Eric Musselman fired by the Warriors

Well, if the Nugs let Bz go, I wouldn't mind us bringing him in. I know that's one rumor I've heard along with Phil Jackson. Doubtful that either are likely though.

 

i dont watch the nuggets that much...But am wondering why is everyone on Bz case? THe nuggest were garbage last year and had a whole bunch of more wins this year.

 

I still don't get it why Denver want to kick Jeff Bzdelik out.

He did a great job, more important, he installed the identity for Nuggets. I enjoyed Denver ball very much, it was exciting. Although I am a rox fan, I have to admit Rox ball is somewhat boring.

 

Musselman getting fired is unjustified, they get rid of the two highest scorers (jamison and arenas), and management forces him to play young players so he has no chance of winning games. just a lose lose situation he is probably better out of.

 

They must think they have a shot at someone with a high profile.

 

They fired him so they can hire Stanford(NCAA) head coach Mike Montgomery. I don't exactly call that high profile.

Here is the link, by the way.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/7343331

 

If I were Atlanta I would jump all over Musselman post haste. He is a very good coach and gets a lot out of a little much like Sloan. Musselman did a fantastic job in GS. He would have done better if their GM would have kept the right players there.

 

A huge advantage ATL has is that they have already cleared nearly $30m in cap space. GS still has the possibility of NVE and Dampier taking their POpt's. Those two combined equal more than what ATL has committed for next season.

Musselman would be a good fit in ATL and he would have the aforementioned clean slate to work with.

Perhaps GS was signaling something to NVE? Take your $11+m POpt and be part of our ongoing rebuilding?

 

Honestly, I was the same way for a while. However, his substitutions were always kind of wacky (there were times we were SCREAMING for more energy, and Bowen would just keep sitting on the bench), and he started to thoroughly get outcoached near the end, especially in the playoffs. That's why I wouldn't mind seeing him back.

As for Kiki however, he's still pissed that Bzz hasn't even tried implimenting a running offense. The first year, we knew we wouldn't run (hell, we barely crawled), but with some guards that want to run, and bigmen who EXCEL at running (Camby and Nene), we were tailor made for it, and he still didn't do it.

BTW, there's a rumor circulating this morning that Kiki is seeing the success that Hubie Brown is having and is thinking about bringing Moe back to coach full time and putting Avery Johnson in as his "second in command" to learn for two years and then take over. That one isn't from a reliable source, but it is a possibility.

 

Problems:

will anyone (vital) take Atlanta's $$$?
how d-u-m would NVE have to be to take the opt out and maybe get a MLE, worth less than half?

Musselman would appear to be a good choice in Hawksland IF he could help 'recruit' FAs to town. The next coach of Atlanta must be able to attract prime beef to accept their millions!

 

Magic doesn't like Westphal, then can Westphal.

Jason Kidd and Buckner, or Scott? Choose Kidd.

I'd take the 1997-Penny Hardaway over Brian Hill.

Hell, I'd take the 2004-Penny Hardaway over Brian Hill.

But choosing Ryan Bowen over Jeff Bzdelik?

I respect your opinions a great deal, N4, but if you want energy on the sidelines -- hire the San Diego Chicken.

If you want a real coach, then get behind Bzdelik.

Also, let's face it, what NBA coach has implemented a 'running offense' in the last 15 years?

 

Not choosing Bowen over Bzdelik. I re-read my post and apologize. That was just an example of bad substitutions I could think of off of the top of my head. He didn't play Rodney White for a good chunk of the season. He kept starting Vo even though Vo was absolutely sucking a good chunk of the season. He doesn't have control of the team.

The whole Bzdelik thing is a mess. Honestly, I'm not sold on him. I admire the hell out of him for what he did two seasons ago. I think he did a decent job this season. But he still has a lot to learn. The thing about Bz is that he will make the effort to learn.

As for the running offense, that's my point. We have the best home court advantage in basketball -- it's called 5000 feet of altitude. Nugs of the 80s ran like no other. They won at home. With most team's efforts to slow it down now, the running game would be pretty damn hard to compete with.

I don't know one Nugs fan that has made up their mind 100% on what to do with Buzz. Everyone respects what he's done, but his shortcomings became pretty damn obvious this season. Supposedly Scott Hastings said on his radio show yesterday that the team has reached an agreement with a "high profile" coach and that will be announced after the playoffs. This argument might be a moot point.

 

It's really Hastings that gets to me, to be honest. The guy seemed like the perfect fit as an on-air analyst and overall funnyboy; but he barely hides his enmity for Bzdelik during games.

I REALLY LIKE Ryan Bowen. He does a lot of great things on the court, sort of like Bo Outlaw, though Bowen can finish better -- but Hastings treats him like some mixture of TR Dunn and Alex English.

The people watching Nuggie games aren't idiots, we can recognize when Bowen does something good and don't need it bashed over our head a hundred thousand times. I was getting frustrated by the lack of playing time and/or development from Rodney White, but I'm also cognizant of the reasons Detroit were so quick to get rid of him (Tayshaun or not).

Kiki's been brilliant so far, Skita nonwithstanding (still think he'll be very good), but to dump Bzdelik just to follow the 'old guy' trend is silly. Moe lost touch with his players and lost interest after a few years without Larry Brown at his side. And that was, what, 16 years ago? Interviewing Alex Hannum or Slater Martin or Abe Lincoln or whatever old guy you can think of is not the answer. The answer is patience and consistency.

Just look at what team won last night. Coached by a man who has been in the same seat, through much Sturm and Drang, since December 1995. Flip Saunders' only recognizable quality going into that job was the fact that he was Kevin McHale's college roommate.

 

And, again, N4, I'm not lecturing you or answering anything you've said -- just going off and wishing I could be saying it to Kiki.

 

Actually, it was Westhead and Magic 'took the bullet' for his teammates who wanted Paul West...head outed. So, Westhead lost his job after losing his best friend. Magic took the heat -- except in his own locker room.

Otherwise, your points were well taken.

 

I do.

 

Oh no, it's all good. It's interesting to get non-Nugs fans points of view on this one. BTW, drop me an e-mail (jlucas4092@hotmail.com) and I can hook you up with Kiki's e-mail address so you CAN tell him this.

I think the main reason Hastings (and others, trust me, not just Scott) ride Bowen's jock so much is because of what he has been for the Nuggets the last few year.s He proves what we've gone through. Bowen was damn near starting for us for a while there, now he can't even get off the bench. When he did start (or play serious minutes), he was Joe Everyman. He sucks as a player (I believe he's one of the few players in NBA history to play in 50+ games in a season and score less than 1 ppg), but when he's on the court, the team does better. It's the damndest thing, but our +/- is a lot higher when Bowen's on the court. Now that can be argued because there are times when he's only in during garbage time, but still....

Agreed for the most part on Kiki. Nene is scaring me. This is another example of someone in the organization needing to put their foot down. Bz won't do it, and it's not Kiki's style. Nene wants to go back to Brazil and practice with his private trainer again this summer. Well Nene, you did that last summer and you didn't improve. And it's BRAZIL! You can't focus on anything in that damn country. Look at the women! He needs to keep his ass here in Denver and work, but no one will put the foot down. A more respected coach (like I said, I've heard Phil Jackson mentioned) could do that. I know a lot of Nugs fans wanted Larry Brown back last off-season but that didnt' work out. I'ce almost given up on Skita (I went from hoping for another Dirk to now just praying he can be a servicable back up 4).

The more I think about Bz, the more my mind changes. I'm afraid that we're gonna do somethign stupid and end up in an Issel situation again with a ****ty coach, but part of me knows that we could do better than Bz.

BTW, some people that watch Nugs games are idiots. A lot of Jazz fans get the Denver FSRM feed.

 

i'm not sure that Red Aurbach could have taken that warriors team to the playoffs. the finished the season strong too, i'm not sure Musselman did anything wrong. Although you do need a fall guy sometime. Meanwhile, maybe they should get Chris Mullin to coach, if he is able, I always thought he showed great basketball sense on the court, but it's something else to coach. Ask Larry Bird.

 

I am a big believer that a team committed to a coach long term avoids some of the player bickering that undid Musselhead's baby boy. See: Lasorda, Weaver, Cowher, and yes, Rudy.