Who would you like to coach the Suns next season?

Who would you like to coach the Suns next season?


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WildBB

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I wonder what Booker will have to say about it. Players aren't responding well or meshing or playing solid all around, obviously.
 

Errntknght

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Summarizing the candidates that been put forward...
Calipari
Becky Hammon
Thibs
Kidd
Monte Williams
Pitino

No concenus though Hammon has been seconded three times and Calipari once.
Thibs and Kidd are without jobs (I think) so they would probably be more willing to take an offer than Calipari or Pitino. Monte Williams, I don't know about... any reason to think he'd take the job?
 

1Sun

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Summarizing the candidates that been put forward...
Calipari
Becky Hammon
Thibs
Kidd
Monte Williams
Pitino

No concenus though Hammon has been seconded three times and Calipari once.
Thibs and Kidd are without jobs (I think) so they would probably be more willing to take an offer than Calipari or Pitino. Monte Williams, I don't know about... any reason to think he'd take the job?

Pitino wants back in the NBA. He expressly took the job in Europe as a stepping stone for that purpose.
 

JerkFace

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Summarizing the candidates that been put forward...
Calipari
Becky Hammon
Thibs
Kidd
Monte Williams
Pitino

No concenus though Hammon has been seconded three times and Calipari once.
Thibs and Kidd are without jobs (I think) so they would probably be more willing to take an offer than Calipari or Pitino. Monte Williams, I don't know about... any reason to think he'd take the job?

Monte is currently an assistant with the 76ers. After his wife died he stayed away from the bench (worked in the Spurs front office). But the fact that he took an assistant coaching job this past season probably indicates he is will to take on a head coaching job again (imo).
 

High Stakes

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Becky hamon? Jkidd? Thibs?

You crazy.

I like....

Jay wright
David vanderpool
Luke Walton
Frank Vogel
Bill self
Thunder dan
Eddie Johnson

For GM
Steal Elton brand
Steve Nash
 

JerkFace

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If we move away from Igor I can’t see how we can hire another coach without any head coaching experience. Maybe I could see a college coach, but no way on another first timer.
 

Folster

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I voted Igor. I think he is a good coach and I'm not going to judge him this year due to management instability (firing McD before the season) and poor roster construction (no point guard).

Also, there is no way a legitimate coach even entertains the Suns if we fire another coach after one season. None of the coaches that people have mentioned would even interview.
 

Matt L

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I voted Igor. I think he is a good coach and I'm not going to judge him this year due to management instability (firing McD before the season) and poor roster construction (no point guard).

Also, there is no way a legitimate coach even entertains the Suns if we fire another coach after one season. None of the coaches that people have mentioned would even interview.

I don't think he is a good coach right now but I am hoping that he is learning this season and will be able to grow into a decent coach. That said, they need a GM that can get some complementary pieces in this off season.
 
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1tinsoldier

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If we move away from Igor I can’t see how we can hire another coach without any head coaching experience. Maybe I could see a college coach, but no way on another first timer.

i agree. but if you believe more damage will be done without change
and Sarver will only make the change if it isn't expensive,
you start considering all options
 

GatorAZ

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EJ would never commit to the coaching lifestyle but it’s an interesting idea. I don’t think he would ever leave Gonzaga but Mark Few always seems to have complete teams. They overachieve and he’s starting to put guys in the league. Calipari is still my #1 but you’d have to make him a top-5 paid coach and give him full control. Dreaming is free.
 
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1tinsoldier

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I don't think he is a good coach right now but I am hoping that he is learning this season and will be able to grow into a decent coach...
fair enough
but i don't see any signs that he's learning
every time i do hear or see something new about his coaching
it makes little sense to me
it's as if he learned little from his 18 years of coaching experience he already has

even if time could repair his judgement
how many more years might it take?
 

BC867

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I voted Igor. I think he is a good coach and I'm not going to judge him this year due to management instability (firing McD before the season) and poor roster construction (no point guard).
Sometimes that is the best time to judge a coach. To see if he is proactive, flexible and responsive to the situation. Igor is a good coach. But not a good Head Coach ... in the NBA. Which he has never been before.

Also, there is no way a legitimate coach even entertains the Suns if we fire another coach after one season. None of the coaches that people have mentioned would even interview.
IF we get an experience General Manager, every legitimate Head Coach will understand his wanting to choose his own.

Even now, do you think that all NBA personnel do not recognize that Igor is passive, inflexible, previously unproven and out of place. They are not naive. They know it a lot better than we do.

Unfortunately, they also know that Server hires bargain basement personnel. That is the problem.
 

Matt L

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fair enough
but i don't see any signs that he's learning
every time i do hear or see something new about his coaching
it makes little sense to me
it's as if he learned little from his 18 years of coaching experience he already has

even if time could repair his judgement
how many more years might it take?

I would say we should have a good idea by the end of next year.

Going through the list of coaches who are available or mentioned in prior posts, I think Hammond is intriguing. I think Thibs' philosophy is not going to work in the current NBA. I think Luke Walton is going to be similar to Igor. Jay Wright is intriguing too but I don't know why he would come to the Suns when he has a pretty good gig and the Suns are so dysfunctional. I think that is a bigger reason why the Suns can't get a good coach, the front office is a mess and any experienced head coach would pass on working for Sarver and whoever else in the front office is trying to steer this clown car.
 

sunsfan88

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Who knows, Sarver might hire her just to have something to point to where he beat out other owners - the first one to do something.
He doesn’t have to worry about that, I’m sure he’s the first NBA owner to flap his arms like a chicken to an opposing NBA coach.

Probably doesn’t count for anything though.
 

elindholm

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Also, there is no way a legitimate coach even entertains the Suns if we fire another coach after one season. None of the coaches that people have mentioned would even interview.

But how much do coaches care if they get fired? They get paid for the duration of their contract (right?), and firing is so commonplace that it can't be a stigma.

Eighteen of the league's 30 head coaches have been in their jobs for three years or less. There are ten(!!) who have been on the job for less time than Kokoskov has with the Suns. Short relationships are normal, and Kokoskov is already on the verge of beating the odds.

If I'm a head coach, I don't mind the prospect of the Suns if the main issue is longevity. Sure, I'll get fired in a year or two, but if they're going to pay me for at least three, I'm happy. The bigger concern with the Suns is that the roster is a long way from being competitive, and the front office takes two steps backward for every step they accidentally make forward.
 

Errntknght

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The closest thing we have to a concensus seems to be: Our current FO cannot hire a decent coach.

Assuming that is true, I'd be interested to know how many people think we should fire Igor anyway and just keep scraping the bottom of the barrel until somebody accepts the job?
Of course, some people might disagree with the assumption, meaning, they think there is at least a slim chance the current FO could hire someone better than Igor and think it's worth the risk of firing Igor.
 

Hoop Head

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The closest thing we have to a concensus seems to be: Our current FO cannot hire a decent coach.

Assuming that is true, I'd be interested to know how many people think we should fire Igor anyway and just keep scraping the bottom of the barrel until somebody accepts the job?
Of course, some people might disagree with the assumption, meaning, they think there is at least a slim chance the current FO could hire someone better than Igor and think it's worth the risk of firing Igor.

This poll was slanted from the start. I don't think it really makes the case for firing Igor because who here wouldn't rather have a more experienced coach like Budenholzer coaching the Suns? I remember when he interviewed that virtually everyone was in agreement that it would be a good hire. When Igor ultimately was hired after Budenholzer passed though I don't recall any strong objections. I don't think anyone here other than a handful of posters think that Igor should be fired. Whether Igor should be fired or not is a completely different question though and not one we really need to get into because it makes little sense to debate it because for the most everyone's mind has been made up for months.

Igor's been given a crap roster and has had a job babysit a bunch of 19-22 year olds this year with the exception of Grandpa Crawford, who is only here because Jones signed him right at the beginning of the season, and a couple of other old players who had quit before the season started like Ariza and Chandler. Igor's had an uphill battle this year and to judge his coaching based on how this team was constructed is not a clear picture of what he's capable of as a coach, IMO. There's a reason that Pop, Doc Rivers, Gentry, Quinn Snyder, and many other top coaches in the league speak so highly of him. I'll take their word over what they say about Igor as a coach over some posters here who felt like we should be competing for something other than pingpong balls.
 

AzStevenCal

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I still think there's a fair chance that Koko will become the best coach we've ever had. The other side of that coin is it leaves a lot of room for him to be one of the worst also. I have no idea whether he's a good coach. I also have no idea how anyone can be CERTAIN that he isn't.

There aren't any NBA people I'm aware of that believe we have an actual NBA roster and until that happens, judging him is pure guesswork IMO. I'm not in love with what I've seen of his offense or the growth of some of the players but it's not like we really have historical examples to turn to when evaluating this kiddie squad. It's a real mess.
 
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1tinsoldier

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The closest thing we have to a concensus seems to be: Our current FO cannot hire a decent coach.

Assuming that is true, I'd be interested to know how many people think we should fire Igor anyway and just keep scraping the bottom of the barrel until somebody accepts the job?
Of course, some people might disagree with the assumption, meaning, they think there is at least a slim chance the current FO could hire someone better than Igor and think it's worth the risk of firing Igor.

i agree that Sarver is an incompetent owner and i don't have faith in Jones.
but even incompetence does not preclude them from hiring a good coach in the future
Igor himself, was not an incompetent hire, since he didn't have a history as a head coach.
but he was a cheap hire, and a high-risk hire, since no other team was interested in promoting him or hiring him in 17 years

incompetence does enter the equation, however, in giving him a 3 year contract

regardless, even Sarver may have learned his lesson and be willing to invest in a good coach now,
or, even if not, he could take a risk on another relatively cheap hire, like Becky Hammon, and get lucky.
and some of us believe just about any replacement coach would be a better risk than another year of this.

this poll, however, pertains only to him, not his replacement. it is especially helpful considering that some continue to insist that only a couple of posters would like to see him replaced, when in truth, it is the majority opinion
 
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BC867

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There aren't any NBA people I'm aware of that believe we have an actual NBA roster and until that happens, judging him is pure guesswork IMO. I'm not in love with what I've seen of his offense or the growth of some of the players but it's not like we really have historical examples to turn to when evaluating this kiddie squad. It's a real mess.
Excellent point! Which is why I've posted, in effect, that the current regime firing still another bargain basement Coach would be another admission of failure.

Whereas bringing in a legitimate General Manager, who would in turn choose his own new Head Coach, would be a logical example of progress.

One without the other, either way, wouldn't change the image of the Suns. Or provide both a balanced roster and a Coach with the experience to get the most out of it.

GM and Head Coach, GM and Head Coach go together like a horse and carriage. With apologies to Francis Albert Sinatra. Or Married With Children. ('Sorry to the young guys who won't get the reference.) :rolleyes:
 
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1tinsoldier

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indeed, the best scenario for all
new GM hires new coach
the sooner the better
 
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1tinsoldier

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...the poll is now 7 to 5 in favor of Igor coaching next season
if the majority vote 1 week from now is not in favor of replacing him next season
i will never post here again...

well, 7 days have passed and the poll is 17 to 15 against keeping Igor

my next prediction:
when the day comes, the poll
Do You Approve of Igor Being Fired?
will be at least 27 to 5 in approval,
regardless of who the replacement is
 

Phrazbit

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well, 7 days have passed and the poll is 17 to 15 against keeping Igor

my next prediction:
when the day comes, the poll
Do You Approve of Igor Being Fired?
will be at least 27 to 5 in approval,
regardless of who the replacement is

I really doubt it will be "regardless" of the replacement. If we're targeting someone with experience in the NBA, then I think people will be happy, if we're targeting someone who Sarver would have to dish out money to if they want to lure away from their current job (like Jay Wright) then people will be happy. But if Sarver fires Igor and replaces him with a terrible retread (like Monty Williams) or a wildly inexperienced assistant, then I think people will see very little difference in the situation.

I'm far more concerned with the GM. I want us to hire a real GM, someone with respect and experience, let them evaluate Igor and replace him if need be.

If we fire Igor and let Sarver/Jones hire the replacement then I think it will continue our devolution and instability.
 
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