<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Local media reports indicate that Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle will be out. Around the NBA, the talk is the Pacers will come hard after Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, whose contract expires after this season. Mitchell played three seasons in Indiana, and his hard-nosed, direct style was admired by management. He's the kind of leader they'd like to rebuild with.</div> Source: Yahoo!Sports Drunkballer's worst fear, lol. They fired Carlisle today, so I don't doubt that they're considering him. But, I'm still real confident that we'll get him back (now that Colangelo's said that he wants to).
Carlisle micro-manages games and likes to play a slower paced half-court style, where he can call the play on every possession. Mitchell's run a sort of hybrid style here, where the Raps have some half-court plays, but they try to force turnovers and run the break as much as possible. Sam puts a lot more responsibility with the players, giving them the opportunity to make decisions. Our players just aren't suited for a Rick Carlisle system. Most of them thrive in a free-flowing, faster-paced offense. And they've really taken to Mitchell's philosophy of not punishing players for missing good shots. Plus, our defensive problems would be compounded in a slower-paced game.
I would assume if Mitchell leaves Toronto the first in line would be the Bobcats considering his strong ties to the organization. He's in the last year of his contract BTW so he is free to go where he wants.
He has a really strong bond with his players so it wont be easy to get him to leave. He is also apart of a winning team, and would be taking a risk with Pacers and Bobcats, as it is very easy to be fired if your team doesn't preform to expectations.
I guess this is my fear for a variety of reasons: 1. I think Sam Mitchell is a good young coach who could develop into a great one. Players respect him and I realistically think he could be a guy who coaches for this organization for years eg. Jerry Sloan. I would hate to lose him. 2. While I think he is a good coach Im not sure if he is a championship coach? Thats why I was hoping we could sign him to a reasonable extension during the season, one that would offer flexibility in terms of length and money so that if the team was not responding/developing we could fire Sam and bring in another guy. But if we end up in a bidding war with Indiana and Charlotte we could realistically end up signing Sam to a 5 year deal similar to the Clippers/Dunleavy extension (4 years 21 million), I think some Clippers fans are begining to regret that decision. 3. Lastly as an employee it's always reassuring to have some security from your employer. I could understand if Sam felt insulted to have to coach his final year without any time left in his contract. I mean Doc Rivers of all people just got an extension because as the Boston media put it; "Its never a good idea to have a lameduck head coach going into next year". If Bargnani had busted, Chris Bosh had got injured for the year and Calderon not developed, the Raptors would be again picking in the lottery and Sam Mitchell likely would never get another opportunity to coach in the NBA again. Ian Thomsen included this alarming piece of information in his weekly column:<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Another provocative candidate is Mitchell, the reigning Coach of the Year who will be a free agent after the playoffs. Considering the Raptors' reticence to sign him for the long term, friends are urging him to accept an offer from a team that really wants him. One such franchise may be the Pacers, for whom he played from 1992-95.</div> All in all Mitchell seems like a class act and I don't aniticpate this becoming a distraction to the team. I just hope this summer we can re-sign him without paying him a kings ransom interms of years or salary.
<div class="quote_poster">lakers_kb24 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Where did Sam Mitchell first start his coaching career in the NBA?</div> Milwaukee as an assistant under Terry Porter.
<div class="quote_poster">lakers_kb24 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">How about his head coaching career?</div> In Toronto <div class="quote_poster">Drunkballer Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> I mean Doc Rivers of all people just got an extension because as the Boston media put it; "Its never a good idea to have a lameduck head coach going into next year". If Bargnani had busted, Chris Bosh had got injured for the year and Calderon not developed, the Raptors would be again picking in the lottery and Sam Mitchell likely would never get another opportunity to coach in the NBA again. </div> I have to disagree with this. Why throw money at someone we might not want beyond one year? If Chris Bosh gets injured and other things don't fall into place then that sucks for Mitchell, but it's up to someone else to evaluate whether he had a fair chance to succeed or not. Just because that stuff happens doesn't mean we are going to throw Mitchell away. Success can still be relative to what you have to work with.
<div class="quote_poster">lakers_kb24 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">How about his head coaching career?</div> Toronto, 3 years ago.
<div class="quote_poster">a13x Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> I have to disagree with this. Why throw money at someone we might not want beyond one year? If Chris Bosh gets injured and other things don't fall into place then that sucks for Mitchell, but it's up to someone else to evaluate whether he had a fair chance to succeed or not. Just because that stuff happens doesn't mean we are going to throw Mitchell away. Success can still be relative to what you have to work with.</div> No Im not saying that we should of signed him before the start of the season. All im saying is there is precedent in the NBA to avoid having a "Lame duck headcoach" And the Ian Thomsen quote about : <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> friends are urging him to accept an offer from a team that really wants him.</div> eg. Sam might feel insulted about this....
I would worry about that if Sam hadn't had an agreement in place with Colangelo before the season started. If anything, I think he should have a feeling of gratitude considering BC stuck with him when most incoming GM's tend to bring in their own head coach.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I would worry about that if Sam hadn't had an agreement in place with Colangelo before the season started. If anything, I think he should have a feeling of gratitude considering BC stuck with him when most incoming GM's tend to bring in their own head coach.</div> yeh that is a good point.
Whether Sam leaves or stays. In Colangelo we trust, should be the motto. If he leaves and goes to Bobcats, Pacers where ever is close to home, he should or does know that there is no guarenteed job security. Yeah the money maybe secured but not the job. Plus another question would rise is would you want to leave the situation in Toronto, where it could be a contender in a year or so?
