I feel like coaches take jobs and finish up their season all the time in sports. Maybe the NBA has some rule around it.
I think assistant coaches can in the NBA, I thought a year or two ago an assistant did it. Maybe Luke Walton with the Lakers. Edit; yes the Lakers hired Walton back in April and he stayed on as an assistant for the Warriors to play all the way to the finals.
I would think if there was traveling or extensive interviews it might be harder for an assistant coach to do it while still in the playoffs. They can probably do interviews if the GM and owner will come to them. But maybe the prospective coach wants to see the practice facility, or just take more time to evaluate their options while not trying to win a series.
Portland is a great job, but the pressure to win will be extremely high. Losing Dame is not an option. The defense must be much improved. WCF whether it's realistic or not. Hope the pay is $$$. New Orleans is an excellent job ... unless Lonzo bolts for $$$ and Zion (or his agent) start making noises about his RFA in two years; he cannot be the next Chris Paul or AD. Plenty to like about the team and the city. Boston's new GM, Boston, everyone will be watching the new coach. With two stars, it's win now. The pressure will be on both the coach and GM. Only Ainge catches a break. This is a tough job. Orlando looks like a nice teaching project. Get used to the lottery. Less attention. I hear Florida is nice. Washington is a tough go. With Russ and Beal having one year until their player options, the coach better have a good vision to sell and no baggage to carry (it's D.C. and the Washington football team has polluted those waters enough). Younger would be better than older in a coach. Better be ready for a rebuild if it goes south.
Exactly right about New Orleans. I would be very surprised if Zion is a Pelican long term, let alone Ball. In today’s NBA it just seems unlikely. They’ll end up in LA, NY, Miami etc.
Who gives a shit about young talent. The Hornets are loaded with young talent. The Suns were loaded with young talent years ago. The Pelicans have been loaded with young talent. The kings have been loaded with young talent. The magic have been loaded with young talent. The twolves have been loaded with young talent. As a consequence of being “loaded with young talent”, all their coaches got fired within that “young talent” window. I honestly can’t believe this is a conversation. The Pelicans will have 3 coaches in 3 years. They’ve had the same record back to back years. They miss the playoffs. The best player in recent memory demanded a trade. And supposedly Lonzo doesn’t want to be back or some shit. Not. Even. Close. Coaches are worried about the next 2-3 years, not the next 10, since most won’t even be employed in a decade by the same team. how did that young talent work for SVG? Hahahahahahgaha
no max level player has ever taken a QO off his rookie deal. Especially one with the kinda injury history Zion has. zion is going nowhere for at least 4+ yrs.
Also, wasn’t it stated SVG got fired for not making the playoffs? Seems like that’s a bit of a win now mentality in NO as well, no?
Exactly. All indications are that if healthy he could be the next dynamic superstar. A solid supporting cast (Ingram, Ball, Adams, Bledsoe). I’m not sure why it’s an argument that Portland is a better destination. Sure we have Lillard. But c’mon. Coaches are probably excited to get a crack at unlocking that talent in New Orleans. Neil and Blazer ownership should be very nervous about having to compete with some of these openings.
unscientific poll that was just started on a national board outside of this lil bubble we have here https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2092304
he’s like Giannis. Game won’t translate to the playoffs and management will always blame the coach first.
Adams is a very solid big man. Bledsoe would be absolutely delightful as a 6th man. Jason Hart would be great to have as well. Blazer fans always over hype their teams. We’re an attractive destination but if we have to compete with New Orleans for a head coach not a good spot to be in.
Nor do we want to compete with Milwaukee. Kevin O'Connor just said that the Bucks would be Billups' first choice and that other candidates will wait to see if that position opens up. I think this rank ordering will be specific to the coaching candidate. A guy like MDA who is well established and is 70 yrs old would prefer the Bucks/Blazers/Celts. Someone like Becky who is just starting out would take NOP maybe. Someone who wants no pressure and wants to teach a young squad would maybe take Orlando. But NO checks more of those boxes than a team like Portland. What is our 3-5 yr outlook? Doesn't look great unless we can make a long playoff run.
Availability matters. And he was available this year, mostly. And his coach still got canned. And they still whiffed on the playoffs. If “Zion” was so great, why was SVG the best they could do before? Also, you’ve got to seriously question DG as a GM from my seat. “Zion” isn’t “LeBron” level game changer. NO expects playoff wins. They have both high expectations with little to justify those high expectations. Also, it’s the same reason I wouldn’t say the “Blazers” are the best job because of Dame. It’s a combination of ownership (willing to spend, by all accounts), Dame - CJ - Nurk (a core that is proven to get to the playoffs, unlike NO, which expects the playoffs), job security (3 coaches in 3 years vs 2 coaches in 10 years) just to name a few. Lots of words because lots of reasons New Orleans is not a good job. Like I said, simple. Cant believe this is even a conversation.
The last couple of years the Blazers played OKC with Adams I was surprised at how slow he was on D. So much hype about him and nothing to show for it. We slam Kanter for not being able to guard the pick n roll, Adams is the same. He does set a nasty screen though. Blazer fans also have a tendency to over-hype players on other teams. Jason Hart is 43 now and also is slow. Kidding, I know you meant Josh Hart. I liked him coming out of college, but he still needs to improve his 3 pt shooting to be an effective wing this league.
