Van Gundy: Management is Blazers' problem Sunday, March 13, 2005 JIM BESEDA The first half of the question touched a nerve with Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy. If the Trail Blazers are an example of a team with poor chemistry, where do Van Gundy's revamped Rockets fall on the scale? "Portland?" Van Gundy said. "It starts when you fire a quality coach like Maurice Cheeks. That's where it starts. That has nothing to do with chemistry. That's decision making. That's bailing. No coach has a chance in this league without support." So, the Blazers aren't an example of a team made up of mismatched parts that don't fit well together? "Nothing will fit if you don't support the coach. Nothing," Van Gundy said. "If you don't support your coach, nothing works because then there's no order. And if there's no order, there can be no discipline or accountability. And if there's no discipline or accountability, it follows that people will be talking about chemistry. But I don't really think it's necessarily chemistry amongst the players. "When I watched that team play when they switched over to two point guards, they were playing with great chemistry. So, I don't think it's an issue of chemistry as much as it is of order." Van Gundy took Cheeks' ouster personally, in part because Van Gundy was on the coaching staff in New York during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, when Cheeks played for the Knicks. "I saw what a professional he was as a player," Van Gundy said. "I saw his character, his human spirit." Van Gundy also points out that Cheeks won more games than he lost as a head coach, working through major changes to the roster -- the Blazers used 43 players during Cheeks' tenure -- as well as several significant front office moves. "He weathered it; he dealt with a lot of issues, handled himself with total class," Van Gundy said. "And in the end, whenever management says, 'We're in it together,' you know they're full of crud. They're in it until they need someone to expend, and then they'll cut the coach off at the first sign of trouble, like they did in Portland." Van Gundy said success in the NBA typically starts at the top with strong ownership and trickles down through solid management, empowered coaches and talented players. "San Antonio is the model," Van Gundy said. "That's what everybody should be shooting for. So when I look at a guy like Mo, you know, you see the wrong, and to me it stems directly from a lack of support from management. "Very rarely in this league, when you have a quality guy like him, and a quality coach like him, do you know what you miss until it's gone. That's not to say anything about Kevin Pritchard or whom they might hire next. I'm just saying this: Mo Cheeks will be missed more than they'll ever know." Van Gundy said the job Nate McMillan has done in five seasons as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics is a perfect example of what is possible when an organization supports the coach and practices patience when times are tough. "As if Nate's so much better a coach this year? Are you kidding me?" Van Gundy said. "When you coached against this guy last year, you knew he was a great coach. And the year before, and the year before that. Just because they won 37 last season wasn't a reflection of his coaching. "Now they're winning more, and it's because they have a better-constructed roster and they rebound the ball better. Nate was always a great coach. And that's what makes me laugh. It's like, if all you want to do is go on the results to determine who is a good coach, who couldn't be a general manager?" http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1110625112319420.xml
You know, JVG's awfully articulate for a coach. Not that I really think he's right there - I think the Blazers are a hideous mismatch of half-decent talent. But it is nice having a coach who manages to avoid cliches from time to time.
I agree - JVG is extremely articulate with excellent communication skills. Very bright and analytical....... I do agree- with JVG- the MGT at Portland is as mismatched as the players. That screwball GM -pet of Paul Allen's - Bob Whitsit went to manage the Seahawks, then they hired John Nash as GM with Steve Patterson as President. They are in transition, but not thinking well on the fly....... Cheeks is a good-respected guy who had little to work with..... Darius Miles got him fired- talk about the inmates running the asylum
He Really is .. . only real problem I ever had with him is he was such a .. pessimist and had a nasty sarcastic streak But he is on point here CD has supported him. He and Cd have made HIS TEAM like HE WANTED IT I don't think T-mac and Yao are JVGs type guys or they were not when they or he arrived but CD pulled those triggers and JVG has made them work JVG opened up the offense and the whole world is the rockets oyster Rocket River
Funny how we were all calling for JVG's head on a spike not so long ago. Then the Rockets turned into a fun team to watch, what with our guard additions (Sura back from injury [twice], James, Barry, Wesley). And JVG, suddenly, is All Right. I'm glad though. Having the coach as the weak link (not that he's the best out there, but still) is a heavy burden to overcome. Mo Cheeks, apparently, suffered from Nice Guy Syndrome. Some coaches have the opposite, and it's a cancer; but NGS is also debilitating and, generally, a lifelong affliction. But Mo also had one heck of a jacked-up team to deal with. When your team states it's gonna change its image, then pays max money to a thug (sorry) like Zach Randolph and keeps Shareef Abdur-Rahim hanging on a hook and playing out of position, and lets another thug (sorry) like Darius Miles go off on his own coach..... Someone in the Blazers organization stated that the team has a soft spot for hard-luck cases and whatever. I don't know if it's Paul Allen or whomever. That soft spot, unfortunately, is in their head. And it's hurting them. Like drafting Quintel Wood or whatever his name is, who was released due to charges of animal abuse. Remember when the Blazers (yeah, the BLAZERS, apt name) drafted that dude? And some of us sensitive souls on the board were writing, "Is it just me or, uh, when Q interviewed at the NBA draft, did, uh, he seem a little, uh, intellectually challenged?" And someone came back and said, "Just say it, ROXTXIA. He's STUPID." In hindsight, the guy had blazed away his brain cells. Good match for a team with other potheads and sex offenders and such. And great message to send: let's fire the nice guy coach. Hey, we can't trade Darius Miles; he gets guaranteed dollars.
I agree Rocket River- JVG is so negative and pessimistic. I also give him props for what JVG has done with the talent they aquired. I think it's good to be realistic about how hard it is to win in the NBA, but effort should be balanced with praise... I worked for years with a really pessimistic leader....No matter how well we did, he never would lighten up. If a project was 100% safe, no accidents, and we made 1 million dollars- he would ask -Why didn't you make 2mil?? It was very discouraging to those who put out the extra effort.... I do not like all the negativity, but I like winning.... Go Rockets...
Little off topic here, but if I were the Blazers GM, I would: 1) Get Flip Saunders. 2) Send Zach Randolf to NJ for Richard Jefferson (plays same position as VCarter; NJ needs a big man) 3) Resign Shareef Abdul-Rahim Next: I would try to package Van Exel with Miles and free up cap space. I would let Stoudemire walk. FA target: Joe Johnson or Bobby Simmons, Bobby Jackson Line Up: Bobby Jackson/Telfair Richardson/Anderson JJ/Patterson/Outlaw SAR Przybilla/Ratliff
Good post. I wonder if many coaches would do better if they were allowed to create their own teams, instead of the teams the GM wants. Let the coach get talent to fit the system. On the other hand, it seems that a lot of the coaches who also wear the GM hat end up as hideous failures. Maybe the Rockets have it right now: a GM who gets the sort of players the coach wants, but with a barrier between "I want" and "I get."
