Losing sucks, but...

If he hasn't figured it out by now, I think it's safe to say he's never going to figure it out. Stotts isn't good with Xs & Os - he wants to run a 3-man weave, or a modified weave, and let his players free-lance off of screens.

 

It will be interesting to see who we bring in next season. (I don't think Stotts makes it)

 

I can't recall - did Olshey hire Stotts?

 

Yes

 

Hmph.
Well, at least it appears he was only brought in to appease LMA, and now that THAT nightmare is over perhaps he'll find a coach who's better suited to coaching NBA basketball.

 

I'm actually OK with Stotts. His offense is fun to watch, guys seem to respond to him, he seems to maximize most of his starters' talent, but defensively I worry and I think he's the wrong guy to do the development thing, so I doubt he'll be here for long.

 

Spurs forum ---------->

 

Walton and Lue should be too candidates. Thibs would be a decent hire, wish we could hire him as a DC/AHC this season.

 

Weren't we a top 5 offense and defense last year until Wes got hurt?

Took Terry 1.5 seasons with vets to get there from one of the shittiest defenses in the league when Rolo first replaced JJ. Give him some time with this crew. We have a bunch of athletes-- they just don't have the smarts or experience to know how to use their skills/size.

 

I think statistically we were top 5 but in all honesty it didn't feel that way, we were a very slow team and that usually benefits your defensive statistics.

We had/still have major faults in our defensive philosophy. We have more trouble with defending pick plays than any other team in the NBA (probably not true but it feels that way).

 

Fools gold. I don't care what the stats for a partial season say. The offense is only good enough for the regular season - and even then it's often lacking. And the defensive philosophy was crap because it was an iron-clad rule applied the same to every team in the league regardless of their strengths/weaknesses. Terry's shown about as much ability to adjust as Nate did. He's a mediocre coach in a league full of mediocre coaches - absolutely no reason to continue investing time/money in him.

 

I was watching the stupid coaches interview rife with cliches, and I never realized just how "Aw shucks, gee golly" stotts is. Kinda like Mike Riley.

I mean, I knew. But now I know.

 

Other than being a little better than Nate at everything, they are essentially exactly the same. When they open their mouths nothing that comes out actually means anything.

 

So the whole familiarity breeds success thing does not resonate with you?

 

There's a lot more that goes into success than familiarity. Sayings, cliches, and platitudes are just words. There may be a kernel of truth to them, but they do not adequately address the topic they're applied to.
Skill, intelligence, and ability are FAR more important than familiarity. Familiarity heightens the other qualities - that's it.

 

I kind of agree; but the other thing to think about is if we add Cousins he only has two full seasons left on his contract. It'll be identical to when Olshey was hired with LMA here and the clock ticking. We'll be watching our step on every decision hoping he stays long term. With a young player we have him for 4 years on a rookie contract plus likely another 5 on a rookie extension. So 2 years of a vet or 9 years of a young player. Plus the young player would be on a cheap rookie contract that gives us cap flexibility to add a 5th starter or multiple roll players.

I think it'll really depend what we have on the roster besides Lillard. Is CJ or Aminu showing us they can be improving long term starters? Do we acquire any other starting level players? Dame and Cousins alone aren't winning playoff series. If we can surround them with talent to compete it could be worth the risk of Cousins walking. If we're still multiple players and a year away from being relevant in the playoffs it likely better to draft a rookie.

 

The rookie is a crapshoot still though. If we obtained Cousins that would show the league we are serious and want to win now, that attracts free agents. Maybe not all stars but very good role players and vets.

 

I hope it's less than 4 years.

 

Zero possibility. Come on man. Olshey isn't going to bring that headcase in.