Suns sign Watson to 3 year deal

[sunsfan88]

https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/722502375521574913

 

[sunsfan88]

I expected this especially after this came out

“(The Suns job) is way down the list,” Windhorst said on Burns & Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “Way down the list, and that’s probably why Earl Watson is going to get the job.

“If they go out competing for the top coaches I don’t know if they can get one.”

The Suns finished the 2015-16 season with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, and although they had to deal with injuries to significant players, they still don’t have an attractive roster compared to other open positions according to Windhorst.

There are also questions about the top members of the Suns organization.

“If you look at the organizational structure and the talent level, those would not be considered as positives,” Windorst said.

“There’s not people beating down the door to go work for Robert Sarver.”

http://arizonasports.com/story/6312...wn-the-list-of-teams-with-a-coaching-vacancy/

 

[Mainstreet]

I thought this was thread worthy so I'm glad one was started.

The Suns will have a 3 p.m. press conference to announce the signing.

Paul Coro ‏@paulcoro 15s15 seconds ago

Earl Watson signed a three-year contract to remain the Suns' 17th head coach. He and Ryan McDonough will speak at a 3 p.m. press conference.

It seemed like this news was rolled out very quickly. I wonder if there were any other immediate factors involved.

https://twitter.com/paulcoro

 

[crisper57]

How many games will they win under Watson next season? My guess below:

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[slinslin]

Windhorst is a gigantic douche who frankly has no idea what is going on in the NBA at all.

Watson got the job because he did a very good job.

Much better to get Watson than ugh Mark Jackson or David Blatt.

 

[overseascardfan]

Over / under he makes it past Year 2 of contract?

I was hoping for someone with credentials but the owner would have to not be Sarver to garner interest.

Sarver must know he is joke in NBA circles, why not sell, make a huge profit and cease to be a laughing stock?

 

[Absolute Zero]

Sarver must know he is joke in NBA circles, why not sell, make a huge profit and cease to be a laughing stock?

Yes please.

 

[Mainstreet]

I read the Brian Windhorst article before. I never bought the lack of talent argument. The Suns have some talent and they are positioned to add more minimally through the draft. IMO, the Suns were not likely wanting to turn over control to Tom Thibodeau.

There may be something to some coaches not wanting to work for Robert Sarver. I don't know. However, I think the Suns primary constraint in their search for a head coach is likely their unwillingness to pay for a known coach. I will be interested in what the Suns pay Earl watson.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Over / under he makes it past Year 2 of contract?

I was hoping for someone with credentials but the owner would have to not be Sarver to garner interest.

Sarver must know he is joke in NBA circles, why not sell, make a huge profit and cease to be a laughing stock?

This hire screams CHEAP or desperation to sign anyone interested in coming here as HC. Earl "fricken" Watson??? Id like to say I dont believe it but being the Suns, this is par for the course.

 

[az jam]

I like the move, hope he does well.

 

[Mainstreet]

I also hope Earl Watson does well. One thing he did was to motivate a depleted roster to play hard. This is not easily accomplished. Tyson Chandler especially was motivated both now and into the future.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

To me, this is a lot like Byron Scott with the Lakers...Watson will teach these young kids to play and help develop talent...then when they are ready to take the next step he will be gone and a new coach will be brought in.

I don't completely buy into the argument that nobody else wanted the job...Just like the NFL, only so many opportunities come up and their are few coaches out there who can really call their own shots and afford to pick and choose where they work. The Clippers were a mess for decades, but still were able to get some decent coaches...heck, even Doc Rivers signed on while Sterling was still the owner.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He probably is the best choice right now. I cannot imagine he is the best coach to take us to a championship.

 

[Mainstreet]

To me, this is a lot like Byron Scott with the Lakers...Watson will teach these young kids to play and help develop talent...then when they are ready to take the next step he will be gone and a new coach will be brought in.

I don't completely buy into the argument that nobody else wanted the job...Just like the NFL, only so many opportunities come up and their are few coaches out there who can really call their own shots and afford to pick and choose where they work. The Clippers were a mess for decades, but still were able to get some decent coaches...heck, even Doc Rivers signed on while Sterling was still the owner.

I mostly agree with your post. Hopefully Watson grows with the Suns, as was hoped with Hornacek. However, he is an unproven commodity (except for time spent as the Suns interim coach) so we shall see.

Also as you say, there are only so many head coaching candidates but I would like to know if the Suns ever approached someone like Spurs assistant, Ettore Messina.

 

[devilalum]

I also hope Earl Watson does well. One thing he did was to motivate a depleted roster to play hard. This is not easily accomplished. Tyson Chandler especially was motivated both now and into the future.

Absolutely. The Suns were probably playing the best ball of any non-playoff team at the end of the season. And that's without 3 often 4 of their best players.

If they can stay healthy next year and get a little help they could surprise.

 

[JS22]

Windhorst is a gigantic douche who frankly has no idea what is going on in the NBA at all.

Watson got the job because he did a very good job.

Much better to get Watson than ugh Mark Jackson or David Blatt.

Agreed. Watson did pretty well with the hand he was dealt and the players respect him. The Suns are most likely going to be rebuilding for the next few years at a minimum. Why not keep Watson, who seems to work well with the younger guys?

If anything this move makes me optimistic that Sarver has finally seen the light - as opposed to chasing a vet coach and trying to win it all next year. Let the team grow, see what Waston can become as a coach, and go from there.

 

[TJ]

Windhorst is a gigantic douche who frankly has no idea what is going on in the NBA at all.

Watson got the job because he did a very good job.

Much better to get Watson than ugh Mark Jackson or David Blatt.

Is Windhorst wrong? Phoenix has plummeted to one of the Top 5 worst franchises in the league, so it's natural to assume that this job along with the Kings vacancy were neck-and-neck for the worst HC openings.

I'm not sure why you think Watson is any good seeing as he didn't do anything of significance except for the obvious, which was to play Booker more.

 

[slinslin]

Is Windhorst wrong? Phoenix has plummeted to one of the Top 5 worst franchises in the league, so it's natural to assume that this job along with the Kings vacancy were neck-and-neck for the worst HC openings.

I'm not sure why you think Watson is any good seeing as he didn't do anything of significance except for the obvious, which was to play Booker more.

He also got the most out of Markieff.

He got Len playing time and he got the team to compete and work.

They played much better under Watson. Under Hornacek they regularly threatened franchise lows when they struggled to score just 70.

 

[GatorAZ]

Its a mistake if it's true that they didn't interview anyone else. Maybe there wasn't a lot of interest but you still need to explore other options.

 

[JCSunsfan]

“One of the things that stood out was this: Every single player on the roster came to us at the end of the season and said that this is the guy we want as head coach,” McDonough told The Vertical in a telephone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “They said that you’d be making a mistake if you hire a different head coach. That’s not something we expected to hear from [our players] back when we promoted him to interim coach in February, but Earl has shown an ability to connect and motivate our players as well as discipline and hold them accountable.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...-three-year-deal-to-coach-suns-192519784.html

 

[Cheesebeef]

To me, this is a lot like Byron Scott with the Lakers...Watson will teach these young kids to play and help develop talent...then when they are ready to take the next step he will be gone and a new coach will be brought in.

I don't completely buy into the argument that nobody else wanted the job...Just like the NFL, only so many opportunities come up and their are few coaches out there who can really call their own shots and afford to pick and choose where they work. The Clippers were a mess for decades, but still were able to get some decent coaches...heck, even Doc Rivers signed on while Sterling was still the owner.

yeah, but he signed on for major dollars for a team that had major talent. Ssrver doesn't give out major dollars and we have pretty much zero major talent outside of Booker... certainly nothing that compares to Blake, CP, DeAndre who were on the clips when Doc went there.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Its a mistake if it's true that they didn't interview anyone else. Maybe there wasn't a lot of interest but you still need to explore other options.

Not sure. If he is clearly the guy you want, there is really no point. Why waste your time pretending to evaluate others? Get him hired and get to work on the draft. This is a big summer for personnel, and there is alot of work to be done.

I just went through this at work. I spent last summer desperately trying to fill a job in my business. I finally found someone I thought would be good. We went 6 months and it was clear it was not working out. He resigned over Christmas and I found a substitute to fill the job until summer so I could look again.

Turns out the fill-in is doing fantastic. We talked about going through the process again this summer and making the present fill-in person one of the candidates. But after thinking about it, this person is doing everything we want and more. So we just extended a long-term contract. If I know in June what I already know about this employee, I would hire them in a flash. So there is no point in going through the process again.

Sounds like exactly the same situation.

 

[Cheesebeef]

they get a big ball of meh from me here.

 

[slinslin]

You people who say "meh" make me laugh.

It is the same thing as sunsfn wanting the young guys to play as much as possible only to 2 weeks later complain about the young guys playing many minutes.

Signing Watson was the best move that the Suns could make and it shows that Sarver learned from rushing things and is ready to allow this young team to grow. Watson is the perfect man for the job.

 

[BC867]

This hire screams CHEAP or desperation to sign anyone interested in coming here as HC. Earl "fricken" Watson??? Id like to say I dont believe it but being the Suns, this is par for the course.

It does scream cheap. And it is par for the course. That being the case, Earl Watson has shown some positives.

The biggest one I hope for is if it becomes obvious that Watson has the cojones to say to Sarver and McDonough, "You hired me to do a job, now let me do it. I decide the lineups, not by committee. Your job is to get me a balanced roster to work with."

But then, that has not been par for the course. This is not about Earl Watson as much as the owner and GM.