I think Phil realizes Kerr lacks the experience but Kerr seems very intelligent to me and shares a TEAM philosophy
As an analyst, I think he makes great points and is very smart
As a GM, he wanted Tom Thib's as an assistant defensive coach but Dantoni was stubborn
Without experience, Kerr did learn from 2 of the arguably best coaches of 2000+, in both Phil Jackson and Poppavich
As a great shooter himself, physically limited as a player, he had to use what he had to play as long as he did as a role player
He understands the importance of role players, how to motivate and develop these role players, as he was one himself, and I fully expect him to hold players "accountable" playing a TEAM game, and even benching players to set a statement like Poppavich would
Also Phil will hire experienced assistants, scouts, and development coaches, in addition to Phil himself mentoring him behind the scenes for Kerr like Riley has done with Spoelshra
In addition to hiring a training staff, understanding how to motivate players with books (like Sun Zhu's Art of War) in the summer and during the season to help them understand TEAM systems, the power of deception, defining each roles for each player, and sacrificing for the better of the team
Whether we will be implementing the Triangle right away, slowly implementing it, or just running TEAM philosophies that Kerr has learned over the years
Playing for both Phil and Poppavich is definitely a plus
We need to develop talent and our new development coaches will have a big part of that
In addition to the assistants, possibly coaches with coaching experience like
Fred Hoiberg
Ron Harper *which has coaching experience and is a BIG PG that use his size to defend both PG and SG positions, possibly mentoring Iman, JR Smith, a player in the draft like DeAndre Kane, or continued development player like Darrius Morris
Horace Grant
Kurt RambiS
Jim Cleamons
Possibly Brian Shaw if Denver is willing to release him
Possibly Derek Fisher
and other great basketball minds like
Jeff Van Gundy as the lead assistant or defensive coach
ex Poppavich pupils like Steve Hetzel, Bruce Bowen,
Current Spur's coaching staff include
ASSISTANT COACHES
Jim Boylen (College - Maine)
Ime Udoka (College - Portland State)
Chip Engelland (College - Duke)
Chad Forcier (College - Seattle Pacific)
Sean Marks (College - California)
Possibly luring Tim Duncan if he is ready to retire with a high salary, maybe even the vet min deal as a player coach for 2 year vet min deal with player option for 2nd year
Basically let him retire in 1 year but giving him the entire 2 year salary, after that have a handshake under table deal with a high paying salary to be an assistant or development coach
Rasheed Wallace, his skills and fundamentals could be used in all systems, he would be a great hire as a development coach
Ex teammates like Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, etc
Having athletic trainers and development coaches that share the same philosophy, understanding how the players need to train their bodies is very important as well
While Phil Jackson always had top tier ALL STARS when he won on the Bulls and Lakers, he also had a deep role players especially in the C with usually 7 footers as rotation, and multiple PG/ G/F's that defended well, hit wide open 3's, and played their roles effectively
4/29/2014 2:13 PM