Don Nelson's decision to step down as head coach of the Warriors was amicable, according to sources. “I don’t think the new owner liked Nelson’s style of coaching. That’s what it boils down to,” a source with knowledge of the situation told Y! Sports’ Marc Spears. “They’re saying he quit, but (new owner Joe) Lacob wanted to go in a different direction.” Nelson and Warriors general manager Larry Riley didn’t return phone calls seeking comment. Nelson will receive a $6 million settlement. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AswQ53vFcn6CTStE1yNBej68vLYF?slug=ys-nelsonwarriors092310
How is that resigning, quitting, or otherwise being fired? That's getting paid 6$ mils to stay home and get drunk on the sofa. Man, he sure pulled on over on Lacob here. 6$ mils to walk away? Ouch
Lacob knows who hes dealing with. Cuban just finished a court battle with Nellie in which Nellie got all the money he asked for and I'm sure Cuban spent millions more just on trying to fugg Nellie over. No reason to make a drama out of the beginning of his tenure when Nellie is just going to get all of his money anyway.
Plus Lacob already said that if Nellie were to be let go, fired, resigned, whatever you want to call it, his 6M would be a sunk cost. Guys, Nellie signed a binding contract. There's no way out of it unless he did something that breached his contract. Nellie knew exactly what he was doing when he signed on the dotted line. He wins. But, so does Lacob. He influenced this move even though he wasn't officially the owner. No one knows how and there's speculation that the board of owners might not have liked that very much. We'll see. I think because they said he "resigned" it basically means it was Nellie's decision and not Lacob's.
i don't get it, if nellie "retires" on his own accord, doesn't he forfeit his salary!? it's one thing if we "fire" him...but if you get payed after retiring, why wouldn't you just retire the day after you sign your contract??? smells like bullshit....
Totally. They're saying he "quit," but if he did that, why is getting his full $6 mils lol... On the other side, if Lacob talked Nellie into retiring, why do that? Let Nellie play out the last year. Otherwise, that's kind of a waste of $6 mils, unless it's addition by subtraction (ala Maggette). Did they really need to get rid of Don Nelson that bad that they were willing to toss $6 mils down the drain and then get ready to pay a brand new coach all over again? I'm just asking...
Its a statement by Lacob that hes not going to be like Cohan. I've read that Lacob didn't want any small ball so why go another season of small ball with an almost completely new team built to rebound. Start getting these guys into the habit of playing defense and rebounding. Nellie has already pissed off Monta and Biedrins and who knows how long it would be before Lee, Wright, etc. get sick and tired of playing out of position and getting jerked around. With Smart we'll be more committed to defense and all the guys who Nellie has burnt bridges with have a good relationship with him. Perhaps Nellie can squeeze out some extra wins or get some production out of D-Leaguers but at this point I think Lacob is more concerned with getting the team to play a style that will win championships and putting a great core together. Smart and Nellie are both lame ducks but at least with Smart we'll start heading in the right direction as opposed to playing another year of small ball knowing full well the following year will be precisely the opposite. Smart probably won't be ruining players' relationships with the organization either.
I don't disagree with that at all. In fact, I've been rooting for Smart to take over for about 1 1/2 years now. I just think it's hilarious that Nelson walked away with his full salary intact. From a business standpoint, a "chess-game" perspective, if you will... it's typical Nellie, and frankly not very flattering for Lacob, IMO, especially to the team of owners/investors he is working with. As a fan, though, what do I care what Lacob spends? In fact, as a fan, I don't mind it at all... it shows that, for Lacob, apparently money is no object. Let's just hope that, in the future, he blows millions like that in deals that help the team.
it was a guaranteed contract. Nellie was getting his $6M whether he coached or not. No different than cutting Monta; he'd get the rest of his $66M whether he plays or not. A positive step going forward. Now let's get some better players who can compete.
Not true. Teams negotiate "buyouts" all the time, with players and coaches, or with any other guaranteed contract for that matter. When the Warriors bought out Adonal Foyle's contract, for example, they paid him 66% of the rest of his guaranteed contract to walk away from the final two seasons. He received $13 mils out of the guaranteed $19.7 mils. It saved the Warriors 37% of his salary, and he was free to sit on the couch, or join another team. Nellie's contract was no different. They could have tried to negotiate a buyout, especially if he was "quitting" as was "reported" here and there. If he really wanted to quit, they could have said "Sorry, Nellie, there's no way we're letting you quit... unless you agree to a buyout." Chances are Lacob just wanted Nellie gone, but even so, he could have (and might have) entered the negotiation process nonetheless. Regardless, Nellie is getting full $$. It's a small point. Yes Nellie's gone, and Smart's in (hooray). But it's Lacob's first move, and it does reveal a bit about his financial philosophy.
Nelson was way overpaid at $6 M per, but it was under Cohan. I was glad to hear Lacob refer to Nelson as sunk costs -- sunk costs are past costs that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Nelson was a sunk coach.
I don't think this move has a significant impact on the team or the owners financially. The only added costs are the additional assistant coaches that Keith Smart brings in, which I think were Mark Price and Calbert Cheaney. That is unless Keith Smart got a pay-raise due to his promotion. Even if that were the case, I don't think it would be that substantial of an amount. Also I think it is more of a Lacob firing Nelson move, than Nelson quitting. I think Nelson was pretty excited to coach the team. He loves Stephen Curry and I think I recall some report saying he's excited to coach this coming season. Then again, perhaps it was just smoke and mirrors to get all the money he was guaranteed from his contract.
Yes there are negotiated buyouts but the player always could say, you don't want me, cut me. They release him, they are on the hook for the whole thing. Foyle could have done that, but he agreed to a buyout so he could pursue other options, rather than sit on the bench not playing. In order to have a buyout, you need the player/coach to give up something. Or the team needs to agree to release the player rather than have him sit and take up a roster spot.
