Posted by bitty41:

Watch your mouth this award belongs to Isiah after all the injuries the Knicks faced, suspensions, and recovering from Larry Brown shock treatment last season Isiah is more than deserving of the Coach of the Year Award. The perservance the Knicks exhibited of going on to win their last 3 games of 15 is a testament to the work ethic and no excuse attitude that Isiah instilled in his players.

He could really be considered for GM Of The Year too for realizing how Jeffries would tie everything together for us.

Bird declined to talk about Carlisle, though local media reports indicate he'll be out. Around the NBA, the talk is the Pacers will come hard after Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, whose contract expires after this season. Mitchell played three seasons in Indiana, and his hard-nosed, direct style was admired by management. He's the kind of leader they'd like to rebuild with.

And though Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo has said the right things about supporting and bringing back Mitchell, the belief is he remains uncomfortable with Mitchell, whom he did not hire. Also, it was no secret Colangelo was forceful in getting Mitchell to accept and play rookie Andrea Bargnani. There appears to be something of a power struggle going on with President Richard Peddie openly supporting Mitchell's return, apparently to push Colangelo.

But the feeling is Colangelo will use the power of his turnaround of the franchise to bring in his own coach. Though Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni often is mentioned as a successor, rumors lately have Colangelo continuing the European style and bringing in a protégé of Raptors assistant general manager Maurizio Gherardini from Benetton Treviso. A Raptors first-round playoff loss to the Nets would likely mute the public and media demands for Mitchell's rehiring.

Posted by playa2:

Posted by franco12:

Sam gets the award, and his Raptors get promptly swept by the Nets.

Garbojsa at 30 with range on the perimmiter would have given the raps a legitimate shot and make teams play bosh straight up, Barganni although talented is a little green around the ears.

Heck of a frontline barganni garbojosa on perimitter with bosh in the paint wit ford running around dishing the rock to open shooters

not having garbajosa for the playoffs hurts but they still have enough to get past new jersey. at least, they CAN if bosh shows that he's ready right now to take a step forward. he may not be ready yet (if ever).

By the way, if Mitchell goes - and you would have to think that if he continues to be outcoached by Lawrence Franks, he will go one way or the other - and if Messina is the guy, we will get one of the best coaches in the world. Messina has won three Euroleague titles with three different teams, and is up for his fourth the weekend of May 4-5. One thing about his teams: they strike hard and fast, build up leads, then they don't surrender any of that lead. Against Maccabi in their last playoff game, CSKA led 32-13 at the end of one, and basically held a 20-22 point lead at the half, after three quarters, and at the end of the game. That's also how they played Maccabi last year in Parker's last European final. They are like a boa constrictor that will wrap around your body and squeeze the life out of you relentlessly. No mercy.

Messina has never had a winning percentage below .633 and after his second season has never had a winning percentage below .700

and his teams have almost always averaged .500 shooting and from 10-17 assists per game (Euroleague assists) and appx. 25-35 rpg (Euroleague rebounds)

he's certainly VERY good based on Euroleague results...and hopefully, if he's brought in to replace Sam (who i'm actually liking as a coach), he can translate his Euro success into NBA success like D'antoni

Bird declined to talk about Carlisle, though local media reports indicate he'll be out. Around the NBA, the talk is the Pacers will come hard after Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, whose contract expires after this season. Mitchell played three seasons in Indiana, and his hard-nosed, direct style was admired by management. He's the kind of leader they'd like to rebuild with.

And though Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo has said the right things about supporting and bringing back Mitchell, the belief is he remains uncomfortable with Mitchell, whom he did not hire. Also, it was no secret Colangelo was forceful in getting Mitchell to accept and play rookie Andrea Bargnani. There appears to be something of a power struggle going on with President Richard Peddie openly supporting Mitchell's return, apparently to push Colangelo.

But the feeling is Colangelo will use the power of his turnaround of the franchise to bring in his own coach. Though Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni often is mentioned as a successor, rumors lately have Colangelo continuing the European style and bringing in a protégé of Raptors assistant general manager Maurizio Gherardini from Benetton Treviso. A Raptors first-round playoff loss to the Nets would likely mute the public and media demands for Mitchell's rehiring.

Posted by TheGame:

Mitchell should get out now and seek the Bobcats job. Colangelo is never going to give him any real security. The bobcats are primed to make a big push to the post season next year. With their draft pick and if they sign a free agent, they should have all the talent they need to make a run at the playoffs. Plus, with the lowered expectations with the bobcats, Mitchell is not going to be in a situation in which he has to make it to the second round next year. If he stays with the Raptors, he will have to get them to the second round next year or else Colangelo would probably fire him.

2006-07 NBA COACH OF THE YEAR RESULTS
Coach, Team              1st   2nd   3rd   Pts

Sam Mitchell, Toronto    49    43    20    394
Jerry Sloan, Utah        39    28    22    301
Avery Johnson, Dallas    28    31    35    268
Jeff Van Gundy, Houston  10    19    27    134
Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix    2     3     3     22
Don Nelson, Golden State --     2     7     13
Scott Skiles, Chicago    --     1     9     12
Pat Riley, Miami         --     1    --      3
Gregg Popovich, Spurs    --    --     2      2
George Karl, Denver      --    --     1      1
Flip Saunders, Detroit   --    --     1      1
Isiah Thomas, New York   --    --     1      1