So Who In The Hell Will Our Coach Be?

[az1965]

I agree. Let the rebuilding begin. The only problem is we can't do much next two years.

 

[TheHopToad]

I do NOT want to see Kerr pulling double duty. I have no reason to believe that he can't do a good job but i don't want to hear any excuses a year down the road that being GM/HC was too much for him to truely showcase his coaching skills.

Not to mention that he would have to actually be there with the team. He can get away with being the GM from his home in San Diego, but it's pretty hard to coach the team and conduct practice from another state. Just ask Pat Riley.

 

[TRW]

Paul Silas...

for 2 years. Thibideau (sp?) to take over after the "Shaq years".

THat would be my best case scenario right now.

No Avery Johnson...listening to his voice would be enough to make me puke after every interview. Plus, don't think a championship will come with Avery at the helm. At least, it didn't with Dallas did it?

Except for Silas, who I think would be great with a veteran team, I don't want any of the retreads that always seem to get jobs. No thanks to Fratello, Van Gundy, Collins, Carlisle, Saunders (if Detroit fires him), etc. And also, no one from D'Antoni's staff need apply either.

I would be OK if they just hired Thibideau outright.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

for 2 years. Thibideau (sp?) to take over after the "Shaq years".

THat would be my best case scenario right now.

No Avery Johnson...listening to his voice would be enough to make me puke after every interview. Plus, don't think a championship will come with Avery at the helm. At least, it didn't with Dallas did it?

Except for Silas, who I think would be great with a veteran team, I don't want any of the retreads that always seem to get jobs. No thanks to Fratello, Van Gundy, Collins, Carlisle, Saunders (if Detroit fires him), etc. And also, no one from D'Antoni's staff need apply either.

I would be OK if they just hired Thibideau outright.

IMO it won't be Thibodeau, the new faux thought is that the Suns swing to defensive specialist and that would be a failure.

Kerr may want to turn this team into a Spurs hibrid but that won't work for very long if we are not winning championships. The reason is simple, Phoenix Suns fans always turn back to running, sure we go through phases (just like the 90's) where we think all defense is the answer, but after a very short period Suns fans demand exciting teams, and they vote with their feet.

the bottomline is Suns fans won't tolerate a non championship team 55 wins with a boring 1990's Knicks like team for very long and they will start dressing up as empty seats. It will only take 2 years of that before fans are like, meh I guess I don't like the defense thing that much, go back to running.

So Kerr has to hit this perfectly, he needs to find a coach that will not just preach defense but will also preach good offense and fun offense. I personally don't see a huge swing in philosophy like others do and I fully expect to see the Suns trying to recapture their running ways within 2 years.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

Kurt Rambis or Bill Laimbeer. Both would have instant respect from their playing days, and hopefully will mold the team in their image. Plus, I'd love to see Laimbeer show Amare how to play some D.

 

[Beaver]

Silas is my first choice to.

Your first choice to what?

Take a dump on your doorstep?

 

[BC867]

I suggested Paul Silas as Sr. Asst. Coach earlier in this thread.

If the Suns could utimately arrange that, it would pave the way for Eddie Johnson to step in as Head Coach, with Silas mentoring him.

As long as it's not John MacLead. Colangelo brought him back to mentor Scott Skiles and taught him all the wrong things.

MacLeod was the original D'Antoni. Ultra small-ball and very slow to react to situations. 'Hardly ever made things happen.

It's why the Suns are considered a passive team. And, as the Spurs have shown us repeatedly, the aggressive team gets the calls.

 

[mojorizen7]

Kurt Rambis or Bill Laimbeer. Both would have instant respect from their playing days, and hopefully will mold the team in their image. Plus, I'd love to see Laimbeer show Amare how to play some D.

Why isn't Laimbeer coaching in the NBA though? Red flag?
----------------------------------------------------------
Exactly how long has Rambis been waiting for an opportunity? It seems like decades.
Laker fan's.....who's next in line if/when PJ quits?

 

[JS22]

Your first choice to what?

Gramer poliece!

 

[mojorizen7]

I suggested Paul Silas as Sr. Asst. Coach earlier in this thread.

If the Suns could utimately arrange that, it would pave the way for Eddie Johnson to step in as Head Coach, with Silas mentoring him.

As long as it's not John MacLead. Colangelo brought him back to mentor Scott Skiles and taught him all the wrong things.

MacLeod was the original D'Antoni. Ultra small-ball and very slow to react to situations. 'Hardly ever made things happen.

It's why the Suns are considered a passive team. And, as the Spurs have shown us repeatedly, the aggressive team gets the calls.

That would be ideal IMO. Do you think that Silas would be willing to work under a rookie HC as an assistant though? I have my doubts.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

Why isn't Laimbeer coaching in the NBA though? Red flag?
----------------------------------------------------------
Exactly how long has Rambis been waiting for an opportunity? It seems like decades.
Laker fan's.....who's next in line if/when PJ quits?

I don't know if it's a red flag. The same could be said for anybody who's yet to get an NBA head coaching gig. I'd guess that Laimbeer doesn't want to leave the WNBA for anything other than a head coaching job, considering that he's one two championships there. Detroit was almost going to hire him, but they went with Flip for the experience.

 

[dodie53]

i have a crazy feeling our next coach will be avery johnson

 

[Lorenzo]

i have a crazy feeling our next coach will be avery johnson

that might not be a bad thing for phoenix. I like avery. I think he made some mistakes in dallas and lost touch with that team. but I think he has a lot of potential as a coach in the NBA. I don't know that avery is the right fit though...nor who is..

but avery has a relationship with nash. he will value the position enough to get nash a quality BUP. and he would push amare to elevate other areas of his game that are lacking. the key is for his players to relate to him and vice versa. I think that is what went wrong in dallas this year.

 

[Mainstreet]

that might not be a bad thing for phoenix. I like avery. I think he made some mistakes in dallas and lost touch with that team. but I think he has a lot of potential as a coach in the NBA. I don't know that avery is the right fit though...nor who is..

but avery has a relationship with nash. he will value the position enough to get nash a quality BUP. and he would push amare to elevate other areas of his game that are lacking. the key is for his players to relate to him and vice versa. I think that is what went wrong in dallas this year.

I never thought I would say this, but Avery would be a better choice that the other options I have heard mentioned.

Also Avery earned his career as a PG in the NBA the hard way. As I recall he was undrafted and bounced a round a bit as a FA until he found a more stable home in SA. I always wanted the Suns to pick him up back then. I think his toughness kind of projects an angry image which he needed to survive.

 

[Proteus]

Didn't Avery Johnson and Kidd not get along? I can see Nash having problems with Johnson as well due to way too much micromanagement.

Our offense would probably become a bunch of one on one isolations like Dallas. Ugh.

 

[Gaddabout]

The Doug Collins suggestion always makes my head spin. Doug Collins was:

- Fired in Chicago because he couldn't get beyond the second round with Michael Jordan. He was replaced by Phil Jackson.

- Fired in Detroit because he couldn't do anything in the playoffs despite having a young and healthy Grant Hill. He was replaced by Alvin Gentry.

- Fired in Washington because, well, they just stunk. Michael came out of retirement and couldn't save his career. IIRC, he was replaced by Eddie Jordan.

Collins is a very smart basketball mind, but it doesn't translate to winning head coach. He'd probably be much better in the scouting/management part of it.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

The Doug Collins suggestion always makes my head spin. Doug Collins was:

- Fired in Chicago because he couldn't get beyond the second round with Michael Jordan. He was replaced by Phil Jackson.

- Fired in Detroit because he couldn't do anything in the playoffs despite having a young and healthy Grant Hill. He was replaced by Alvin Gentry.

- Fired in Washington because, well, they just stunk. Michael came out of retirement and couldn't save his career. IIRC, he was replaced by Eddie Jordan.

Collins is a very smart basketball mind, but it doesn't translate to winning head coach. He'd probably be much better in the scouting/management part of it.

why is it surprising? basketball analysts are always the first thought for fans and the media. They are highly visible to fans and they get to listen to them second guess coaches without challange, while the media pimps these guys because they work with them.

 

[Greg Popovich]

I like AJ--but the rap on him is that he is too controlling. Apparently Dirk wanted him out and I can imagine Dirk would not be hesitatnt at all in alerting Nash as to all of AJ's foibles.

That is ashamed, too. AJ learned under Pop and Nellie. To a certain extent, Pop is a control freak too. You have to be with a young team and with a young point guard.

But this is not the Suns team. Nash does not need to be micro-managed.

 

[Kody Rumin]

Since New York has D'Antoni, let's take Isiah Thomas.




Joke, btw.

 

[Hat]

The Doug Collins suggestion always makes my head spin. Doug Collins was:

- Fired in Chicago because he couldn't get beyond the second round with Michael Jordan. He was replaced by Phil Jackson.

- Fired in Detroit because he couldn't do anything in the playoffs despite having a young and healthy Grant Hill. He was replaced by Alvin Gentry.

- Fired in Washington because, well, they just stunk. Michael came out of retirement and couldn't save his career. IIRC, he was replaced by Eddie Jordan.

Collins is a very smart basketball mind, but it doesn't translate to winning head coach. He'd probably be much better in the scouting/management part of it.

Most of the support personnel on those teams really did not contribute much (granted Bulls were good though). I just want him because he has coaching experience that is highly competitive against some other suggestions. A bunch of assistant coaches, other head coaches that got fired (Van Gundy, Gentry), and media personalities and ex-players (EJ?? C'mon now...)

 

[Bayless2Budinger]

Tom Thibodeau, Terry Porter

 

[SirStefan32]

I think it will come down to Tom Thibodeau or Alvin Gentry.

 

[Covert Rain]

I think it will come down to Tom Thibodeau or Alvin Gentry.

I want Tom. 10 out of 15 years that he has been coaching the team he was on was the top defensive team in the NBA. I doubt that is coincidence.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

All signs point to Gentry or Del Negro to me. This next coach is merely keeping the bench warm for Kerr,they are not going to pay 3 or 4 million for a guy that will be here 1 year before the rebuilding starts, in fact I still think there is a chance Kerr takes this job now. Thibodeau will go to the Bulls.

 

[AZ Sports Native]

Rudy T! Bring him out of retirement!