rhythmless
Starter
While there is always a "Fire Keith Smart" thread around here somewhere, the quickest retort to squelch true debate is to hire whom? Nate McMillan, JVG, SVG, and Sloan are pretty much the only accepted and proven upgrades. For reasons I'm not going to get into, none besides McMillan seem to be possible. And while it's all well and good to want to get rid of Smart, we don't have the necessary funds to land a coach that deserves a contract of 4M+/year. We've been paying coaches 2M per year, at our own detriment. But I digress
Who's Mike Budenholzer? Assistant head coach for the Spurs under Pop.
He's been one of Popovich's assistant coach since 1996 and was hired by Pop in '94. He's a true product of the Spurs, and has been there long enough to know most of what goes on and how they've had such success with their personnel. Recently he met for the Warriors head coaching position before they gave it to Mark Jackson, so we know he's at least interested in being a head coach.
The Spurs draft well, draft diligently, put in time to develop their players, and define roles for all of their players. They are the model of small market basketball consistency. Yes, they lucked out with Duncan. But they took freewheeling temperamental Tony Parker and turned him into a model of efficiency and a good floor general. They took oft injured Manu and have managed him well. They've been able to draft low picks and make them valuable reserves that represent what a team should be about. They grabbed Leonard (whom I wanted us to draft) with suspect 3pt shooting coming into the draft. He's now sitting on a 37% career 3pt fg%. Prototypical height, great athleticism, giant hands, defensive minded, hits the corner 3. Sound like someone we would like? Spurs make that happen, while we overpay for trash and let them do whatever they want.
The problem with us hasn't been talent. We've sucked a long time and have been rewarded with high picks. We just waste the talent and don't provide them the necessary guidance (strong guidance) to grow up and be better players. I think bringing in a product of the Spurs philosophy would do wonders for us, as long as we allow him free reign to mold the team how he sees fit. The personnel we have isn't even that different than the Spurs of the last 15 years: Dominant less athletic center, and lead guard that can't shoot a lick and is inconsistent. If you want to call MT a Manu lite, go right ahead. I just think we need a coach to stop jerking people around and lay out a plan for these kids to stick to, while holding everyone accountable.
Who's Mike Budenholzer? Assistant head coach for the Spurs under Pop.
He's been one of Popovich's assistant coach since 1996 and was hired by Pop in '94. He's a true product of the Spurs, and has been there long enough to know most of what goes on and how they've had such success with their personnel. Recently he met for the Warriors head coaching position before they gave it to Mark Jackson, so we know he's at least interested in being a head coach.
The Spurs draft well, draft diligently, put in time to develop their players, and define roles for all of their players. They are the model of small market basketball consistency. Yes, they lucked out with Duncan. But they took freewheeling temperamental Tony Parker and turned him into a model of efficiency and a good floor general. They took oft injured Manu and have managed him well. They've been able to draft low picks and make them valuable reserves that represent what a team should be about. They grabbed Leonard (whom I wanted us to draft) with suspect 3pt shooting coming into the draft. He's now sitting on a 37% career 3pt fg%. Prototypical height, great athleticism, giant hands, defensive minded, hits the corner 3. Sound like someone we would like? Spurs make that happen, while we overpay for trash and let them do whatever they want.
The problem with us hasn't been talent. We've sucked a long time and have been rewarded with high picks. We just waste the talent and don't provide them the necessary guidance (strong guidance) to grow up and be better players. I think bringing in a product of the Spurs philosophy would do wonders for us, as long as we allow him free reign to mold the team how he sees fit. The personnel we have isn't even that different than the Spurs of the last 15 years: Dominant less athletic center, and lead guard that can't shoot a lick and is inconsistent. If you want to call MT a Manu lite, go right ahead. I just think we need a coach to stop jerking people around and lay out a plan for these kids to stick to, while holding everyone accountable.
