Avery and Mike D Fired?

hoopsfan

hoopsfan

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Breaking news....

Avery Johnson has reportedly been fired.

Mod note: link to non-accredited blog removed

Wow...that was fast.
 
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jack_mccallum/04/30/suns.dantonio/index.html?eref=T1

According to CNNSI D'antoni is gone.

Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2004-05 season and the man credited with re-invigorating fast-break basketball in a league gone stale, will not be back to coach the Phoenix Suns for the 2008-09 season, SI.com has learned.

D'Antoni deferred questions about his job status after the Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in Alamo City. "I'm just really proud of my guys," D'Antoni said after the Spurs' 92-87 win that marked the third time in four years that San Antonio has ended the Suns' season. He did not address his own situation. But sources within the organization confirm that D'Antoni feels he does not have the backing of upper management--specifically owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr -- and considers the situation irredeemable.

The Suns have long been one of the NBA's model franchises, and both D'Antoni and Kerr, for whatever differences they might have about the direction of the team, are respected around the league. It's hard to believe, then, that D'Antoni's situation would devolve into an ugly, protracted war, New York Knicks style.

How exactly the scenario unfolds depends largely on whether or not D'Antoni gets another job offer. The most palatable scenario for all in Phoenix would be: Team A asks the Suns for permission to talk to D'Antoni, who has two years left on his contract; Suns say OK; D'Antoni interviews and is hired.
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According to posters on other boards who claim their source is espn radio in dallas, Avery Johnson got the sack as well.

EDIT: PLEASE do not post links to other forums, especially when the information is unconfirmed and purely rumor. -- VF21
 
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I'm leaving this but not because it's necessarily true... I'm leaving it pending further confirmation.

I seriously doubt if there were any firings done tonight. That would be pretty silly...
 
Forget silly, its downright dastardly. At least give the guys a chance to leave the Arenas. Does anyone see them taking each others places?
 
I added part of the article to your OP. As you can see, it's speculation by McCallum (the author of the piece) who says he's learned the situation in Phoenix is "irredeemable."

There's a big difference between a firing and what has actually been said...
 
you are right, until Steve Kerr or Sarver announce Pringles is gone than its nothing but speculation.
 
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RKid said:
Forget silly, its downright dastardly. At least give the guys a chance to leave the Arenas. Does anyone see them taking each others places?
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Phoenix might be better off with a more defensive coach like Avery and I could see Kidd+Dirk fitting more in a Mike D style uptempo offense. I don't remember where I read it but I heard somewhere that NY might go after D'Antoni. TO be honest I think he deserves to be fired. He didn't use their bench well, he can't coach defense, and he is just an overrated coach IMO. He's lucky he's had Nash. Sucks that Phoenix is done though, I really enjoyed watching them for the last 4 years. Reminds me of our Kings from 02:(
 
Quite interesting. Wouldn't mind Pringles on the Kings ship... we might start to be an exciting team again. And it's not like he would have to worry about defense, we never had any to begin with.
 
BMiller52 said:
rofl Pringles? Where'd you get that nickname? I dunno why but I think it's hilarious.
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pringles%20logo%2031.gif
sports.jpg
 
pkballr said:
Quite interesting. Wouldn't mind Pringles on the Kings ship... we might start to be an exciting team again. And it's not like he would have to worry about defense, we never had any to begin with.
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Would the maloofs pull the plug on reggie one year into his gig? If the maloofs tossed reggie wouldnt their reputations and credibility in nba coaching circles go down the drain?

Besides I attribute Phoenix success more to Nash being there than D'antoni.
 
It's management's fault, not the coach's, in Phoenix. Imagine if they had kept Kurt Thomas instead of paying Seattle, and kept their draft picks instead of selling them off? They would have actually had a decent interior defender (without the panicky Shaq trade) and could have had a good bench (Deng and Rondo were some of their picks they sold a few years ago, I believe, among others). Yes, the salary cap was a concern, but why give such horrendous extensions to guys like Boris Diaw?
 
I think he ends up in Toronto. Sam Mitchell was never Colangelos choice to coach there in begin with, and hey. At this point why not.
 
It's not D'Antoni's fault that Sarver is a cheapskate. The Suns owner won't pony up the dough for a decent bench...you can't win the finals with a streaky 7-man rotation these days.

Also, the Shaq trade was a pretty dumb move as well. The Suns would have beaten the Spurs last year if Horry hadn't pulled a few moves. This year they simply needed a bench, but apparently Sarver thought that Brian Skinner would complement Eric Piatowski and Sean Marks quite well.

As for Avery...again, not his fault. He's got an aging core, and the Mavs gave up too much for the Kidd trade. Perhaps a new coach will be a nice sparkplug for the team, but I doubt it.

Two great coaches up for grabs, folks...
 
It was time for Avery to go after the finals collapse and last year. The Kidd trade hurt them, but Avery also under utilized Kidd. This is why I didn't want Kidd. Unless you have the right players around him and the right offense, he's not the same player.

D'Antoni on the other hand probably deserved another year to see what he can do. Unlike Avery, he did try to fit Shaq in. It hurt the team, but if anyone is to blame it's management for making the trade. D'Antoni is IMO, overrated, but there's no doubt he's the reason behind all their recent success. Removing him would be a step back, and without significant changes in personal, I don't see how anyone could do any better.

I wouldn't want either to coach the Kings.
 
I do not think the overused word "great" should be so easily given to Avery or D'Antoni considering their mediocre playoff records. Maybe they would be considered good coaches, but great should belong to a select class of coaches who have won NBA titles, if not several.
 
PurpleHaze said:
I do not think the overused word "great" should be so easily given to Avery or D'Antoni considering their mediocre playoff records. Maybe they would be considered good coaches, but great should belong to a select class of coaches who have won NBA titles, if not several.
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Sometimes, great can be masked by luck and/ or getting into a nice situation. Im not saying that either is great, but I think a coach or player for that matter can be great without winning a championship.
 
Heuge said:
I'll take either over Theus.
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It's a damn shame that either of them get the boot, but you bring up an interesting point. I don't see Theus leaving after only one year, but I sure hope the Maloofs don't screw up like they did with the Phil Jackson/Adelman debacle.
 
Heuge said:
I'll take either over Theus.
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I wouldn't...currently our bigger problem is the players, not the coach.

I do not think the overused word "great" should be so easily given to Avery or D'Antoni considering their mediocre playoff records. Maybe they would be considered good coaches, but great should belong to a select class of coaches who have won NBA titles, if not several.
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Good point and couldn't agree with you more. However, everybody's got different values attached to certain words and my previous post was typed in a hurry...

Sounds like D'Antoni may not be out after all?
 
I have generally assumed all along that Reggie would get the second year (at least to start -- its not uncommon for young coaches to get off to bad starts in year #2 and get the axe midseason). In fact I still think that is what happens. But when you have coaches hit the market who have actually coached contending teams -- not guys who talk a good game, but guys who have actually win 60 games, been in the Finals/Conference Finals etc. -- that does make it interesting. I assume Reggie will still be back, but here's the thing: if he does come back, and then things don't go well and we have to fire him, young(ish) coaches of the caliber of Avery/D'Antoni might not be out there on the market anymore. And then we again pay for doing the hesitate and miss your opportunity thing that we have been doing again and again and again in our descending years.
 
Heuge said:
I'll take either over Theus.
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Let's see, that would mean eating remaining year of Reggie's contract with around $1.5-2.0 million left (plus third year option). Not to mention, continuing to pay Musselman remainder of his laughing all the way to the bank $7.0 million contract.

No way Theus is not head coach of the Kings next season. He deserves to show what he can do with some stability and presumably a better hand dealt next year.
 
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