OK, tonight we're getting our asses handed to us. By a much better team I might add. Look, we aren't a team with playoff talent- period. We're playing at our talent level and will probably end the season at about .400, which is about right. Nate has a crappy team that really no longer listens to him as it's a veteran team and they know the score. No one is really fighting to keep their job... We're now in going thru the motions mode and will be for the remainder of the season. This happens to most teams like ours about mid way thru a season, so it's no big deal. Will Nate get fired before the end of the season? Probably not. He's a good guy and a good coach. I think he won't be here next year, but the team needs a new voice and I'm sure he's aware of that and is playing out the string as well. So, enjoy the games and hope Nate plays Nolan, Luke and Elliott more to help the team get better. We'll get better. Failton will be gone, Crawful will be gone, Wallace may or may not be gone, Camby may retire... so we'll have a lot of new faces and hopefully more talent and hopefully improve to .500 or maybe .550 and build from there.
So what exactly is the appropriate amount of reaction towards a team that has been steadily getting worse since week two of the season, not better?
Nate coaches to win, not to develop his bench. He wouldn't play his bench until the 4th quarter if he were down 100 points at halftime. When he does we'll know he's officially given up -- like his team. Don't worry, I'll still be here. Maybe management will make some good decisions? I won't bet on it, but I'll be watching.
We don't need to overreact but management needs to react. Start the coaching search now. Unload as many assets as possible for draft picks. Revamp the scouting department, figure out why we don't have one real leader on the team. Find better teachers for the developmental team. Not to mention finding a GM.
Fair question. Answer- put it in perspective. Like I said, we have a lot of veteran players who know the team isn't very good. And with the worst starting PG and one of the worst 6th men coming off the bench to provide a "spark", the vets know it's a lost cause. Nate knows it as well, but as someone astutely pointed out, he plays to win at the expense of developing talent. So we let the season play out, watch as fans, and hope moves are made in the off season to make us a better team.
The record would be even worse 'developing talent'. I thought the idea in the NBA was to win games, and not become a D-League team. I know when I pay for a ticket, I like to see more than a bunch of scrubs getting blown out every night while veterans sit on the bench. Hell, Nate won't even be around to coach the young guys in a few years, anyhow. Nate's in no position to develop the young guys, because he may not even be their coach in a week.
It's a debatable point, I suppose. My opinion is that when a team is out of the playoffs and has some young players to evaluate under real game situations, it behooves the coach to give them some consistent minutes to see what they can do so a good decision can be made as to whether or not to let them go, trade them...
Agreed. There is also the issue of work ethic. You can't win games with unmotivated vets who know they can give a half-assed effort without being held accountable.
