Portland Coach- And Then There Were Two

Just out of curiosity who did you want? Personally I have no idea who they should have hired. I would be guessing the same as all of us. I know very little about any of them. I am assuming that the Blazers used the time to find out a little about each one. I just don't get the logic in thinking this whole thing was a charade.

You never know when they may need to fall back on these interviews. Just like it is not a waste of time in bringing in lots of players to evaluate before the draft. You never know when you might have a need for one of them. Even if it is 2-3 years down the road. "Due diligence" might be an over used term, but it is not a bad thing to do.

But I agree they need to wrap it up this week.

 

Well, Zbot, Felton and Crawford are no longer Blazers. So they "earned" trips out of town.

I don't think the search was a sham. It's not like there were shitloads of hot coaching prospects. And it makes some sense to know whose on the team first, since different coaches work better with different types of players. Eventually a coach earns the right to put his/her stamp on the team.

 

I would have gone with Shaw or Malone. Actually, I would have loved to have Sloan, but he said no. I think he would have been great for Lillard.

With that said, I think some of us believe this was all a charade because Olshey pretty much came in on day one and gave the job to Canales. The "search" has gone on for roughly a month now and the final four candidates are all pretty "bleh". I just got the feeling that Olshey made up his mind before he even started the process, but since Kaleb doesn't really have the support of the fanbase as a whole, they decided to do a thorough search to at least present the image that they looked outside the organization. That's just my theory on it.

 

Exactly. Benefit of the doubt I guess is what MM 2.0 is all about

 

True. And with a young team you can foster a pretty good competition. The question will be after Batum's big contract, if Batum flops this year, will the coach cut his minutes?

 

I think I would opt for Stotts as he will probably be able to make the tough decisions and maintain the players respect. Canales seems like he's their buddy.

 

Color me completely underwhelmed. We have the richest owner in sports. Coaches don't count against the salary cap or luxury tax. We just overpaid to keep Nicolas Batum a Blazer (and he does count against the cap and luxury tax). Why not grossly overpay a QUALIFIED, PROVEN coach to lead this young bunch? Instead, the two "best" candidates they could find have a combined NBA head coaching record of 123 - 183 regular season and 1 - 4 post season.

Seriously, WTF? That's the "best" they could find?

I don't care how good a guy Kaleb is, I want these young guys learning from a coach with a proven system. And, I don't view this season as a throw away. Whether, or not, we end up in the lottery doesn't matter to me that much (I'd prefer to make the playoffs so these young guys can get the playoff jitters out of their systems), but I don't want a team that settles for losing and accepts it just because they, and their coach, are young and inexperienced. When it comes to basketball, there are two columns in the standings: wins and losses. There is no "excuses" column. I want our young players to learn and grow. Let Kaleb continue to learn and grow as an assistant. The combination of young, inexperienced players and young, inexperienced coach looks like a recipe for disaster to me.

Stotts is older, and has a bit more experience as a head coach, but his resume is less impressive than several of the other candidates they interviewed. And, if he's the only alternative to Canales that's even interested in the job, they simply aren't offering enough money to lure the right coach to Portland. Cutting corners on this hire will set back the development of our young players and that's a false savings. The players cost way more than the coach. So, you're better off in the long run overpaying a good coach than underpaying for crap.

BNM

 

But who is this good coach you are referring to? PA over paid last time to get what was considered a good coach. Who is it this time? I doubt Sloan and Jackson turned the Blazers down because of money.

 

BNM, in fairness, I think the Blazers were willing to overpay Jackson and Sloan. Which qualified coaches were available? Seems there were assistants and retreads. I'd rather give an assistant a shot than go for Van Gundy (either). Not sure why Shaw or Malone didn't make the cut but it seems the Blazers were not the only ones with available coaching jobs who passed them up. Either they underwhelmed in interviews or maybe want to go to a win now situation. I admit I'm not jumping for joy but I don't believe this was all a fake.

 

This.

100x This.

 

And That.

 

Guys like Sloan and Jackson are proven winners at the end of their respective careers. They're looking for one last shot at winning it all, not the chance to see their career winning percentage slip by coaching a rebuilding team. They're already wealthy and a few more dollars from PA isn't worth damaging their legacy. The way I see it, I'm fine with a young team being coached by a coach who's still hungry. Caleb or Stotts will be fine for now. If they don't work out in the long run, they'll be replaced in a couple of years when this team is ready to contend.

 

I could forgive just about any other flaw in a candidate, as long as they brought in a guy with a track record for player development.

Does that describe either Stotts or Canales? Then what was the frickin' point? They might as well have thrown a water-balloon off the top of the RG and hired however it happened to hit.

 

Everyone has their price, even Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan. If they turned down PA's initial offer, double it. I would have been fine with Phil Jackson's proposal of hiring Brian Shaw with Phil as president and assisting at home games and player development. Phil's biggest objection is travel. So, let him stay in Portland. He'd be here for home games, training camp, etc.

If we're going for an assistant, why not one from a proven winner, with a proven system like Budenholzer (or Shaw)?

BNM

 

For the record, Pat Riley was a radio color commentator - the Antonio Harvey role - before he was picked to coach the Lakers. Point being, you never know who's got "it." I think maybe Caleb does. I hope so.

 

That's why I liked the idea of Shaw as head coach with Phil as team president and assisting at home games/practices and training camp. A lot of player development occurs in training camp and practices. That's where Phil can add value - without it impacting his career winning percentage. And, he was open to this. Shaw is a Phil disciple - well versed in Phil's system. So, Shaw + Phil >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Skippy the video coordinator.

BNM

 

Mexican > Black Head Coach.










Thats for those of you that hate on White Centers

 

Who do you think is going to fill out Canales staff?

Hopefully Grg's is one of em.

 

All current and retired coaches are "available".

All that is needed to negotiate with Popovich or Adelman is their team's permission, which can be bought.

 

Someone on the radio mentioned that Bill Bayno would probably be interested in coming back if Canales got the job.