Ron Adams didn't expect Draymond Green to be this good - neither did Golden State

Heaven forbid.

Zach Lowe is always a great read. Go check it out:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/whats-next-for-kevin-love/

 

Ron Adams and the Thibs staff had it right on this one. On the other hand, Teague was too lousy to be overworked by Thibs, so that's kind of a win for the org and Teague.

 

Before this season, there were numerous reports about how Ron Adams was fired because he favored drafting Hardaway, Jr. over Snell and made his thoughts public. (Which by the way, was always a weird story because there were never any public comments from Adams stating as much. My guess is that Adams voiced his opinions to another GM or front office in an attempt to work around the front office and get his pick, and got axed because of it.)

Now that Snell looks to have a shiny future, and be a decidedly better pick than Hardaway, Jr., the storyline has shifted to how Adams has a keen eye for talent because he preferred to draft Green over Teague, while the front office said no.

I'm not ready to buy any of this stuff. It all strikes me as a post-hac attempt for him or his fans to take credit for something he never did. Someone can make Ron Adams a GM, and then I'll evaluate how he handles drafts by his record, not innuendo. Until that point, I don't see this stuff being worth anything. It's like those stories GMs release about how they were almost going to draft X player or acquire X player in free agency, when the player ends up being a star. Oh really? If you were so interested, why didn't you get your player then?

 

Yah I don't think anyone really knows the truth about either. Assuming both are true, I'd rather have Hardaway and Green vs Snell and Teague.

One thing that is certain is that Adams can be the assistant coach for a top notch, "smart" organization. I wonder if Thibs liked him so much for a good reason?

Hardaway has a higher career PER than Snell, but neither appear to be impact players as of now.

 

More than hailing Adams, it's a pretty naked attempt to denigrate the Bulls front office. For missing on a player that many other GM's passed on too.

I mean, take a look. How many of those making picks in the top 34 do you think would like to have another shot at that one? Singling out the Bulls F.O. on that one is ludicrous.

 

How many coaches wanted their GM to draft him but passed him over?

That you can pin on management. It is an utter failure to get the guy to fit the coach's scheme.

Compounding the idiocy, they took Teague, without doing due diligence on him.

 

This is another thing I wanted to bring up that is bizarre about the situation. I refuse to believe that the coaches wanted Green on the Bulls. Dramond Green is a good basketball player. But he does not in any fathomable way fit within Thib's schemes. Thibs could not and would not have played a 6'7" power forward. That was never going to happen.

Hardaway, I buy. Hardaway could have played here. And Teague was terrible at basketball, but he was a good fit for all the high pick and roll material in Thib's offensive schemes.

On the other hand, Green was such a bad fit for Thib's schemes that I don't see how he would have ever even made it off the bench. This whole leak is so strange that I refuse to believe it came from Adams or any of his representatives.

It's just a weird story that doesn't pass the smell test.

 

What about the Snell test?

Lowe, IMO, is one of the best if not the best NBA reporter around. Snells pretty good to me. (makes Adams and perhaps Thibs look like non-thidiots though, which some might not like)

Its not like Thibs didn't like his rookie stretch 4. He played him enough to finish 2nd in ROY. Supposedly Thibs was at least OK with the McDermott pick, who isn't his type of SF.

Star level players tend to find their way onto the court. Thibs far more often than not got the most out of the guys on his roster. And it was a low 1st anyway, right, so its not like you are always expecting exactly the type of player you want ideally.

 

That's...interesting. You're likely onto something there.

 

Really?

I'd think he wanted a guy who could contest DunVP at SF and a defensive stud.

 

Ronnie Adams desperately needs to help his head coach come up with some adjustments.

 

It seems the Warriors need either more rest or less.

LOL

 

I read the quotes and somehow didn't realized that they were coming from Adams himself. So I guess he said it. That's pretty brazen stuff, isn't it? I can't ever remember seeing any coach let alone an assistant coach going on the record in questioning a draft pick. The most I remember seeing is petty unsourced stuff, like from the article today about fallout from Sacramento picking Stauskas over Payton.

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article23669575.html

I think in another thread you commented on how Thibs handled his post-firing interview with class. You weren't wrong, and you also weren't wrong to cast aspersions on how the front office handled the press at the end. At the same time, I think it's important to view the broader objectives at play. Thibs is trying to set up his next job, and needs to show his next boss that he won't shit where he eats on the way out. His agent booked the radio spot at ESPN for that explicit purpose: it was a grip and grin where he had to show that he's thankful and doesn't hold a grudge.

That's what makes these on-the-record comments by Adams even more strange.

They don't make me particularly like him.

 

Expect a rash of anonymous comments to surface about the Bulls FO to surface when and if Thibs lands his next gig.

 

Management shits where it eats. Can't attract the elite FAs, or coaches.

 

I'd agree with you that management can't attract some FAs and coaches, and part of that has to do with the front office's weirdness. I don't think it's accurate to say the can't attract all elite prospects. Look, I think Paxson should have been fired years ago. You don't have to convince me of that.

 

Why do you think Thibs waited so long to sign his contract extension?

Isn't it strange to have to sign his replacement to a five year contract? The guy really is unproven. I guess there is a price, $25M guaranteed, to work for these assholes.

 

Oh yeah, they do. Every day, every post, over and over again, ad infinitum. Even in the threads that aren't about Paxson.

Like this one.

 

The "in defense of management" thread is a dead giveaway.

 

Well, professionals can act professional because its in their self-interest, along with just being the right way to act. Thibs has been a class act in his 5 years with the Bulls, though some very tough circumstances and in a rough, toxic work environment. It didn't surprise me to see him continue to behave that way. The NBA Champions Celtics and Team USA / Coach K seem to like him just fine as well.

As for Adams, I really don't know much about him from a personality standpoint. As far as I see, Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors like him just fine. He's been coaching a long time and keeps getting work with multiple organizations, so he can't be that bad. Paxson as far as I know has only worked for Uncle Jerry. I doubt we'll see him ever work elsewhere. He's ensconced.

As for his comments, sure, its a little bit of a barb. Let's say you had a coworker you worked with and the employer was treating you and the coworker like crap and your bosses were boobs. Let's also say that you were quite talented at what you did and had worked many other places before, and knew that you could always find gainful employed based on your talent. When you see that former employer viciously smear your coworker, who you like and respect, its somewhat natural to want to stick up for them. Adams knows he can get work for multiple teams. Its the same with Van Gundy. They see Thibs getting a vicious and unfair smear, and they want to stick up for their friend. It seems like they are just reacting to the brutal techniques of the Bulls Org and trying to at least offer an alternate viewpoint from a respected source that differs from the Uncle Jerry influenced (controlled?) local media.

Given how well Clevelend has done in these playoffs and that the Thibs' Bulls were a whisper away from going up 3-1 against them, its an unforgivable sin by the Bulls Org to undermine this season just to attempt to "win" a PR smear war against their head coach. And they didn't even come out of it looking good. Awful work and a true disservice to the Bulls fans.