We've had several threads where everyone picks their All-Time Team. Who could ever forget A-Train taking Moochie as his point guard to lead his team j/k So let's say you're the owner, you have spent $$$millions$$$ to put this "Greatest Team" together. Who do you bring in to coach this team? Failure is not an option. What coach, in your opinion, got/gets the most out of his players? You can pick any coach in NBA history. So who would be your coach? Mine would be Red Auerbach
If my team is aleady full of great players (HOFers), then I want Phil Jackson 1st, Red 2nd and maybe Chuck Daly 3rd. if it didn't have to be an NBA coach, I would pick Wooden
Funny you mention Wooden. I was thinking of starting a "Who was a better coach, Red Auerbach or John Wooden?" but figured this approach would get more replies.
Love Wooden but I'm not sure Wooden's "my way or the highway" approach would work even with the Old School NBA players. So....give me Red.
Actually, I think that would have been a better discussion. Whats more impressive?? Wooden 7 straight NCAA championships; 10/12 overall 4 undefeated seasons (30-0) 88 game win streak 38 game NCAA tournament win streak 149-2 home record .813 overall winning % Auerbach 8 straight NBA titles (9 total) 10 division titles in 16 years .654 overall winning % To be honest, I know very little about Auerbach's coaching style in comparison to what I know about Wooden. Wooden coached some players then went on to have great NBA careers, but Auerbach coached 11 HOFers. Give me Wooden (because I think much of Auerbach's success came because of the type of players he had).
Red had an amazing knack of spotting talent and getting the most out of that talent. Red drafted Bill Russell in a time when offense ruled in the NBA. The rest is history. More Auerbach talent spotting: Many folks remember the great Boston Celtic trade of the 1st pick in the 1980 draft to Golden State in return for Robert Parrish and the 3rd pick in the draft. Most folks remember that Golden State used the first pick on Joe Barry Carroll and that the Celtics used the 3rd pick on Kevin McHale And Red landing Larry Legend: Though he had another year of eligibility left, the Celtics' Red Auerbach shrewdly selected him with the sixth pick of the first round in the 1978 NBA draft. Some critics at that point thought he wasn't worth his paycheck, that he was too slow for the faster pro game.
Bob, Didn't mean to imply that Red shouldn't receive credit for having those HOFers on his team. Would it be fair to say that Red was a better talent evaluator than he was an actual coach (XandOs)??? I think thats why I went with Wooden (geat XandOs coach since the team is already set with great players). How about we have Red build the team and Wooden coach it??? hehehe
Didn't take it that way at all codell. What Wooden did was simply amazing and will never happen again. His teams dominated college basketball. He was also a great talent spotter and motivator. You can't lose with either coach.
Auerbach or Wooden? That's like choosing between two 3-karat diamonds. Or Britney Spears and Anna Kournikova. Win either way!
If you're talking about getting the most out of players I think Pat Riley is really the guy. Question is does he run players into the ground while he's getting the most out of them which I think he does. If I were the owner though I'd want a fun team to watch so I'd go with someone like Doug Moe or Don Nelson. I've always had a blast watching their teams play up tempo ball. Plus if they had the talent to actually win a title they're both competent enough not to screw it up.
Phil Jackson.....no doubt. Nobody's better than juggling egos than that guy. Besides, here's proof he's the greatest ever: he put up with Rodman and won three championships despite the Cult of Rodman overwhelming Dennis's focus on the game.
Dude, it's hard to argue with that. Jackson's got the rings to prove that he knows *exactly* how to get the most from his players. Juggling giant egos (and with only one basketball) is a vastly underappreciated skill for an NBA coach. Good call.
Perhaps having Pappa Jordan out there on the floor had a little something to do with keeping all the egos in check.
Anybody can pick Phil Jackson or Red Aeurbach...Who's that guy that used to coach for Princeton? He ran back door cuts all the time...They would always have something like 27 assists on 29 field goals
Red didn't coach those teams. I'll take Phil Jackson, winning with two completely different sets of players is what sets him apart from all other NBA coaches.
