Phil does not have that tree like Larry, Pitino and Riles does but that might be a philosophical culture that "Just" a coach cannot change.
Krause in Chicago gets huge credit to take a chance on phil and the approach to a reluctant Jordan who had to learn to trust the system. Melo was all in on MDA ball but did not commit to it.
Melo if he wants has another opportunity. This is different as "The mentorship" will include a coach, and the players to buy in and trust thru the tough times that it will work. There will be hard times! Always is with a new system.
As discussed, Rambis took the wrong job in Minny.
Cleamons was the head coach in Dallas after his run in Chicago. The team was sold as soon as he got there and its easy to see it was an impossible situation for him:
Via Wikipedia
The 1996–97 season was a year of transition for the Mavericks, as they basically re-designed their entire team; 27 different players saw action for this Dallas team, setting an all-time NBA record. By the time the season was over, only rookie forward Samaki Walker remained from the opening-day roster. The first big move came in December, as Jason Kidd, Loren Meyer and Tony Dumas were traded to the Phoenix Suns for guards Michael Finley and Sam Cassell and forward A. C. Green. By far the most important of these acquisitions was Finley who, after his first half-season in Dallas, would go on to average over or near 20 ppg for at least the next seven years of his Mavericks career. He made two visits to the NBA All-Star Game, and even played in each of the Mavs' games until the 2004–05 season.
Don Nelson was hired as Dallas' general manager on February 7, and it didn't take him long to leave his own mark on the team. Within a week of his hiring, the Mavs had released Fred Roberts and Oliver Miller and traded Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat for forwards Kurt Thomas and Martin Müürsepp and guard Sasha Danilović. This particular trade didn't really pan out for the Mavs. Thomas did not play in 1996–97, and only ended up playing in five games as a Maverick before signing as a free agent with the New York Knicks. Danilović played in 13 games for the Mavs before opting out of his contract and signing with Bucker Bologna of the Italian League, and Müürsepp played in 73 games for the Mavericks over the next two years before leaving the NBA.
Chris Gatling was the Mavericks' sole representative in the NBA All-Star Game, but he did not last much longer in Dallas. In one of the largest two-team trades in NBA history, the Mavericks traded Chris Gatling, Jim Jackson, Sam Cassell, George McCloud and Eric Montross to the New Jersey Nets for 7'6" center Shawn Bradley, forward Ed O'Bannon and guards Khalid Reeves and Robert Pack. Nelson claimed the trades were necessary because the situation in the locker room was unacceptable. However, whereas Cassell went on to become a consistent floor leader and Jackson, Gatling and McCloud all continued to be solid contributors to their teams for several more years, only Bradley lasted any sort of time in Dallas and would spend part of the next eight years putting up modest contributions for the Mavs and giving them solid numbers in terms of blocked shots.
Undrafted rookie guard Erick Strickland was a pleasant surprise for the Mavs as he averaged 10.6 ppg. He, along with Finley and Bradley, were expected to be the core of this new Mavericks team. The constant changes made it impossible to establish any sort of team chemistry in 1996–97, and the Mavericks finished 24–58. But they had acquired some of the pieces that would help them start to turn things around in years to come. In 1997–98, despite a poor record of 20–62, Dallas had a knack for giving some of the NBA's elite teams a hard time, as they beat the Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. Against the Bulls, Dallas went on a 17–2 run to force overtime, where they won 104–97. Midway through that season, Nelson fired Cleamons and named himself head coach.
Cleamons could be the man to be top assistant. He is an assistant with Milwaukee and with new ownership coming there it might be a good situation for him to Join with Phil.
They traded Clyde to the Cav's for him many moons ago!
At age 64 he might not want the top coaching job. Althought I hear it pays pretty good!
4/21/2014 1:51 PM
