If the Jazz were going to fire him if he didn't step down, what are you saying Sloan should have done? Insisted on being escorted from the premises by police, to avoid being a quitter?
Really and how many titles would they have won with Jordan and Pippen? Are you saying that if they had coaches Chicago, the Bulls would not have won titles in that time?
You mean, they ran into Hakeem at his peak. They ran into another buzzsaw. If you look at playoff production over the magical 26 PER (where people get into MVP discussion usually) - there were only 25 players instances where a player managed this kind of playoffs PER (and over at least 15 games - which would ensure that that they passed at least 2 rounds making it a proper long period of domination). By playoffs PER in this elite group - Hakeem's playoffs stand at #12 in the history of the NBA. He was absolutely magnificent that year and managed to win the ring and playoffs MVP title.
Wouldn't it seem likely that the alleged "firing" was more about Sloan's antics last night than it was about anything else? If the Jazz thought enough of him to give him an extension last week, then it seems that Sloan lit the fuse of whatever happened over the past two days. Fired or quitting, it seems likely to be primarily due to his actions (or words) last night. He chose to quit. Whatever.
They lost and didn't win a title. Just like every other season that Sloan coached them. My worry is that they get someone who will let Deron Williams play ball instead of within a system that has proven to not win titles. If Williams decides to stay, they still have a very good line-up. How a team starting Deron Williams, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Andre Kirilenko, and Raja Bell could lost 10 of 14 games confounds me. Perhaps Williams and the other players were sick of Sloan undercoaching their talent?
Sloan = old school personified Williams = Today's NBA Superstar culture Not too surprising that they don't mix.
It was interesting listening to Stockton talk about his own clashes with Sloan on ESPN. Perhaps Sloan is an example of a very good coach and motivator who ultimately didn't have the flexibility to yield a bit on his methods, which led to friction with some players like Stockton and Williams. Who knows if the energy-draining friction was the reason those Jazz teams consistently failed in the playoffs, but perhaps it played a small part.
he quit because mgmt would not back him up when a player refused to run the play he called - so who really quit on who? I say mgmt quit on him by not backing him up so WTF else was he to do?
They didn't win titles. I'm not into hypotheticals. Sloan coached 2 PGs better than any PG in Blazer history, and one PF better than any PF in Blazer history, and in 20 seasons with those PGs (15 with the PF), he made 2 NBA Finals. Statistically, Boozer was better than any PF in Blazer history outside of a few great Mo Lucas seasons as well.
What's management going to do? Suspend Williams? Sloan finally let his pride get the best of him, and in doing so, he quit on his team. Management gave him an extension three days ago, yet now they quit on him? Sloan finally had a player who basically told him to fuck off, and Jerry threw a hissy fit and quit. Let's compare that to the Nate/Miller explosion last year, where both guys went at it for a reported 30 minutes, but ultimately found out that they had a lot more in common than they thought they did prior to that incident. I suppose Nate could have run to management to fight that battle for him once Miller started questioning him, but Nate did not, and then Nate took responsibility for the fight, but not the positives that came out of the fight. Compared to how Sloan handled things, Nate looks really good considering he used to be called "Sarge" by his players.
Yeah, why not suspend Williams? Are the players running teams now? gimme a friggin break, look where we've come to when you think that somehow Williams should or could not be suspended for defying a coach - unreal to me.
It happens much more often that you think. Elite quarterbacks are allowed to call audibles depending on the defense. Stockton had the same issues with Sloan that Williams was having last night. And since Sloan ran crying to management, what would you think they would do? Side with a coach who has proven he can't win without an elite PG and PF, or a PG who has shown interest in staying in SLC, but not with that coach? I would have told Sloan to patch things up and deal with it. His stubborn style of coaching hasn't brought any titles to Utah, has it?
lol. People who always take contrarian positions just to rile up a Blazer message board need a life. Continue on with the narrative.
Phil Jackson, who had the luxury of coaching the best players in the game when he won his championships. First it was Jordan and Pippen, then Shaq and Kobe, then Kobe and Gasol. The guy has refused to coach any team without superstars; at least Sloan never did that.
Anyone that doesn't have Red Auerbach on their list of great coaches must not be old enough to remember him and his teams. Go Blazers
Didn't Jackson continue to coach the Bulls even after Jordan first retired? So three years with Pippen as your team's best player and no other real star is not really refusing to coach a team without superstars.
Sloan didn't make the playoffs without Stockton and Malone. He couldn't get his own superstar players over the top to ta title.
We were talking about the past 20-25 years, if you had actually read the "great" coach debate. Of course Auerbach is on the list. He's the greatest NBA coach in history, IMO, and his biography that was written after his death by a close friend of his is must reading for any NBA fan.
Always hated the Malone/Stockton teams/years, but i always like and respected Jerry as a coach. The Man deserves to step down whenever the fuck he wants to after all he's done as an NBA coach. All you a**holes questioning the man's character need to stfu. Wish him the best of luck in future endeavours.
Who is questioning his character? I am calling him a quitter. He just quit on a playoff team. That's a fact. How that impacts people's thoughts on his character is another story. I always thought of him as a steadfast and unyielding person in terms of the character I was able to deduce from his public image. He's a strong personality who finally quit on his own terms, IMO. There is something admirable about that, but it still means he quit on his team.
