Weekend Links: Coaching Search
by wyn on Aug 1, 2009 7:33 PM CDT
Email
PrintTwo items that Sonia at T-Wolves Blog linked this weekend on the coaching search:
From OregonLive:
Trail Blazers assistant coach Monty Williams on Saturday said he has been informed that he will not get the Minnesota Timberwolves head coaching job.
From Yahoo! Sports:
Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn confirmed he has begun the second round of interviews for the team’s head-coaching position. Kahn said he planned to have the candidates show some of their coaching techniques on the court but wouldn’t discuss other details of the search.
"I think if you’re going to hire a coach, my personal feeling, and this is me, maybe I’m a fool, bringing someone into a hotel suite or a conference room is fine," Kahn said. "But I felt like the court is their work space and part of the second round is to take people out there and go over some X’s-and-O’s stuff so they can show me right there."
By the way, if you don't read Sonia's links every day, you're not getting all the Wolves news.
19 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
No offense to Kahn but
Is he the best judge of Xs and Os coaching techniques? Don’t think he has any coaching experience or actual playing experience. What am I missing here?
He'll just delegate that part of the assessment
to the existing staff of assistants.
Wait. I’m not sure if the Wolves still even have any of those. Never mind.
And wait again:
What players are on the floor for these coaching tryouts?
Could Kahn not just have observed all of them working during the summer league? That’s why he was in Vegas, right?
No, he's not.
I think Kahn thinks he knows more about basketball than he really does. Kahn seems to have a real knack for being an administrator. He runs an organization really well, is very organized and thorough. But he isn’t a basketball mind. I think he needs to recognize that and make sure he gets really good talent evaluators and scouts on his staff. And listen to them.
That said, the difference between him and McHale (who was a good basketball mind, but a TERRIBLE administrator) is apparent and refreshing.
Reality
Is that Kahn has kept the staff pretty much in the dark since the draft. The Telfair trade was a huge surprise as was the trip to Spain. No one has had any input in the coaching search.
Kahn is operating very much on his own rather than using an organization.
If he's doing that...
After he chooses who will be in the new front office, then it will be a problem. My guess is hiring a staff will be the next thing after hiring a coach.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Aug 2, 2009 9:48 PM CDT up reply actions
PSR
The vast majority of the staff contracts (Hoiberg, Babcock, et al) run through this season. They are here for the duration which is why it is so puzzling they are being left out. (Taylor is NOT going to pay double pay staff)
“Love To”’s thought that Kahn thinks he knows more about basketball than he actually does has some resonance with me. The “lone wolf” modus operandi that JAF has been noting is a little bit disappointing, mostly because I think that it will take 110% commitment by everyone in the Timberwolves organization to regain competitiveness in the league.
I don't see it as a big deal
It’s just another way for him to evaluate them. Plus, many of the guys who hire a coach never played or coached in the NBA.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Aug 2, 2009 9:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Sonia's updates are awesome
Thorough and totally eliminates the need to hunt Hoopshype etc for tidbits. Go Sonia!
and Sid says the word in "NBA circles" is Rambis for the Wolves
Sid reports that Mychal Thompson (former Laker and Gopher alumni) gave it the old college try and endorsed Kurt personally to the Kahn. And further, that Rambis told Mychal that he’d take the job if offered.
Umm, I guess this means there’s no hope for Rambis coming here.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/52270017.html?page=3&c=y
The word in NBA circles is that Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis will be the next Timberwolves coach and Mychal Thompson, the former Gophers star and Lakers teammate of Rambis’ who now is a radio broadcaster for the Lakers, has made a strong recommendation. “I talked to David [Kahn] personally and told him you have to go after a guy like Rambis who knows what it takes to win in this league,” Thompson said. “He would take the job if it was offered to him. I know that. He would be a great teacher to guys like Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.”
local angle
Does anyone like Rambis and is anyone else sick of local media always playing the local angle. As if Kahn is going to hire a coach based off Mychal Thompson’s recommendation.
My coach list:
1. Rambis: He’s spent years with Phil Jackson and the Lakers. You know he’s not a slouch.
2. Elston Turner: Adelman, who he worked under, is a good offensive mind. He can coach any system or style of play based on his roster. If the Wolves really want to run with two point guards on the floor, they might benefit from someone with the knowledge and scheme flexibility that comes from working with Adelman.
3. Mark Jackson: I hope this isn’t the hire. Would there ever even have really been a search then? He’s never even been an assistant. I’d take a wait-and-see approach, but be kind of dubious. That said, I hated the initial Kahn hiring, and he’s really won me over so far.
The coaching situation
Unless something has radically changed, Rambis may be the top choice but he is not all that interested. He is strongly rumored to have a commitment to succeed Phil Jackson. Phil only came back this year to defend – as soon as the Laker lose a playoff series, Phil is retired. With San Antonio’s upgrades, that could be this year. So it would need to be big money and long terms for Rambis to even consider. I would be thrilled if Kahn convinced him to come – it would be the first big positive thing I would say about him!
Which brings us to Jackson. Jackson would have been hired long ago but he is insisting on 4 years at a mid level price. Kahn (for good reason I might add) is not going there. Expect 3 years at a middling salary or a 4 years at a low salary to get it done.
Turner is the low cost option should Rambis (likely) or Jackson (only if terms can’t be reached) turn us down.
No
Personally, I think Turner would be a very good choice and would probably be a long term choice like Flip was.
But the other 2 candidates would spark more buzz that just might sell a few tickets. Tickets sales/renewals are so far behind last year’s pace that anything that can be done to spark interest is being done.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Canis Hoopus
Related FanShots on Canis Hoopus
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
