<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Some NBA sources were amused by Mike Montgomery's first Warriors media session. Some were angered. I was mostly amazed by how little the suddenly ex-Stanford coach seems to know about what he has gotten himself into. Only because Montgomery has owner Chris Cohan in his corner -- this hire smells like more of a Cohan P.R. whim than it does a Chris Mullin choice -- do I give the new coach two years before he's unceremoniously replaced by ``General Manager'' Rod Higgins. Anyone else find it odd that Mullin, who was being groomed to replace G.M. Garry St. Jean, suddenly leapfrogged to some new ``executive vice president for basketball operations'' position so his buddy Higgins, long rumored to be the next coach, could be ``G.M.''? NBA source No. 1: ``It wouldn't have looked good for Mully to hire his buddy to coach right after becoming G.M.'' But why not give your buddy a title so you can keep him on well-paid ice, just in case Montgomery lasts no longer than Jerry Tarkanian did after leaving UNLV for the San Antonio Spurs? Tark, who coached the closest thing in college to pro basketball, was fired after 20 games. NBA source No. 2: ``It's hard to believe that a guy like Mullin, who played 15 years in the league, would take a chance on a college coach.'' NBA source No. 3: ``You can bet the owner had a lot to do with this choice. Who knows? Maybe he was sitting around the country club hearing guys rave about Montgomery when Stanford was 26-0.'' Maybe Cohan is trying to insulate himself against the boos that stung him and his family as he presented a trophy to Michael Jordan at halftime of the 2000 All-Star Game in Oakland. Mullin the player was a Warriors fan favorite. Montgomery the Stanford coach was a kid-gloved media favorite. Maybe Cohan is trying to get lovable by association. Yet the quickest way into a fan's or columnist's heart is to win. That's tough enough when you're stuck near the bottom of the NBA's tougher conference, the West. But Montgomery made his nearly impossible job even tougher with what came off around the league as a naively condescending attitude toward NBA coaching. Perhaps Mullin, who as a crew-cut player always looked as if he had just slipped out of a 1950s newsreel, has reinforced Montgomery's view of today's NBA. If so, that's scary. But Montgomery sounded like the typical college basketball lover who has stereotyped the NBA as a bunch of jewelry covered kids who have no idea what to do with a basketball except dunk it. Montgomery said: ``I've got to believe there are a lot of players in the NBA that want to learn.'' And: ``I'm just not convinced this can't be done the right way.'' Uh, maybe Montgomery should pop in some tape of this team called the Spurs. Maybe he should tune into something called the Eastern Conference finals and watch the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Maybe he should look a little harder at the Los Angeles Lakers. Surely he has heard of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, but what about Tex Winter and Frank Hamblen? Winter and Hamblen, both Lakers assistants, are quietly strong reasons Phil Jackson's team is extremely well-taught and prepared on offense and defense. So are Gregg Popovich's Spurs and Larry Brown's Pistons and Rick Carlisle's Pacers and Hubie Brown's Memphis Grizzlies . . . I could go on. No doubt some lottery-bound teams turn into no-defense, all-mercenary dog pounds. But most NBA teams play far harder and smarter than most Ward Cleaver-style college fans know. In fact, most play so hard and smart on defense that low scores turn off casual NBA viewers. But Montgomery is finally going to teach an NBA team some textbook fundamentals, some discipline, some teamwork -- the ``right way.'' What an insult that statement was to ex-Warriors coach Eric Musselman, the son of former pro and college coach Bill Musselman. Young Musselman taught Jason Richardson far more than he had learned under Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Under Musselman and his staff, first-round draft pick Mickael Pietrus came as far as any rookie in the league. Last year's Warriors improved defensively as much as any team. But now Professor Montgomery will take them to grad school. This is the problem with college coaches: They're exalted rulers of high-walled kingdoms. They think they know it all. College basketball is a coach's game. But you win in the NBA with stars, and coaches who can handle them. That includes teaching and motivating them. NBA stars rarely have reacted positively to know-it-all college coaches whose authority has rarely been questioned. Montgomery's initial favorite surely will be Mike Dunleavy, just the kind of player he could have won with at Stanford. But Montgomery eventually will realize he will need far more than Dunleavy to compete in the West. As a pro, Dunleavy isn't quick or strong enough to defend, and he's not a good enough shooter to be a consistent scorer. Mullin he isn't. NBA source No. 2: ``If Montgomery and Mullin are going to recreate Larry Bird's Celtics, they'd better go find another Larry Bird.'' After early who's-the-boss clashes with Gilbert Arenas and Erick Dampier, Musselman won them over. That's the key to winning in the NBA. NBA source No. 3: ``Mullin might bring in Mario Elie to be the first assistant and the go-between with the players. But Montgomery will realize that Mario is Mullin's eyes and ears and loyal only to Mullin.'' Montgomery has no idea.</div> http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...ors/8743719.htm =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I posted the entire article because you have to register to read it. What do you guys think about this? You think Mullin is planning to replace Montgomery with Higgns as soon as he "screws" up? I sure hope this isn't the case.
Well you have to have a backup if he ain't working, then again a 4 year deal ain't no Joke. Musselman had a 2 year trial contract as a coach, so why isn't the same contract offered to Montgomery then if they are't serious about him? Also it's the same stuff heard over and over again. I see this like a draft if anything. You can draft a hall of famer college coach that can make his team better like Jerry Sloan does for the Jazz, or we can settle for plain old Musselman who will probably make a playoff but won't go deep based on his "system". I'd rather get the potential out of somebody that can be great once he learns the nuances of the nba game. I don't think Musselman can be great. He can be good but not great.
Musselman won games with an undermanned team at the age of what 34? 35? That's amazing. His record is better than Doc Rivers, Paul Westphal, and Jim O'Brien. And this was in the West, not the East. We really had something and now he is gone. Let's just remember this 5 years from now when Musselman takes his team to the Finals (from the East).
Why is the media bashing Montgomery for wanting his players to learn and play defense? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In fact, most play so hard and smart on defense that low scores turn off casual NBA viewers.</div> Casual NBA fans are also turned off by losing teams. I'd rather be a reliable and "boring" winner than a flashy loser.
speculation is always funny to read...the writer also failed to mention how many times Mullin went over to Monty's house to talk and consult with him. Before Muss was hired, the W's and Cohan were criticized for hiring such a young coach with little to no experience as a head coach. we'll see... let's just look forward to who the W's pick up in the draft.
