http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1805167 Reported on ESPN...Negotiations involve a 4-year deal with Stanford's Mike Montgomery and could happen as soon as tonight...Bad move, IMO, as I feel that Musselmann is a good coach and if they were going to find a replacement, a veteran coach would have been more necessary, such as a George Karl or even Terry Stotts...
Yea, I just saw that while I was watching sportscenter. Thats really suprising, considering all the rumors with Elie and Higgins. I don't like the choice either, college coaches usually don't have as much success in the pros then in college.
Yeah, especially with the young team that the Warriors have right now, what they need is a veteran coach who will bring experience and stability to the franchise.
To say I am suprised would be an understatement. I know Montgomery is respected in the college ranks but I'm not too sure about him. But of coarse, I'll still give my support. Too bad Muss is gone.
All I can say is at least Montgomery is an x's and o's guy. He'll do a good job and I think he'll make Musselman look like Byron Scott (overrated).
On second thought, I think Montgomery could be a disaster since he probably doesn't know the NBA that well as he does with college ball. Does he even know anybody in the NBA? The refs, the other league's coaches, the draft, the nba rules, and such. Well at least Mullin and Montgomery could work together better than Musselman could. I think Montgomery understands the importance of going to the big man, playing team defense and running an offense. I hate this open offense stuff where nobody knows what the hell to do except fire away when the clock runs down. BTW if we have a chance at Josh Childress take him. The guy is a solid all around team player and he's an awesome dunker, decent 3 point shooter from the wing, above average defense and passing.
Wow...I'm just shocked right now... Okay, here's my initial take on the Montgomery hiring (and since I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this, its just sort of a mish mash of garbled thought...basically I'm just arguing with myself at this point...) 1. As much as I hate to give anyone from Stanford any amount of credit, he's one of the top 3 college coaches in the country, right ahead of Tom Izzo and right behind Coach K. There is simply no coach in the country that gets more out of his players than Montgomery. Besides the occasional Casey Jacobsen and Brevin Knight, Stanford has continually ranked in the top 5 or 10 in the country with guys who wouldn't have started for half of the teams in the Pac 10 (Peter Sauer anyone...). Guys like Brian Cardinal who are smart, disciplined, and hard working thrive in his defense oriented systems. 2. I don't care how good of a coach you are in college, college coaches do not have a good track record when they try and make the transition to the NBA. Sometimes they're too arrogant and try and boss their players around (Pitino and Carlisimo) and grown men just don't respond to that the way 18-22 year olds do. Or they're too set in their ways to realize what works at the college level doesn't always work at the NBA level (Calipari). 3. But that's not to say that college coaches can't make the transition to the NBA. Pete Carill's Princeton offense has proven successful in the NBA. The Kings use a variation (taught to them by Yoda himself), so do Eddie Jordon-led teams. 4. Montgomery is also a very down to earth guy, despite all the success he's had. I remember working at a high school volleyball tournament his daughter was playing in a few years ago when I was still at Cal. The facility faced Cal's baseball field where the team was having spring practice. I was watching it with a few of the dads that got roped into coming to the tournament and we struck up a conversation. I ended up having a 10-15 minute conversation with Montgomery about baseball without even realizing who I was talking to (he's quite a bit shorter than you'd think, plus I'm usually not on the lookout for coaching legends at high school girls volleyball tournaments, but I digress....). Anyway, I can tell you that the guy has no aura of arrogance about him. He's not going to have a problem with player relationships. He treats people like people, men like men. 5. Two key members of the Warriors young core (Richardson and Dunleavy) come from great college programs and had success under two of the best college coaches in the country. Both would probably have excelled playing under Montgomery. Dunleavy would have been at least as much of a star at Stanford as he was at Duke. Even though he's fielded some of the best defensive teams in the country while at Stanford, Montgomery's done it without outstanding individual defenders. Casey Jacobsen wasn't a great defender, but he was a great player for Stanford. Dunleavy would be in the same position. Murphy is also the type of player who would have excelled playing for Montgomery. He's smart, multi-faceted, hard working, and coachable. Claxston is basically Brevin Knight with a jump shot and better offensive game. And if you thought Cardinal excelled playing for Musselman, Montgomery would get at least as much out of him. 6. The difference between your typical Stanford player and your typical NBA player in terms of athletic ability is night and day. What comes to mind (even though I hate the show) is the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer takes Karate lessons and starts beating up on the little kids in the class because he's so much bigger and stronger than they are. No one knows if Montgomery can get the most out of athletes like Richardson and Pietrus because he's never coached guys like that before. The Warriors have a few guys whose game revolves around being able to out run and out jump everyone else. Montgomery is a brilliant coach, but he's never had to structure his style of play to suit these types of athletes. By the same token, Montgomery has never had to devise a game plan to stop the incredible athletes in the NBA. Sure he's gone up against the likes of Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, Mike Bibby, and Sharif Abdur-Rahim, but he's never had to go up against a whole team of guys with that type of athletic ability. Whether Montgomery can coach his team to defend NBA players will go a long way in determining whether he can be a successful NBA coach. 7. I hope hiring Montgomery doesn?t mean the Warriors will draft Childress. He?s not a good fit since he would duplicate a lot of Dunleavy's game. In fact, it's hard to imagine Dunleavy and Childress being on the floor together unless Dunleavy is playing point. But on the flipside, Montgomery has produced some very good big men given the raw materials he was given to work with. Madsen, the Collins twins, and Borchardt (if he'd ever get healthy) are all quality big men in the NBA. So I'd think he's the perfect coach to develop a young big man (say an 18-19 year old euro) who would essentially be a college freshman. 8. If I had to pick an NBA coach that most resembles Montgomery, it'd be Jerry Sloan. That is a very good thing. I make the comparison because both get the most out of questionable talent, and they do it by inserting players with the right mental make up into a system that's time tested in the NBA. Of course the big question is whether Montgomery can create a system that works in the NBA. 9. From a fan's perspective, neither Montgomery's nor Sloan's style of play is particularly exciting. Instead it is more cold and calculated, designed specifically to win ball games. While winning games is the goal of any professional team, entertaining the fans is the goal of any professional league. I say this because when you add up the records of every team in a league, that league is always going to have a .500 record no matter which teams are winning and which teams are losing. Since the league has been doing everything it can the past several years to try and make the game more exciting, coaches who play a boring style of ball are continually having to adapt more than other coaches. This may seem like a small point, but my guess is that the league will keep trying to implement rule changes to force coaches to play more of a full court game. Montgomery coaches a half court game, and his talents may become less and less applicable to the NBA game. 10. I'm always suspicious of professional teams hiring local coaches. It always has the air of short-sightedness to it. If Mullin is just doing this because it would be a popular move in the Bay Area, he's making a big mistake. Always, always, always hire the best man for the job, regardless of where he comes from. 11. As a devoted Cal Bear, I'm thrilled to have Montgomery leave Stanford, just like I was thrilled when Tyrone Willingham left the Stanford football team (they?ve sucked every since). I can only hope the same happens to their basketball team. 12. Now it?s time for an absolutely unfounded comment, which is the stuff absolutely unfounded rumors are made of. Montgomery has no history with the NBA and he?s a guy who is smart enough to know he needs at least one assistant coach who knows what it takes to be successful in the NBA. Mullin just hired a guy whose bay area ties must have been a factor in his hiring. Could this be the perfect time for Rick Barry to get back into coaching as one of Montgomery?s assistants? I?m one of the guys who think Barry is far too arrogant to be a head coach, but would be excellent as an assistant coach. I?d at least like to see Barry be allowed to work with the young Warriors during the summer. And while I?m at it, Mullin should go ahead and satisfy the rest of the bay area by hiring Cal?s own legendary coach, Pete Newell, to tutor the big men. That would restore the balance of power in the bay area (you can?t see it, but my tongue is currently in cheek?).
Nice write up wtwalker. That is why you got that award. Awesome. I think I agree 100% to everything you said. I am sad to see Muss go. I think he should have been given 1 more year to see how he does with a healthy squad, but if he bombed and pulled a Byron Scott, it would have been just as ugly. Do I like to see Monty replacing Muss, not really. That is because he is a college coach and college coaches have not had any success in the NBA. If Rick Pitino could not succeed, I dont know who could. I like the fact that it was a bay area legend, but still, it does seem kind of short sighted and political. If Monty succeeds, which is very possible with this team being healthy, this will be the greatest off season move since we acquired Webber in the draft. If Monty fails though, this could be the dumbest first move a gm has made in the last 10 years of the Warriors... Now if we do end up with Childress because other studs are gone, I will be happy. I really like Childress' game. Final thoughts:Good job Muss. Good luck in the future of the NBA. You will be a great coach if you can learn to adjust. Welcome Monty! It is good to see a well established and successful coach take over the reins. We hope you will lead this team to the playoffs. Lets start this on a positive note.
Musselman out, really sad day for the franchise because here is the guy who raised the Warriors from the dregs of the 20-62 malaise without any real change in personnel, not like getting a David Robinson or Tim Duncan or Larry Bird. Maybe he topped out but he still got us 38 wins without any PG for about 15 of those wins. Monty. Outstanding character. Has lifted the Stanford program from the dregs to one of the elite programs. However, his teams did have a tendency to fade a bit. I can only put my trust in Mullin's wisdom because I really have no belief that Monty can translate to the NBA. However, if the Warriors get players who are inclined to respect an intelligent man, then maybe, just maybe, the Warriors may have magic.
This was a suprising move for everybody,but this could work out in the Long run...For the Warriors Sake,i hope this is the Move that can make the Warriors to a pretender to a contender???
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Musselman Out, Monty In What is the greater coaching challenge: bringing Stanford's basketball program back to life after four dead decades, or resurrecting a Warriors franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs for 10 seasons? Mike Montgomery is about to find out. Montgomery will become the 22nd head coach in Warriors history, and the ninth in nine years. Indications are that he will sign a four-year deal for at least $10 million; he had signed a four-year extension last July that would have kept him at Stanford through the 2007-08 season. This stunning development followed one that has been anticipated for at least two months. Eric Musselman was fired Wednesday night after two seasons in which he won more games each season than any other Warriors coach had won since the team's last trip to the playoffs, in 1994. The move brings to a sudden conclusion Montgomery's stellar 18-year career at Stanford, where he reached the NCAA Tournament 12 times, including a trip to the 1998 Final Four. More important, he elevated a program from one that had barely registered on the national scene since its 1942 national title, to one widely viewed as the ideal and elusive blend of academic and athletic excellence -- and one expected to contend annually for the national championship. </div> http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...SPGPS6ORSG1.DTL
I dont mean to be negative, but if he fails Golden State should just be blown up because this is the place to go if you want your career to be blown up. Wether you are Marc Jackson, Sprewell and PJ.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting wtwalker77:</div><div class="quote_post"> 6. The difference between your typical Stanford player and your typical NBA player in terms of athletic ability is night and day. What comes to mind (even though I hate the show) is the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer takes Karate lessons and starts beating up on the little kids in the class because he's so much bigger and stronger than they are. </div> ^Does this mean that the Stanford players are going to gang up on one of the Golden State players in a dark alley and beat the crap out of him? <font size="1">Inside joke, you have to watch Seinfeld to understand.</font> Here are my thoughts: Coaches that go from college to the NBA don't have the best of records so Mullin is taking a big risk here. 4 years seems like a lot of time especially when you are expected to win immediatley. Can he turn this Golden state team into a contender? He did it in Stanford but NBA players are a totally different breed. Mullin is making some bold moves that can either create his legacy or have himself fired in two years. I am beginning to like....
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rudeezy:</div><div class="quote_post">This was definately a bold move by Mullin to say the least. Wow.</div> Yep...That's why Mullin was hired to do so,make moves that St.Jean couldn't or/and wouldn't do In the coming years The Warriors and their fans will see if this was a step in the right direction..or not?
I'm warming up to the idea of Montgomery making a successful transition to the NBA. Just from reading all the articles that have come out today, it sounds like Montgomery has been thinking about making the transition to the NBA for quite some time now. He's got experience dealing with NBA players since he was an assistant coach for the USA's World Championship team two years ago. It's still a huge risk, but if there is a coach with the right mentality and is prepared to make the transition to the NBA, its Montgomery. A lot depends on who his assistant coaches are. He's going to need at least one assistant coach who was a former NBA head coach or long time player. So in that sense, I'd love for the team to be able to resign Avery Johnson. Though Johnson could probably get a better offer with another team, I think he and Montgomery could teach each other a lot. By the way, just because I enjoy stirring up unfounded controversy, I'm going to continue to promote my Rick Barry to be an assistant coach rumor...even though it continues to be completely unfounded...
All good points everyone, especially Wtwalker who is always thorough about everything. Geez. Okay here's my take. I was always impressed with Montgomery because he's up there with the elite. There is no doubt about how good he is, but the NBA is a different game because there's so much more politics involved especially with players with huge egos and making millions per year. I'm really, really worried if our star players get really, really lazy when they're playing for Montgomery. I mean Montgomery's system definitely involves playing together as an organized team, something that Mullin emphasizes the warriors must do to win games. I've always complained there wasn't enough x's and o's type of strategy in Musselman's coaching to win close games and Montgomery can definitely provide that, given our players are smart enough and disciplined to work with the game plan. I know that Montgomery is used to running several set plays one after the other to test the other teams' reaction to it. If the other team is slow to respond to certain plays, there will be more plays used to exploit the other team's lapse in defense. Now Stanford caliber players are really smart guys who are used to playing hard within that system to fight against better talent. Stanford's teamwork was so good that on several occasions they'd run set plays almost flawlessly. It's going to take a lot of good teamwork, something that Mullin is trying to stress in Oakland. Our team totally needs this to get to the next level and hopefully Mullin can keep the players and the coach comfortable in this period of transition. I think Musselman set the tone for our players to play hard and do whatever it takes to motivate themselves to get the job done.
