Kings interview Del Negro, Jackson and Mitchell for Head Coach position (Yahoo News)

IfAt1st

IfAt1st

Starter
#331
#331
I didn;t follow his career too closely, but IMO Ewing was one of the least-smart superstars of his time, and possibly of the modern era.

IMO he was anointed a star from college, and gifted beneficial calls on the court which allowed him to post good stats, but didn't step up when it counted, showing his true colors.

I believe he just cruised on natural ability, and beneficial treatment from being in New York.

He is one of the LAST kinds of guy I'd want being a coach of any kind.
Not cerebral or teaching enough to figure out how other people (not himself) would be accomplishing things on the court.

Truthfully, I'm shocked he's even employed as a coach.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#332
#332
miltonap said:
I heard he's not very intelligent?
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One of two problems. His rep has not been known as a brainiac. And he also was never a leader. A grumpy distant persona, almost an heir to Kareem's aloofness.

The attractions are obvious. Good coaching experiences, all time player and big man, ferocious defensive focus both in playing days and coaching days. All good things. But what if he's still a grouchy and selfish guy as a coach? And one without any great acumen for the game?

I get why the name comes up, I really do. But I would much rather us take a safer route -- if the safer routes will have us of course -- and hire a guy who we KNOW can win with the right personnel. Then line up personalities and known systems/styles.
 
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King Baller

King Baller

All-Star
#336
#336
Here is a little story about Patrick Ewing:

Excerpt:

"The Knicks had their franchise player to draw the celebrities to Madison Square Garden again, but they didn’t have a prima donna who skirted his responsibilities or ran from the scrutiny of a demanding media market. Then-Knicks teammate Ernie Grunfeld recalls how veterans still made the rookie carry basketballs and the projector for film sessions — and that Ewing obliged without complaint.

“All the years I was with him, he was never late. He always practiced hard,” said Grunfeld, who later ran the Knicks before becoming president of the Washington Wizards. “Even though he was making more money than the rest of the team put together, he still never acted big-time.”

At his first practice as head coach of the Knicks in 1991, Pat Riley wanted to make sure his players were in top condition while establishing a hard-nose culture. Riley held a three-hour practice that crescendoed when a huge fight broke out. He finally called his players in after feeling he had exhausted them. Ewing walked up to his new coach — a self-described “hard ass” — and said, “Is that all you got?”

Link--> https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...cb2e9a-acac-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html
 
King Baller

King Baller

All-Star
#337
#337
Another excerpt:

"Only 18 players 6-foot-9 or taller have been given the chance to become NBA coaches, with Houston’s Kevin McHale the only active big man pacing the sidelines. In the past two offseasons, Ewing has seen guards Jason Kidd and Derek Fisher go directly from their playing careers to high-profile coaching jobs in Brooklyn and New York, respectively, and Steve Kerr get the Golden State job after working in the broadcast booth.

“He’s a smart player. He’s a great leader. But you very seldom hear intelligence associated with height in the NBA or in college. Therefore, they think that the people who are thinking on the floor all the time are guards. Patrick is suffering from that,” Thompson said. “You know what I respect most of all about him? He didn’t just expect you to just bring him in. He deserves an opportunity to coach. It wasn’t like he took the lazy approach, because my name is so-and-so.”

Ewing won’t begrudge anyone for getting an opportunity, but he will continue to grind until he gets one. “I’m still working. I’m still involved in the game. It’s just like playing without being out there scoring, rebounding and blocking shots,” Ewing said. “I’m trying to get better at my craft. For whatever reason it is, be it that I’m a big man, or whatever it is, they feel that a guard is more capable of leading a team. . . . My goal right now is to help the Hornets make the playoffs and, one day, be good enough to win a championship.”
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#338
#338
pdxKingsFan said:
I was never a Ewing fan but damn, that's a pretty harsh assessment.
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The Knicks were my second team in the 90s. Actually really effectively my first team through most of them as I saw a hell of a lot more of them than I did the Kings. Don't even know if they had league pass back then. As I was in school, couldn't have afforded it anyway. Used to hang out on some very active (and brutal) Knicks boards in the early days of the internet. Knew those teams very well. Things about Ewing that most people don't remember. Like his notorious tendency to not outlet the ball off the d-glass and kill his own team's fast breaks because he wanted to come down and be involved in the play. He wasn't terribly willing to pass the ball at any point really. He was absolutely a tough dude, but that team had a collective tough guy consciousness, not a vocal leader. If they had one it was probably Oakley. More realistically it was Riley, and then later JVG just acting as an elected leader.

In any case, Ewing was not a terribly saavy player. A great one, but one missing the extra magic plays, the clever plays, the unique plays. Its not an absolute disqualifier, but an article professing to be mystified why other players get chosen as coaches is being intentionally obtuse. Guys like JKidd or Fisher were players known for smarts and saavy. Teams gamble that they will have that as coaches too. If those Knicks had a reason for not ever getting over the top, it might have been precisely that they didn't have enough smart players able to make the right play and the clutch shot at any time. All heart, not always many brains, at least not any under the age of 35.

My assessment hardly goes against the main line of thought on Ewing. This is precisely why he has never gotten a head coaching shot. It doesn't mean everybody is right, but its the story and the concern, particularly in our situation where you really can't miss.

I do think if we hired him there are enough positive traits to grasp onto and hope, but unless, and this is a possibility, but unless nobody who has PROVEN they can win and get along with players wants the job, why risk it? We don't actually need our home run championship coach here. We just need our dram-free right the ship, connect with Cuz, make the playoffs a few times coach. Ewing would be more the guy we could have hired when we hired Malone to establish culture and connect with a young Cuz.
 
King Baller

King Baller

All-Star
#339
#339
The coaching profession does seem to be skewed in favor of former guards. Not sure why and I'm not sure it matters why. My preference is McHale, Woodson or Vinny from the retread group. Funky had me sold on Ime Udoka if Vlade chooses from the assistant group. I have been watching the Spurs bench and for me it is hard to judge the assistants there. The group of players they have assembled is pretty impressive. I'm not sure where The Big Fella out of Georgetown fits in. I would not mind seeing him on the Kings bench in an assistant role. He is one of the few former All Stars in the Coaching ranks.
 
pdxKingsFan

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
#359
#359
Bricklayer said:
The Knicks were my second team in the 90s. Actually really effectively my first team through most of them as I saw a hell of a lot more of them than I did the Kings. Don't even know if they had league pass back then. As I was in school, couldn't have afforded it anyway. Used to hang out on some very active (and brutal) Knicks boards in the early days of the internet. Knew those teams very well. Things about Ewing that most people don't remember. Like his notorious tendency to not outlet the ball off the d-glass and kill his own team's fast breaks because he wanted to come down and be involved in the play. He wasn't terribly willing to pass the ball at any point really. He was absolutely a tough dude, but that team had a collective tough guy consciousness, not a vocal leader. If they had one it was probably Oakley. More realistically it was Riley, and then later JVG just acting as an elected leader.

In any case, Ewing was not a terribly saavy player. A great one, but one missing the extra magic plays, the clever plays, the unique plays. Its not an absolute disqualifier, but an article professing to be mystified why other players get chosen as coaches is being intentionally obtuse. Guys like JKidd or Fisher were players known for smarts and saavy. Teams gamble that they will have that as coaches too. If those Knicks had a reason for not ever getting over the top, it might have been precisely that they didn't have enough smart players able to make the right play and the clutch shot at any time. All heart, not always many brains, at least not any under the age of 35.

My assessment hardly goes against the main line of thought on Ewing. This is precisely why he has never gotten a head coaching shot. It doesn't mean everybody is right, but its the story and the concern, particularly in our situation where you really can't miss.

I do think if we hired him there are enough positive traits to grasp onto and hope, but unless, and this is a possibility, but unless nobody who has PROVEN they can win and get along with players wants the job, why risk it? We don't actually need our home run championship coach here. We just need our dram-free right the ship, connect with Cuz, make the playoffs a few times coach. Ewing would be more the guy we could have hired when we hired Malone to establish culture and connect with a young Cuz.
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I was in Boston during this time, one of my best buds was a huge Knicks fan and I was one of the few living off campus so he'd come over regularly and force me into watching Knicks games. It's actually how the Celtics became tolerable to me, no LP so Kings games maybe once a season, I remember like 10 times in that magical 1995 season.

Always disliked him, but those Knicks teams were kind of a mess. Riley and JVG were about the only time in my life that the Knicks wasn't as disorganized as the Kings were without Adelman. No way do I think he is coach material for our team, I don't even really think he'd make a great assistant for Cuz since their games aren't really the same and it was a completely different era. Can I go back to how much I hated Knicks basketball at the time? So definite pass, I just think he's a guy that I respect a little more the longer he's been away from the game, perhaps because my dislike for him during his playing days was at an all time high.
 
bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#360
#360
King Baller said:
The coaching profession does seem to be skewed in favor of former guards. Not sure why and I'm not sure it matters why. My preference is McHale, Woodson or Vinny from the retread group. Funky had me sold on Ime Udoka if Vlade chooses from the assistant group. I have been watching the Spurs bench and for me it is hard to judge the assistants there. The group of players they have assembled is pretty impressive. I'm not sure where The Big Fella out of Georgetown fits in. I would not mind seeing him on the Kings bench in an assistant role. He is one of the few former All Stars in the Coaching ranks.
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Why guards in general, and ex-point guards in particular end up being coaches in the NBA is simple. The PG is the floor leader. He's an extension of the coach to some degree. He's the guy calling out the plays and setting things up. You look around the NBA and a high percentage of coaches were PG's at some point in time. It's more of a natural transition than from being a center in the league.
 
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