Coaching Candidates for next season (merged)

Scott Brooks is looking at LA and Washington. I'd be surprised if we even interviewed him.

http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-...d-in-potential-head-coach-opening/2016/04/16/

It looks like Mchale is still available. But look at what happened where he came from.

http://nesn.com/2016/02/nba-rumors-james-harden-wanted-kevin-mchale-fired-dwight-howard-traded/

I think Vinie Del Negro or Jeff Hornacek could be good signings for us.
McHale probably crossed the line with Harden by asking him to play defense.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
What? I read on the forum that Thibs loved coaching Cousins/Gay so I find it strange he would not even consider us.
We don't actually know he's not even considering us, it just fits your agenda. Its Woj, which means a strong chance he got that from an agent, maybe even Thibs agent. if I were an agent I would tell him to steer clear too. As for Thibs himself???

Regardless, Thibs was always a longshot because he is essentially being treated as the LeBron of this year's coaching FAs with the ability to go anywhere. And now its apparent that after the Chicago mess he might like to go somewhere where he can protect himself from front office meddling. Should be noted there is another report saying the coach/GM combo role was actually Minny's idea BTW. So who knows.,

P.S. A stretch, but not impossible stretch, of an interpretation as to why we would hold off on signing a guy like Morway is if we wanted to keep flexibility to offer coaches some front office role. I considerably doubt that, but you could connect some dots and make that jump.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Well if the sources are right, Thibs already made his mind about coaching Cousins, Gay and Rondo. I guess there is a reason he isn't interested, wether it is because he doesn't believe in our roster or doesn't believe in our FO.
And you can actually make a strong case, that thr best way to put up points on the board today is a scoring guard coming of multiple borderline illegal screens with the options to shoot an open 3 or to drive for a floater/layup or to dish for a corner three.
I'm glad you felt the need to mitigate that statement with borderline, but we both know there's nothing borderline about it. :) And this season showed us that the only players scoring more points than DeMarcus are two of the greatest shooters of all time and a guard who can turn any hint of contact into free-throws. Short of trading DeMarcus for Steph Curry, I'll stick with my plan.

I also didn't see anything in that statement about Cousins, Gay, or Rondo. The whole article is about how Thibs wants complete control of an organization so it should be self-explanatory why he's not interested in Sacramento.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Do I need to spell out for you how that statement and the statement you claimed to have read here are not remotely the same? I made a similar comment in the coaching thread which is simply this: Tom Thibodeau doesn't need to guess what it would be like to coach Rudy, DeMarcus, or Rajon he's already done it. So his interest or lack of interest in coaching them longterm will come from personal experience not what he reads about them online. None of us knows what that experience is. I also don't think it's at all proven that he doesn't want to coach them either. All we have is a report that says he wants full control of an organization like Stan Van Gundy has and some unnamed sources say he's not interested in working with our organization. I think you've just got an axe to grind and you're determined to grind it even if you have to skew the facts to do it.
 
Did you guys all miss VF21's post with Marc Stein's tweets? According to Stein, Thibs isn't pushing for full control. Minny is just offering it to him. Remember that Stein's Kings-related news is a lot more credible than Woj/Yahoo's. Yes, it is still a long shot that we get Thibs, but it is not as bad as Yahoo is making it out to be.
 
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I'm glad you felt the need to mitigate that statement with borderline, but we both know there's nothing borderline about it. :) And this season showed us that the only players scoring more points than DeMarcus are two of the greatest shooters of all time and a guard who can turn any hint of contact into free-throws. Short of trading DeMarcus for Steph Curry, I'll stick with my plan.

I also didn't see anything in that statement about Cousins, Gay, or Rondo. The whole article is about how Thibs wants complete control of an organization so it should be self-explanatory why he's not interested in Sacramento.
There was actually a very intesting discussion on RealGM about the screening going on. To me the rulesets and statements of the NBA regarding illegal screens are quite complicated and I'm extremely glad, that I'm not the one that needs to call this. I always thought, that if you move laterally while screening it's illegal (this is the way it's called over here), but apparently the NBA thinks otherwise nowadays and allows lateral movement as long as it's not before contact occurs and as long as the defending player makes contact with the screener first in the attempt to fight through the screen. Ultimately it doesn't matter, if we think (and we are on the same page regarding this) that these are illegal screens. The NBA chooses not to call them.
And while Cousins is 4th in scoring let me quote Greg Popovich "No I don't want you to score. I want the team to score!"
I believe, that the guard/wing centric playstyle with lots of screens is easier to execute and will lead to better/easier scoring teamwise, than the traditional big man approach. Mediocre perimeter heavy teams like Portland, Clippers without Griffin, Detroit, where a great center is basically a put back and lob machine, Boston, Atlanta or to some extent even Toronto seem to support this thesis from my point of view.
On a very basic level I think this is because doubling a big man in the post is one of the easiest things to do as a defense in the era of zones, but doubling a perimeter player that operates from the top and runs through multiple screens is extremely difficult, when he isn't stuck on the sideline or in the corner, where baseline and sideline act as extra defenders. That with the overall improvement in perimeter shooting and ball handling with lots of players, that can pull up from the dribble and can make decisions with the basketball makes the current playstyle so dangerous.
So while my heart always says, that a big guy dominating everything is the way to go, my head always tries to trick me into the admiration of perimeter heavy playstyles. More or less the classic faustian conflict "Zwei Seelen wohnen ach in meiner Brust!" :D
But ok - we all know, where this is heading - a long conversation about offense, when ultimately the problems of the Kings are on the other side of the court.
So yes, if Cousins can be successful as part of a top notch defensive team remains to be seen and actually I really hope we get the chance to see it, before his contract runs out.

The statement about Thibs are rumours. So we all don't know if this is really true. I shouldn't have made that statement about him not wanting to coach DMC, Gay and Rondo. Basically I was always critical regarding those kind of rumours, but now I use them to support my own point of view. Well I guess we all already fell into that trap more than once. ;)
 
Makes a lot of sense. Thibodeau doesn't strike me as the right fit for a rebuilding team (Brooklyn, Phoenix, Lakers etc) as his strength isn't in player development, it's in maximizing existing talent. The Wolves may be young but they are definitely the most talented team in need of a coach. Especially with Houston looking like the wheels are falling off and with Howard potentially opting out and leaving.
Not sure about that. He has done a mighty fine job in developing the likes of Rose, Noah, Gibson, Butler etc...

I think he would be an ideal coach for Minny. Teach that fantastic young core defensive fundamentals and get them developing into a powerhouse team. KAT, Wiggins, LaVine, Bjelica, Deng, Mohammed, Rubio....thats a pretty nice young core to move forward with, especially since KAT will be a mighty fine franchise player and arguably best big man in the next few years.
 
Mchale it is.

Thibs to Minny with all the control in the world.
McHale intrigues me! On paper, he seems like a very good fir for this team. He is a likeable guy and his offensive philosophy is tailor made for our twin towers. He has shown in Houston that he is willing to go away from his philosophy to maximize the talent on his roster. Defensively, it would be interesting but his teams in Houston have improved defensively in each year of his coaching stint there.

Like I said, on paper, he appears to be a pretty nice fit but game is not played on paper.
 
I've always thought Thibs was a little bit over-exalted. A fine coach yes but I'd just as soon not have so much 'star power' in the coaching seat next time. I'm tired from the last one.
 
I'm glad you felt the need to mitigate that statement with borderline, but we both know there's nothing borderline about it. :) And this season showed us that the only players scoring more points than DeMarcus are two of the greatest shooters of all time and a guard who can turn any hint of contact into free-throws. Short of trading DeMarcus for Steph Curry, I'll stick with my plan.

I also didn't see anything in that statement about Cousins, Gay, or Rondo. The whole article is about how Thibs wants complete control of an organization so it should be self-explanatory why he's not interested in Sacramento.
I don't want to get too off-topic here. There's the "keep demarcus thread" where there was an interesting discussion about his scoring.

I just think Minnesota has a much more better roster than the Kings. Young with full of talent.I don't think that Thibs not wanting the job is any kind of insult. I think he'd just rather have the Minnesota job because their talent is amazing.

Eventually, the Kings will get 1 of the good coaches. Not sure who though.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Do I need to spell out for you how that statement and the statement you claimed to have read here are not remotely the same?
Actually, as far as paraphrases go, that's close enough. He said he read it here, you challenged him for a quote, and he delivered one in about five minutes. Can't win 'em all.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
Scott Brooks is looking at LA and Washington. I'd be surprised if we even interviewed him.

http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-...d-in-potential-head-coach-opening/2016/04/16/

It looks like Mchale is still available. But look at what happened where he came from.
What happened where he came from is James Harden. When Parsons left his comment was:

"Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets," Harden said while appearing at a charity event in the Philippines, according to The Philippine Star. "The rest of the guys are role players or pieces that complete our team. We've lost some pieces and added some pieces."
A year and a half later he's apparently trying to get Dwight Howard traded and succeeded in getting his coach fired. From the outside looking in Harden comes off as selfish and entitled with a Houston front office that is apparently willing to enable him and cater to his wishes.

And for what it's worth, the team really play any better once McHale was fired. They were up and down all year, even going 4-9 for a stretch under Bickerstaff. It seems like Harden playing himself into shape, ending the Ty Lawson experiment and trading to get Josh Smith back probably paid more dividends than changing coaches.

And it's worth noting that the team didn't even go on a run after McHale was axed, something that often happens (the so-called "dead coach bounce") when a team is happy to be out from under a coach they didn't like. The Rockets won their first game with Bickerstaff at home in OT against the Blazers and then lost three straight.

In short, I don't think McHale being fired by the Rockets really reflects poorly on him. The season before he had essentially the exact same team in the WCFs.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
Do I need to spell out for you how that statement and the statement you claimed to have read here are not remotely the same? I made a similar comment in the coaching thread which is simply this: Tom Thibodeau doesn't need to guess what it would be like to coach Rudy, DeMarcus, or Rajon he's already done it. So his interest or lack of interest in coaching them longterm will come from personal experience not what he reads about them online. None of us knows what that experience is. I also don't think it's at all proven that he doesn't want to coach them either. All we have is a report that says he wants full control of an organization like Stan Van Gundy has and some unnamed sources say he's not interested in working with our organization. I think you've just got an axe to grind and you're determined to grind it even if you have to skew the facts to do it.
Honestly, I think that when it comes to Thibs, or any other coach who has no interest in coming here, it isn't so much our crazy players scaring them off, as it is our crazy owner.

Vivek effect.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
I don't want to get too off-topic here. There's the "keep demarcus thread" where there was an interesting discussion about his scoring.

I just think Minnesota has a much more better roster than the Kings. Young with full of talent.I don't think that Thibs not wanting the job is any kind of insult. I think he'd just rather have the Minnesota job because their talent is amazing.

Eventually, the Kings will get 1 of the good coaches. Not sure who though.
Bingo!! Everyone wants to make this about negatives in regards to the Kings. In fact, if I were Tib's and I had the opportunity to choose between coaching Minny and the Kings, I'm taking the T Wolves. They have a young exciting roster that's only going to get better, and there's no drama involved. His decision will be more about how much he likes the T Wolves roster, than how much he dislikes the Kings roster. We have zero chance of getting Tib's here. Yes, we have a superstar in Cousins, but his rep around the league is as a coach killer. We may know the truth of the matter, but the perception is very damaging.

Vlade has his hands full trying to get anyone that's going to make us stand up and say, wow, amazing. how did he pull that off? Vlade's best bet is to look for a top assistant that's hungry for the chance to coach in the NBA, and hope he stumbles onto another Brad Stevens. Speaking of which, he has an assistant that's highly regarded in Jay Larranaga, who is noted for being a very good defensive minded coach. Just saying...