Terry Porter will take over as head coach for the Bucks Wednesday with NO real qualified coaching experience (one year as assistant). I understand they are trying to cut back on salary, but come on, TERRY PORTER?!?!?!?!?!?! http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/bucks/2003-08-05-porter-hire_x.htm Source: Terry Porter taking over in Milwaukee MILWAUKEE (AP) — Terry Porter, a native of Milwaukee who played 17 seasons in the NBA, has been hired to coach the Bucks, according to a league source. The Bucks called a news conference for 4 p.m. CT Wednesday to introduce their new coach. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it will be Porter. Porter, who was an assistant with the Sacramento Kings last season, didn't immediately return a phone message, and Bucks general manager Larry Harris, who hasn't spoken publicly since the firing of George Karl on July 20, wasn't available. Porter and Atlanta Hawks coach Terry Stotts were believed to be the front-runners in a search that included at least eight candidates. Stotts didn't return a phone message Tuesday. Porter, 40, met last month with Harris and returned over the weekend for a second interview with the team's owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, and vice president of business operations John Steinmiller. After starring at Milwaukee South Division High School and at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Porter was hoping to be drafted by the Bucks in 1985, but they bypassed him and he was selected by Portland. After a stellar 10-year stint with the Trail Blazers in which he became the club's career assists leader, Porter played with Minnesota, Miami and San Antonio, where he finished his playing career in 2002. He served last season on the staff of Kings coach Rick Adelman. Karl was fired after posting a 205-173 record in five seasons in Milwaukee. The Bucks are paying him $7 million for 2003-04 plus more than $1.5 million for his 1% of the team that Kohl gave him two years ago. Kohl took the Bucks off the market in June after negotiating to sell the club to Michael Jordan. After Ernie Grunfeld was let out of his contract a year early to pursue Washington's general manager job, Harris took over and traded Sam Cassell to Minnesota in June. That completed the dismantling of the "Big Three" — Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen — who guided Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference finals in 2001. Allen was traded to Seattle for Gary Payton in February, while Robinson was sent to Atlanta for Toni Kukoc last August.
Ironic. George Karl, that dick, whines up and down about young black coaches being 'anointed,' he gets his lameass kicked to the curb, and gets replaced by an anointed head coach who was playing in the NBA 15 months ago.
Seriously. The NBA has gone corrupt! I go eat some food.................and Terry Porter is an NBA head coach?!? What is happening to the National Basketball Association...
Doc Rivers didn't have an coaching experience I believe and he is doing a great job with Orlando. Isiah did a good job for Indiana until the Pacers self-destructed at the end of the season, though that falls more in the lap of Ron Artest being hot-headed and selfish for attention.
Terry Porter will work with the young guards T.J. Ford Desmond Mason Michael Redd i think the move makes sense.
I agree with JPM. Just to expand: 1) Terry Porter is from Milwaukee, born and raised. He also attended college near there, I think. The fact that he's a hometown boy could have been a small factor (he wanted to be drafted by the Bucks, but they passed him up and he went to Portland where he had a good career). 2) The work he does with the guards should be great. He is the career assist leader for the Blazers; that's something for TJ to look up to and try to emulate. Michael Redd right now is a one-dimensional player: 3 pt shooting. Porter could make him a more complete guard by teaching him how to pass. Same with Mason: he can dunk and create offense, but his passing game could use some work. Porter also was a decent defender. Not quite a lockdown defender, but he did average 1.24 stls for his career. He can teach those guards to play D (there's a new concept: D in Milwaukee...) 3) Terry Porter may not be a headline grabbing coach, but he never was one as a player either. He's been very efficient throughout his career, and I think he can be a very competent coach. I think he'll focus on the fundamentals of basketball, which will not only help the team, but help in the rebiulding process as he brings along the core of TJ, Redd, and Mason. Heaven forbid, he might even get Tim Thomas to start working to earn his money.
If they wanted work on their young guards they might as well have gone with John Lucas who I'm sure would jump at the chance to coach again in the NBA.
yeah, Terry Porter wouldn't have been my first choice but i see some of the logic behind it. But at the same time, the Bucks are rebuilding so why not hire a cheap coach. Has John Lucas ever been successful as a coach. He might have had 1 winning season somewhere. To me it seems he belongs as an assistant and no more.
He'll be a great coach and this young team can grow with him. He's a Wisconsin-native and I always thought he would make a great coach. Good pick up for the Bucks.
I'm not a Buck's fan, but I got to believe it makes some sense...Although he lacks a lot of coaching experience... Maybe their thinking of the RudyT model...
I'm not saying he won't be a good coach. I hope he will be a great coach. But, obviously there wasn't a big search for a coach out there. Granted, there were pretty much no qualified coaches ready to take not much money (as I'm sure is in this deal). Now, ignore this please as I don't want to turn this into a race issue, but if Porter was white, then everyone in the country including Jesse Jackson would say that the Bucks were racist, claiming they didn't look at minorities for hire. I mean there was probably no more than 1 or 2 other considerations. How they got to Porter is beyond me. As said, I hope he does well.
How the hell can you know? Nobody knows anything about Terry Porter as a coach. He's a total wild card. Essentially, the Bucks seem to have said: this guy was a smart player, worked hard, has Milwaukee roots, and had a great interview... now let's make him our head coach! I don't think that's a good decision. Nobody should get a job w/o cutting their teeth as an assistant, unless being a coach in the NBA really is just being a figurehead. In which case, the Rockets overpaid bigtime for Van Gundy...
The Bucks aren't stupid. They know what they are doing. One's gotta be able to impress them in some ways to get that job. We don't know much about Terry Porter so it'll be interesting how it turns out.
