Kings interview Del Negro, Jackson and Mitchell for Head Coach position (Yahoo News)
- Thread starter Geoff
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Vincent Goodwill @vgoodwill
Coaching watch: The Kings have asked Pacers for permission to speak with assistant coach Nate McMillan once playoffs are over, sources say
Coaching watch: The Kings have asked Pacers for permission to speak with assistant coach Nate McMillan once playoffs are over, sources say
Unless it's when Indiana's playoffs are over, which could be tomorrow 
I'm guessing Vlade has already gauged the interest level of Blatt, McHale etc
Spurs assistants (Messina and/or Udoka) could be available to interview right now as they are between rounds and Walton could be available to interview if the Warriors win tonight.
Rumor was that a couple college coaches were on the list. If interested, they could interview at any time.
It's entirely possible that Vlade can get in all his coaching targets that have interest in the job quickly and make a decision soon after.
Maybe! Maybe Not!
Pacer's are probably done after 1st round. McMillan might be the guy that Vlade wanted all along. We just don't know. Knowing a little bit about how Vlade operates, I very much doubt that he would not have his list with rankings next to each of the candidates going from 1 down to however many he has on that list. Now the order might change based on a few factors but Vlade mostly knows these guys reasonably well. He has been around the NBA for 2 decades and has a pretty good handle on what these candidates are like.
Pacer's are probably done after 1st round. McMillan might be the guy that Vlade wanted all along. We just don't know. Knowing a little bit about how Vlade operates, I very much doubt that he would not have his list with rankings next to each of the candidates going from 1 down to however many he has on that list. Now the order might change based on a few factors but Vlade mostly knows these guys reasonably well. He has been around the NBA for 2 decades and has a pretty good handle on what these candidates are like.
Here is an interesting read from about a year ago contrasting Nate McMillan with Mike Malone: http://www.denverstiffs.com/2015/3/21/8254259/coachs-resume-examining-nate-mcmillan-and-mike-malone
Excerpt from the linked article"
"McMillan isn’t the type of guy to go out of his way to appease players or change his style to fit their preference.That strict style of leadership clashed with players like Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, and Andre Miller. Miller in particular hated McMillan's inflexible offense which didn't allow any room for his creative playmaking."
Excerpt from the linked article"
"McMillan isn’t the type of guy to go out of his way to appease players or change his style to fit their preference.That strict style of leadership clashed with players like Zach Randolph, Darius Miles, and Andre Miller. Miller in particular hated McMillan's inflexible offense which didn't allow any room for his creative playmaking."
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Absolutely agree.
My point is though that if we wanted to get him in why didnt we apply for the right to interview him or do whatever we needed to do to expedite the process.
I just dont want it to be another case of us shooting ourselves in the foot here by not doing what we needed to it.
If we were never serious about Walton then fine but i dont think that was the case.
Its moot now because we may as well strike him off the list given the laker interest but these are the things we need to change if we want to move forward as a franchise and start doing business in the right way.
My point is though that if we wanted to get him in why didnt we apply for the right to interview him or do whatever we needed to do to expedite the process.
I just dont want it to be another case of us shooting ourselves in the foot here by not doing what we needed to it.
If we were never serious about Walton then fine but i dont think that was the case.
Its moot now because we may as well strike him off the list given the laker interest but these are the things we need to change if we want to move forward as a franchise and start doing business in the right way.
Mate there is one thing in common with all the names that have been linked to us to date (i.e. Those that we have interviewed or have asked permission to interview), they have all been head coaches in their own right at some point in time. While Walton filled in for half a season he was never really a head coach in his own right. We are after an experienced coach who has been there and done that. Thats why names like Mirchell, Del Negro, McHale, McMillan etc keep popping up!
K
I think the problem was him and Roy (who at the time was like a top 5 SG) couldn't really play together effectively since both needed the ball/neither could stretch the floor (I hope Rondo does not comeback regardless) which is why Andre was used off the bench and I'm not really sure it confined him that much he was still super productive and had his career high game for Portland.
Oh there may be some nice, comforting articles about the likes of Del Negro or Woodson, but in a league dominated by coaches like Pop, Kerr, Budenholzer, Joerger or Stevens those names still feel like bringing a knife to a gunfight for me.
And the "defense is all that matters thing" is a popular misconception. Of course for the Kings the main focus needs to be on improving their defense, but we still need a coaching staff, that works both sides of the court.
And the "defense is all that matters thing" is a popular misconception. Of course for the Kings the main focus needs to be on improving their defense, but we still need a coaching staff, that works both sides of the court.
DeMarcus Cousins said the Kings would be a playoff team if Michael Malone were still here. Didn't hesitate.
Mike Woodson took over a last place Hawks team that won 13 games in his first season at head coach and 53 games in his last. They had the second best offensive rating in the league that year. He took over a dysfunctional Knicks team that was 6 games under .500 with D'Antoni and they went 18-6 to finish the season and made the playoffs. The following year he won 54 games and made it the second round (losing to Indiana in 6). That team had the third best offensive rating in the league. The point has never been that offense doesn't matter. The point has always been that if you can't defend than you can't win. And the head coach has to set the tone.
Intentionally or not you just listed 5 white guys as the only qualified coaches in the league. Can you actually quantify what it is about the guys that you listed which makes them more qualified than veteran coaches like McMillan, Woodson, or Mitchell (excepting Coach Pop of course who's on a whole other level)? These guys aren't retreads, they're respected assistant coaches in their own right who happen to have (successful) head coaching stints on their resume as well. Mike Woodson has coached two teams and led both of them to 50+ win seasons and playoff series wins. Nate McMillan has a winning record in 12 seasons as a head coach. He led Seattle to 52 wins and Portland to 54 wins. Sam Mitchell had Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and a bunch of nobodies and led them to 47 wins in Toronto. Certainly there are some young up-and-coming coaches worthy of the opportunity, but I'm not in a hurry to hand over the future of our team to another unproven head-coaching gamble when there are more qualified options available.
Intentionally or not you just listed 5 white guys as the only qualified coaches in the league. Can you actually quantify what it is about the guys that you listed which makes them more qualified than veteran coaches like McMillan, Woodson, or Mitchell (excepting Coach Pop of course who's on a whole other level)? These guys aren't retreads, they're respected assistant coaches in their own right who happen to have (successful) head coaching stints on their resume as well. Mike Woodson has coached two teams and led both of them to 50+ win seasons and playoff series wins. Nate McMillan has a winning record in 12 seasons as a head coach. He led Seattle to 52 wins and Portland to 54 wins. Sam Mitchell had Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and a bunch of nobodies and led them to 47 wins in Toronto. Certainly there are some young up-and-coming coaches worthy of the opportunity, but I'm not in a hurry to hand over the future of our team to another unproven head-coaching gamble when there are more qualified options available.
Want my best semi-educated guess?
Vlade knew Byron Scott was going to be fired and made the logical conclusion that the Lakers would likely go after Luke Walton as his successor.
Or...
Luke Walton isn't the direction in which Vlade wants to go.
Or...
We fans need to just wait and let the process evolve. Things didn't work out that well the last time the front office made a hiring based on our opinion.
Vlade knew Byron Scott was going to be fired and made the logical conclusion that the Lakers would likely go after Luke Walton as his successor.
Or...
Luke Walton isn't the direction in which Vlade wants to go.
Or...
We fans need to just wait and let the process evolve. Things didn't work out that well the last time the front office made a hiring based on our opinion.
