I honestly don't understand what's up with the Brad Stevens hype. Well, I kind of do, as he coaches in Boston and everything. But the premise seems to be that the team has played better since they traded Green and Rondo. Well, both Dallas and Memphis proceeded to play worse following those trades, so doesn't that mean those players weren't that good in the first place? And they still finished with a losing record. McHale took a team of Dalembert (who would go on to be worthless)/Patterson(role player/Parsons(rookie and couldn't shoot)/Lee(role player)/Dragic(perennial backup) to a better record in a better conference and he was deemed one of the worst coaches in basketball. What am I missing here?
I have no idea if Donovan is a good NBA coach or not, but it's not like his success was just those 2 championships. Before this year's train wreck, he took 4 straight teams to the Elite Eight (one of those made the final four), and those teams weren't loaded with NBA all stars. He's had a lot of consistent success with a lot of different players.
I guess they could not wait on Thibs and suspect he has a chance to go to the finals and then stay Rocket River
It's been a long time since Donovan all but took the Magic job. I was wondering if he'd missed his moment.
The state of Florida is a mecca for sports recruiting. Not only did he have Bradley Beal and Chandler Parsons (SEC Player of the Year) over the last 5 years, but he can stack the role players with in-state quality players. And having to coach "a lot of different players" is pretty much the standard in college now, with all the 1 and done or 2 and done stars, so every big program has that issue. No one really stays for 4 yrs anymore, unless Brad Stevens is coaching them at a small school in Indiana. Like you say, I have no idea about Donovan, don't follow NCAAs, but I would guess that anyone who coaches Florida has a recruiting advantage on in-state product (for your whole roster), plus Florida is attractive place to live for out-of-state players.
Lots of great college teams have a pretty good NBA player on them. You still have to win - and I'm not sure if there's another team in the country that made 4 straight Elite Eights. Here was their final four roster from a couple of years ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013–14_Florida_Gators_men's_basketball_team#Roster Do you recognize any of those names?
Oh, and don't forget that Donovan had the best recruiter in the NCAAs -- Chandler Parsons. chandlerwink.gif
Not really sure if we are the best to be debating this. I certainly am not. Don't know and don't care about the NCAAs, since none of the great players really even play much in college anymore. So, I wouldn't recognize any bball players in the NCAAs, since I don't watch it. I'm just saying Florida has had a lot of great players in the NBA -- even before the title years. So, I'm sure it is very easy for a Florida coach to out-recruit in his own state. And it's a great state for recruiting. I'm sure he is stacked with quality college players all the time. And the superstars in College leave after one year, so rarely help alone unless surrounded by quality all around. Having a bunch of seniors can take out one and done teams. Looking at who had the best NBA draft talent nowadays means you are talking about freshmen and sophmores.
Right, and also consider that we're discussing a very fine line. OF COURSE, Donovan can coach. The question is, is he the best choice? Seems like a weird choice to me, but we'll see.
If Brooks can have success with the thunder then I don't see why Donovan can't either. At the minimum Presti just had to clear the hire with KD and/or Westbrook. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't and this blows up in his face.
I think Donovan could be successful there. But it's a huge gamble. If OKC underachieves next season, Durant could bolt. And then it's game over for that franchise.
My thoughts as well. With their roster and the mandate to compete for a championship immediately, OKC needed someone who could hit the ground running. As we've seen with Golden State, assistant coaches can be huge for first-time NBA head coaches. Will Donovan hire seasoned veterans who can show him the ropes or will he bring along guys he's familiar with. This is crucial.
I think you are missing the boat on Stevens. The Boston roster is sorry and they play a very smart brand of basketball. Their record after those trades was something like 20-11, which is incredible. I don't think Jeff Green made the Grizzlies worse. He is what he is, which is middling but still better than Tayshaun Prince. Rondo is Rondo. Nuff said. No argument from me.
That's exactly how I feel. You get a college coach when you're rebuilding like the celtics. I would have waited and seen what happens with Thibs....I understand he might stay, but you are easily the premier job opening this summer. Take your time and get a big splash
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yahoo Sources w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/YahooForde">@YahooForde</a>: Florida's Billy Donovan is finalizing a multi-year deal to become the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/593805365415936000">April 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is professional sports. You have a bunch of entitled and wealthy white men making decisions in a sub culture that is very much based on word or mouth and pre-existing relationships. Presti has known and been close with Billy Donovan for many years. I am sure Presti wants a coach that he gets along well with and has a similar philosophy. Thibs does not have the reputation of having a good relationship with his superiors. Also, other coaches vouch for Donovan and believe he can make the transition. His offenses and defensive style is more in line with the NBA game. So it isn't like Donovan is a bad choice.
