A buddy and I were talking about head coaches in the nba. We both found it strange that pretty much all of the coaches are guards. Ewing,lambieer, and even kareem can't smell a job. Yet, we see former guards getting jobs. There is a chance Cassell will get a hc spot before lambieer or ewing. I for one think Lambieer would be a really good coach. I mean if you can coach and manage 12 women, I think doing it in the nba wouldn't be as difficult.
Well Bill Cartwright was the Bulls head coach for a short stint, before he got fired by his former teammate John Paxson. Wes Unseld was the Bullets (now Wizards) coach. Phil Jackson was a PF I believe in his playing days.
Basketball IQ and court sense is less important for a center than for a guard, I'd say. Even communication. That said, I believe the only active player-coach to win a championship was a center -- Bill Russell.
Lambieer and kareem are very high iq people. I know kareem not having a chance has as much to do with him being kinda surly as a player as much as anything, but lambieer is different. Yet del negro and a scrub like lawrence frank have jobs. I think it might be a intimidation thing.
Laimbeer was not well liked amongst his peers, and lo and behold, those peers became GMs and VP of Operations for alot of teams. Dumars probably never gave Laimbeer a shot at the head coach job of the Pistons cause he knows the players wouldn't listen to a guy that came from the WNBA.
KG could probably get a coaching job when he retires, he's well respected...maybe not by fans but around the league. I think it has something to do with the way bigs think though. It's not that they have low IQ it's just their focus is smaller. Fours and fives are mainly concerned with the paint area and they understand the footwork, physicality and positioning down low better than guards. But, guards have to see the whole floor. It's just easier to hire bigs as assistants.
v.3, dumars was king midas, but lately he has made some bad decisions. Firingss flip and hiring curry was terrible. Even if I understood the idea of turning the pg duties over to stuckey, trading him for iverson and keeping rasheed was bad. Not to mention, he offered johnson a 2 yr deal. I think big men only thinking about the paint is kinda close minded because everyone or most everyone can agree you have to defend the paint first and foremost. That includes rebounding the ball also. For the grief he gets, mchale had the wolves playing pretty good until jefferson went down.
Dave Cowens had a nice run with the Charlotte Hornets in their hayday. Paul Silas was also pretty good with both Charlotte and Cleveland for a while.
Sometimes I wonder how CD would have done as a coach, instead of Rudy T if his health wasn't an impediment. Rudy T was a very good communicator despite being somewhat weak in the X's and O's department. I suspect that CD would have been a better teacher. If that were true,I think it would have a lot to do with his prior coaching experience,instead of only being a big man. Floor generals should be greater communicators,but this seems like an individual trait to me.
i think the best coaches are role playing point guards. scott brooks, nate mcmillan, avery johnson. the point guard aspect is obvious, but i emphasize 'role playing' because their success did not come as the result of some inherent greatness that others do not possess. that's why magic was such a flop and why michael ruined kwame brown's career before it even began. the greats see what the rest of us can't see and can't accept the shortcomings of others. i could see kyle lowry making a great coach.
Phil Jackson played center/forward and won 2 rings as a player, i'd say he did pretty well winning a dozen rings
i think maybe a lot of them have knee/leg issues and standing around for 82 ball games a year probably isn't very appealing to them...maybe not the main reason, but i think its probably made some big men shy away
