Assistant coach pays less than head coach. Look for Isiah to do commentating this year if he doesnt land a head coaching job elsewhere. Has anyone filled Van Gundys spot on TNT? Id imagine Isiah would be head coaching again by next season at the latest.
That's what happens when you waste what was probably the 2nd or 3rd most talented team in the East... and manage to act like a jerk at the same time. Underachieving nice guys get fired quickly enough...
Once again its a case of miscalculation. The team Larry Bird left that went to the finals had Mark Jackson,Miller,Rose,Dale Davis and Smits with McKey,Best,Croshere and Mullin off the bench. The very next season, Jackson,McKey,Smits,and Mullin are gone and the team still make the playoffs with Best,an umproven O'Neal,Miller,Rose and Croshere. The next season,Rose, the leading scorer is gone and in are Artest,B.Miller,Ollie and Ron Mercer. The team makes the playoffs, but again is gone in the 1st rd after a mid season trade. The next season, the team wins 47 games, but is ousted by the team who made the finals the previous yr in Boston. Isiah has the youngest team to make the playoffs, but still gets fired, yet we defend Rudy T when he complains about the youth of this Rocket team. Like i said, when Bird took over, Zeke should have retired.
what's sort of entertaining to me (which xs28 alluded to above) is the way that, if you look at it right, Joe Dumars, by firing Carlisle, cost his buddy Isiah Thomas his job.
Bottom line: Indy has had the talent to make it deep into the playoffs. Isiah has led them to the bottom rung seedings in the leastern conference to be 1st round fodder. Good move. Even better in getting Carlisle, if that does indeed happen.
agree with some of you guys. thomas got rid of alot of good players so that he can have his 'own' team, in a way it was a slap in the face at bird. now its pay back time. actually, bird was exactly right about team chemistry. the old pacers had a lot of chemistry, scoring was done by miller and rose, the boards go to the davis's boys, role players like croshere and best, a very nice team. unfortunately, they had no answer for shaq (like every body else).
Thursday, August 28, 2003 ESPN.com news services INDIANAPOLIS -- Rick Carlisle visited Conseco Fieldhouse Thursday and will enter negotiations to become Indiana's next head coach, GM Donnie Walsh told The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio. ESPN's David Aldridge reported Wednesday that Carlisle would be named the Pacers' next head coach. Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird had fired head coach Isiah Thomas earlier in the day. Carlisle spent two seasons as the Pistons' head coach, earning 2001-'02 NBA Coach of the Year honors in the process, before being fired in May. Carlisle previously served as an assistant coach with three teams, including the Pacers (1997-'98 through 2000-'01). Carlisle spoke with Bird on Tuesday night and relayed his interest in the position. "He's my first choice," Bird told Aldridge. Carlisle and Bird's relationship dates to the 1980s when the two were teammates with the Celtics. Carlisle also was an assistant for Bird with the Pacers, but was passed over by Walsh in favor of Thomas.
Well, according to the bird man, he would have fired Thomas EVEN Carlisle was not available. He mentioned that the main problem he had with Thomas was communication --daoshi
speaking of communicating, if boki and yao (i hear they hang out together) remain teammates for the next few years i wonder what kind of accents these two will have? i can just see boki speaking english with a chinese accent and yao with a slovinian accent. ebonics maybe?
