quick rebuild but then that dingus stepped in and squandered it.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
Does anyone know much about the Boston assistant Jay Larranaga? Says he's been linked to us I have seen him on the Boston bench and he's fairly vocal as a assistant but other than that I've only heard his name from time to time.
 
So, to recap after day one, the list looks something like:

Atkinson
Blatt
Brooks
Del Negro
Ewing
Hornacek
Jackson
Larranga
McHale
Thibs

Assuming, for the purposes of discussion, Thibs and Brooks go elsewhere (I'd say Minny and either Washington or Houston, respectively), who's the favorite? I'd go with McHale, at the moment, but I don't know much about those assistants.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
I saw this posted over on RealGM and I am reposting here word for word. McHale sounds like what the Kings need:
"Question: I think if people just looked at your coaching style last year in a vacuum they’d come away thinking that the Kevin McHale offense is going to feature a heavy dose of pick-and-roll and giving the point guard a lot of freedom and opportunities to make plays. Because the personnel is so different this year do you think we can expect a dramatically different offensive approach, or with Jeremy Lin on board – someone who really excelled in isolation and pick-and-roll situations last season – will it largely be the same with just a greater emphasis on playing more uptempo to take advantage of the young legs up and down the roster?

Kevin McHale:Again, ideally if you asked me how I’d like to play I’d say that I’d like to have a big guy to throw the ball to and pound the hell out of the other team. If you don’t have those guys then it’s very hard to do that. I don’t foresee those guys being on our team right now, so we’re probably going to have to create offense from the outside-in even though I’d prefer my offense from the inside-out. I’d rather be a team that’s a great rebounding, great pound-it-inside, throw it out for jump shots after you’ve explored pounding it inside type of team. But those teams in the NBA are few and far between these days.

So we’re just going to have to do whatever fits our team the best. If our best playmaker is our two-man then we’ll run a ton of stuff that will allow him to make plays. If our best playmaker is our four-man, then we’ll run a ton of stuff for him to make plays. The object is not to run your offense, the object is to run an offense that fits your team. I’m not playing, so it doesn’t matter what I like; it matters what these guys can and can’t do.

I’ve never believed in a one-size-fits-all offense. I always believed that was a copout. I always thought whenever I heard that: ‘You’ve got Kareem and you’re a high-post offensive coach so you’re going to put Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the high-post? That doesn’t make much sense.’ So I think you have to adapt to your players.

So what kind of offense are we going to run this year? I’ll let you know in a few months when we’ve been around them a little bit more."


Link to article--> http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/qa-kevin-mchale-part-i

Link to post by KF10 on realGM--> http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1436377
I like what I read here.......how is McHale as a defensive coach?
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
So, to recap after day one, the list looks something like:

Atkinson
Blatt
Brooks
Del Negro
Ewing
Hornacek
Jackson
McHale
Thibs

Assuming, for the purposes of discussion, Thibs and Brooks go elsewhere (I'd say Minny and either Washington or Houston, respectively), who's the favorite? I'd go with McHale, at the moment, but I don't know much about those assistants.
I would hope these guys are added to the list:

  • Kevin Ollie (I think he'd transition seamlessly)
  • Ime Udoka (My current favorite option at head coach and obviously a Pop disciple)
  • Luke Walton (I'm not sure he's ready to be a HC, especially of a struggling team but definitely pick his brain)
  • Shaka Smart (Might not hit the ground running as he moves to the NBA but a great basketball mind)
  • Adrian Griffin (Perhaps the closest thing to Thibs that isn't Thibs?)

and as for the guys theoretically on the list

  • Atkinson (I didn't have Kenny Atkinson on my original list but he's definitely a good to great option)
  • Blatt (Kind of a black box for me. Successful overseas but I personally haven't watched his teams play other than CLE where he was undermined so I don't know how he coaches)
  • Brooks (I always like Scott Brooks but I'm not sure he's a great coach. I think he'd be better off taking the Minn gig. Not far off from where he started in OKC in some ways)
  • Del Negro (I like VDN but a bit of a meh hire to me)
  • Ewing (Nope. Great player but he's never shown me that he can transfer or communicate that knowledge. Lacked awareness as a player)
  • Hornacek (Hard to say. He hasn't worked with a low post player like Cousins and he never really played with one either)
  • Jackson (Double nope. Don't think he's a great coach and this organization needs everyone on the same page and no more drama. Jackson is not that dude)
  • McHale (Like the fit. One of my all-time favorite players and a guy that wants to play inside-out. Would be happy with him)
  • Thibs (He'd improve the defense, no doubt. Thibodeau would be like Mike Malone on steroids in terms of X's & O's but he's not a player friendly coach. And he's clashed with management. So while he's reported to not be considering the Kings - and he saw them up close and personal - I'm not sure he's a Vlade guy anyway)
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
If McHale ends up being the guy, I think DC would make a fantastic assistant coach. Especially since he'd be able to focus on defense and development of the guards.

If the new coach ends up being a college coach or current assistant I'd want more veteran assistants on the staff though Doug could still certainly play a part.
 
If McHale ends up being the guy, I think DC would make a fantastic assistant coach. Especially since he'd be able to focus on defense and development of the guards.

If the new coach ends up being a college coach or current assistant I'd want more veteran assistants on the staff though Doug could still certainly play a part.
But will McHale know what to do with a dominate big man who scowls all game long?
thD2UC8258.jpg
 
On surface, McHale seems like a very solid pick and a good fit offensively. Not sure how his defense stacks up but I think it was @Bricklayer that put some rankings together that showed Houston improving defensively in each of McHale's seasons ther with his last being in top 10 IIRC.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
Is Corliss in the running at all? Seems like a lot of the successful coaches where tough guy/scrapper types as players which is why I'm with funkykingston on his love of Adrian Griffin/Ime Udoka add to that the people they have studied under.
 
Vlade better not bring in Doug as an assistant coach. Let the head coach pick his assistant coaches. If the headcoach decides he wants to bring in Doug, sure. BUT Vlade needs to stay the hell out of it..
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Vlade better not bring in Doug as an assistant coach. Let the head coach pick his assistant coaches. If the headcoach decides he wants to bring in Doug, sure. BUT Vlade needs to stay the hell out of it..
???

Although Doug name is being mentioned, I have seen NOTHING about Vlade bringing him in instead of allowing whomever is chosen as the new head coach to make his own selections. Might Doug be recommended? I don't see why not, but that happens all the time. People need to quit trying to create something out of nothing.
 
???

Although Doug name is being mentioned, I have seen NOTHING about Vlade bringing him in instead of allowing whomever is chosen as the new head coach to make his own selections. Might Doug be recommended? I don't see why not, but that happens all the time. People need to quit trying to create something out of nothing.
Why are we talking about hiring an ASSISTANT coach when we don't even have our headcoach yet? I don't get how I'm trying to create something out of nothing. It's like picking your headcoach before picking your GM. In this case, you're picking your assistant coach before picking your headcoach. Headcoaches are the ones who hire their assistants anyways...Revolving door all over again.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Why are we talking about hiring an ASSISTANT coach when we don't even have our headcoach yet? I don't get how I'm trying to create something out of nothing. It's like picking your headcoach before picking your GM. In this case, you're picking your assistant coach before picking your headcoach. Headcoaches are the ones who hire their assistants anyways...Revolving door all over again.
Good grief, dude. Pay attention.

Some of the fans are merely saying they'd like to see Doug Christie, who has knowledge of defense, passion for the game and love for Sacramento be considered for an assistant coaching position because he'd be an asset. One of those fans tweeted the thought to Kayte Christensen, who replied. I posted the twitter exchange because I thought it was interesting, and Doug's name has been brought up more than once in game threads.

We're not picking anything and I'm pretty sure we're aware of how the process should go.
 
???

Although Doug name is being mentioned, I have seen NOTHING about Vlade bringing him in instead of allowing whomever is chosen as the new head coach to make his own selections. Might Doug be recommended? I don't see why not, but that happens all the time. People need to quit trying to create something out of nothing.
Disagree, there is plenty of precedent here to make that an appropriate cmment. Don't think Vlade would d that but ......
 
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I don't think anyone in this league is willing to spend the money it would take to break Calipari away from what is basically a lifetime contract at UK, for a coach that is 72-112 in the NBA.
 
I would hope these guys are added to the list:

  • Kevin Ollie (I think he'd transition seamlessly)
  • Ime Udoka (My current favorite option at head coach and obviously a Pop disciple)
  • Luke Walton (I'm not sure he's ready to be a HC, especially of a struggling team but definitely pick his brain)
  • Shaka Smart (Might not hit the ground running as he moves to the NBA but a great basketball mind)
  • Adrian Griffin (Perhaps the closest thing to Thibs that isn't Thibs?)

and as for the guys theoretically on the list

  • Atkinson (I didn't have Kenny Atkinson on my original list but he's definitely a good to great option)
  • Blatt (Kind of a black box for me. Successful overseas but I personally haven't watched his teams play other than CLE where he was undermined so I don't know how he coaches)
  • Brooks (I always like Scott Brooks but I'm not sure he's a great coach. I think he'd be better off taking the Minn gig. Not far off from where he started in OKC in some ways)
  • Del Negro (I like VDN but a bit of a meh hire to me)
  • Ewing (Nope. Great player but he's never shown me that he can transfer or communicate that knowledge. Lacked awareness as a player)
  • Hornacek (Hard to say. He hasn't worked with a low post player like Cousins and he never really played with one either)
  • Jackson (Double nope. Don't think he's a great coach and this organization needs everyone on the same page and no more drama. Jackson is not that dude)
  • McHale (Like the fit. One of my all-time favorite players and a guy that wants to play inside-out. Would be happy with him)
  • Thibs (He'd improve the defense, no doubt. Thibodeau would be like Mike Malone on steroids in terms of X's & O's but he's not a player friendly coach. And he's clashed with management. So while he's reported to not be considering the Kings - and he saw them up close and personal - I'm not sure he's a Vlade guy anyway)
Atkinson hired by the Nets.