Posted by holfresh:
That is exactly my point...Larry is not about the young players or I would be in his corner...It's the only reason I defend Isiah the way I do...Just for a chance to rebuild with youth...Larry is about winning now with vets...
If I really thought it was so simple I'd agree with you. One of our kids is a lottery pick and only due to isiah's failed effort to make the playoffs last year.Nate was a last minute add-on over an insurance dispute, and Lee was the number 30 pick, the other guys are from the NBDL. Meanwhile Isiah has traded away three first round picks. This years may be the #1 pick. Of the two picks from the marbury trade, the first could have been a lottery pick if Isiah didn't charge to "win now" and the second of those picks will likely be unprotected when we convey it.
So if Isiah's direction were really youth and a slow rebuild it's inconsistent with trading 3 1st rd picks in 3 years, all of which might have been lottery picks. We essentially traded high picks for low.
Last year our future was supposedly Sweets and Ariza and both are gone now in starphucking trades. Curry and Frye are the only guys considered core, the rest the GM calls assets.
So we not only traded draft picks for veterans, and high picks for low, we then proceeded to trade our "future" for Curry and "assets" to use for a
chance at a star veteran (KG, JO) you just know Isiah and Dolan are creaming for.
The GM and owner were both widely considered big splash, immediate results guys, long before the arrival of Brown and our "rebuild" has been consistent with that reputation, again, all above and beyond Larry Brown.
For what it's worth:
The '81 Nets went 24-58 without Brown. In Brown's 1st season the '82 Nets went 44-38. These were the 5 greatest minute getters in order of minutes with ages:
Buck Williams - 21
Ray Williams - 27
Len Elmore - 29
Darwin Cook - 23
Mike O'Koren - 23
The '89 Spurs went 21-61 in Brown's 1st season. 1990 Spurs in Brown's second season went 56-26. Again, in sequence of minutes and ages:
David Robinson - 24 (Rookie)
Terry Cummings - 28
Willie anderson - 23
Sean Elliot - 21
David Wingate - 26
The point being Brown can coach youth effectively.
And this, from the off-season prior to Larry taking the Pistons to two consecutive Finals:
Ten NBA teams hired a new head coach this offseason. Of those 10, the
Pistons had the best record last season at 50-32, making Detroit the
choice job when Larry BroWn was looking for employment. But did the
team make the right choice with him? A recent poll of NBA general
managers suggets it Did.
1. Which head coach is the best at developing young players?
Larry Brown 24%
Eric Musselman 14%
Jeff Bzdelik 10%
Paul Silas 10%
2. Which head coach is the best manager/motivator of people?
Phil Jackson 41%
Pat Riley 21%
Larry Brown 19%
3. Who is the best X's and O's coach?
Larry Brown 33%
Jeff Van Gundy 14%
Rick Carlisle 10%
Pat Riley 10%
4. Who is the best head coach in the NBA?
Larry Brown 43%
Gregg Popovich 19%
Phil Jackson 19%
Larry can coach, and Larry can coach kids. But Larry can also bring wins quick, and that's why isiah and Dolan hired him. That's what they want. That's what's consistent with Isiah's trades with regard to draft picks and our youth.
When Larry says we have too many kids I believe it's a euphemism for "we don't have enough vets who are winners." It's not that we need to add veterans, it's that we need to change them.
As far as coaching our young guys I think Larry's doing a good job. I think he's helping Nate settle down, he's making Frye learn to put it on the floor and take it in, so he wont just be a Jawan Howard clone. I think he's right to try to get lee to play SF so that if he sticks around he wont be buried behind Frye or a stronger PF defender. I think Butler's doing far better than I'd expect from his Sweetney-like body. I think Woods can be a nice natural SF when he plays D for Larry.
Here's the deal though, if the coach and GM are not on the same page it can't work out. I don't want larry here in a constant position of conflict. However, we're on the 4th coach of Isiah's tenure and the way he's dealt with each of them gives me serious concerns of isiah's ability to get along with coaches. I'm not attached to Brown, but I see no reason to swap him out just too repeat the process.
5/19/2006 8:13 PM
