It really makes me wonder what alot of people on this board wants in a coach. Many people want to either keep rudy,hire van gundy or whatever. My question is ,what wrong with Silas? He took over after Cowens quit, he's had a team that has missed quality players during crucial times in the regular season and playoffs, yet he never complains , is stern yet flexible. Look at his record over the past 4 yrs since he's taken over vs Rudy. 1998 Dave Cowens 4 - 11 0 - 0 Paul Silas 22 - 13 0 - 0 1999 Paul Silas 49 - 33 1 - 3 2000 Paul Silas 46 - 36 6 - 4 2001 Paul Silas 44 - 38 4 - 5 1998 Rudy Tomjanovich 31 - 19 1 - 3 1999 Rudy Tomjanovich 34 - 48 0 - 0 2000 Rudy Tomjanovich 45 - 37 0 - 0 2001 Rudy Tomjanovich 28 - 54 0 - 0 This doesn't include Rudy T or Silas record this season. Silas has suffered injuries and trades during his tenure, but you wouldn't never know it. He had Glen rice traded in the strike season for Elden and Eddie Jones and just missed the playoffs. Drafted Baron Davis in 99 but didn't really get the play and still made the playoffs. The next season , Eddie jones was traded for Mashburn and PJ Brown, but his team still made the playoffs. In 01, the leading scorer misses 42 games and the 3rd leading scorer misses 15 late in te season, not to mention the leading scorer once again misses the entire playoffs and you still advance to the 2nd rd. This season,your best player Davis misses 32 games and a playoff game and the 2nd best player and leading scorer misses 2 playoffs games and no one ever heard him use the excuse about being injured at all. No one ever heard him talk about the team needing x amount of time to learn each other or people adjusting to the system. It all about results and he gets them, without excuses. Why everyone is looking for this guy or that guy, the coach that is probably best for this team is the guy that was given a raw deal in paul silas.
Silas is a player's coach. A Lenny Wilkins type. Read his resume. We don't need that. He doens't have the skill set, embodied authority, or vision to fundementally remake players or teams.
On the flip side, Paul Silas won't be retained by the New Orleans Hornets, who have decided to move in a different direction. What a shame. He is one of the most respected and accomplished people in our game and deserved better for the job he did with a team that endured plenty of injuries. I can tell you first-hand that not many coaches would have gotten their stars -- or regular rotation players, for that matter -- to play with the kind of significant injuries both Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn played with, and they played at a very high level, too. Consider that when hiring a coach: Can he motivate? Is he respected? And most importantly, do your players trust him? Those are qualities not easily found in a coach. You never heard Hornets players grumbling, because of who Paul Silas is. A coach can be a players coach and still get enough respect from the players to know they can't get away with playing any kind of way. With all those different players they had in and out of the lineup, if you've ever watched a press conference by Silas, he never used that as an excuse.
Let's not forget that Silas benched Coleman's fat a$$ and contract for nearly an entire season after he failed to report in anything that remotely resembled being in shape. A player's coach he might be, but he certainly has the guts to discipline players whenever he feels like it. If i'm not mistaken, he even started his rift with management over this, as they felt that benching Coleman like that lowered his trade value. If you don't like him, and I do have my reservations, mostly because I don't feel that he is a great improvement over Rudy's lack of X's and O's, don't say it's because he is a players coach.
If we have ever had a healthy team , that team would have been the favored. I want to see how many coaches can coach their team out of the 1st rd without their leading scorer. I want to see how many coaches can make the playoffs will missing your best player for 32 games late in the season. If the guy can't coach or adjust, who can. Plus he's from the old school.He also benched Elden Campbell this yr because he was out of shape.
How about over 40yrs in the nba as a player and a assistant. How about the titles he helped win as a player under Red in Boston where team meant team. How about a scrub like Cowens getting a 2nd chance even when he quit the team that silas took over. What if NJ,Det,Orl or GSw wanted guy with more experience? I think he has proven himself o be a motivator and example leader.
How about Mike Fratello? I think he might be the better choice, apart from Van Gundy, of which I doubt we'll get.
I guess you never watched the last cleveland team he coached. That was the most boring team in the world.
Remeber that Silas couldn't do anything with Coleman, but Larry Brown made him a player again with discipline, a system, and a defined role. The gap between a Silas and a Brown is exactly what we're trying to cross now.
I guess Colemans all of a sudden emergence has nothing to do with Coleman coming into a free agent yr. Coleman put up numbers with Hornets, but the teams win/loss record was something to be desired. I'm willing to bet that Brown couldn't lose his leading scorer for 42 games then lose his best player for 32 and still make the playoffs. It seems like Silas has had success where Riley has failed, look at Mashburn.
I'd take a guy like Silas who brings instant respect. But I really would like to hold off for Brown. I'm in the fairy land world where I've convinced myself that Brown wants to coach Yao Ming. What I don't want is a first time coach, who will go through a growing process of slowly getting his system out for fear of moving too fast. imo, only a respected veteran coach can come in and make changes early *and* smoothly. If we get a coach for Less, that shows Les is concerned with Less money. And money should be no object (like it was with Silas's firing) in getting the best of the best coaches in here....otherwise, I am simply not ready to fire Rudy, anymore than I think Silas deserved to be fire. Brown, Flip or Rudy! But there's no way Flip leaves McHale, sigh. I'm not even so sure about Eddie Jordan, anymore. Enough with the quick trigger fingers, that's what got us in trouble to begin with...#33, Cato, MoT, Moochie, Francis forcing you to play him at the 1, Eddie...enough with the best available stuff...it makes me want to scream, like we are desparate. Just stand pat on the coach until you get your man. Any coach would have had to slowly evolve Francis; SF is too stubborn like Iverson. Look at Kobe; he still makes Jackson pull his hair out like last night's game. Put the weapon down, and slowly back away. We will get our man. <b>random trivia time:</b> name the last title contender who signed a rookie coach, who wasn't a legend from that team or state. This is just random trivia that means nothing, but I thought it was interesting to ask.
PhilJax? You make some good points about the coach(ing situation). I don't have any hopes Larry will carpetbag here. Besides he is a 'point guard' coach, and why would he go through AI2 with Stevie and then have to coach AI in the Olympics? I just don't see it (darn, tho, LB is a terrific coach). Eddie Jordan would be a beautiful addition to Houston. He is the 'real' coach of Jersey. I am resolved to another go with Rudy. OK. BUT PLEASE BRING IN TWO NBA VETERAN, RESPECTED COACHES WITH REAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
I meant to discount him because he was from the organization as the assistant coach to Collins...Phil got elevated. He already had the respect of the players. I believe he was in charge of defense, no? Further, Tex Winter was already there, too. That was an in family change, too. so, just to keep the searching fun going, who's the last rookie coach hired by a title contender who came from outside the organization, as neither a legend of the area or a current assistant coach? btw: I don't know the answer.
HeyBigPee, while I'm fearful of another year of Rudy coddling immature players and running the easiest short term offense for said immature players, I agree 100% about this best available crap. Hold out for L.B.!
He'll never be up to our expectations. The last coach we hired brought us 2 chapionships the year after he joined us. It won't matter if our next coach gives us a winning record, there will still be people who criticize him for not doing the types of things Rudy did.
Sorry, he was Paul Westhead's assistant coach, having stayed with the organization that he played with. So, before anyone says it, Kurt Rambis was an assistant, too, right?
