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 Suns Hop on Coaching Carousel
Posted By: Adam Beechen |
 With Mike D'Antoni's departure, the Suns are back on the coaching carousel. (NBAE Photos) |
Every time there’s been a coaching change in Phoenix since then, the new team leader has come from inside the organization, generally from the ranks of assistant coaches such as Paul Westphal, Danny Ainge, Frank Johnson, Scott Skiles…and Mike D’Antoni. That’s led to great continuity and organizational stability over the last twenty years. With a coach in place, the team has generally had an idea where they were going next, should the coach be fired, retire, or move on to greener pastures.
That’s not really the case, this time. New ownership, new style, new rules. And the team’s likely soon to be heading in a somewhat different direction than the one they’ve been traveling the past couple years.
I’ll miss Mike D’Antoni. We all will. He brought a lot of success and excitement to the Valley. The team was perfectly molded, for several years, to his style and preferences. And, very simply put, the pairing of D’Antoni with Steve Nash was the greatest teaming of coach and point guard since Magic Johnson and Pat Riley (sorry, Sloan and Stockton fans, but I give our guys the slight edge).
I’ll also be surprised if any of D’Antoni’s assistants stay behind to be cherry-picked for the Suns head-coaching job. I’ll miss them, too, if they go. Everyone played a role on the staff, and played it very well. But my sense is that, from a coaching standpoint, the Suns are looking for it to be “clean slate time.” Since player contracts are such right now that meaningful personnel change can’t happen, the rebuilding will start in the coach’s office – new philosophies and, to an extent, a new style.
Already, the newspapers and websites are filling up with names and speculation. Some of the names intrigue me, some don’t inspire me, others frighten me. So I thought I’d make my own list, in ascending order, of who I’d like to see in the head coach’s comfy, but slippery, chair:
3. Paul Silas. Here’s what he has going for him: He’s been with the organization as a player and as an assistant coach, successfully both times. He has championship experience as a player. He gets along extremely well with veterans who have strong personalities, as he demonstrated with Charles Barkley when Silas was an assistant here. He has head coaching experience in the league. He’s tough, and his coaching style reflects that toughness – His players won’t play matador defense because he won’t allow it. Here’s what he has going against him: As a head coach, he hasn’t been super-successful, with a career record forty-five games below .500. But let’s not forget, before being installed as head coach of the Suns, Mike D’Antoni had a career coach’s winning percentage of .280 in a single half-season with the Nuggets.
2. Tom Thibodeau. He’s the hot name among assistant coaches right now, and for good reason. The Suns wanted him last year to replace Marc Iavaroni as the defensive guru of the coaching staff. Instead, he went to Boston and turned them into one of the best defensive teams in the league. He’s proven he can work with, and gain the respect of, veterans like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, while also helping develop young players like Rajon Rondo. He’s never been an NBA head coach before, but if you want to start truly fresh, that’s the way to do it. Besides, Paul Westphal had never been an NBA head coach before he stepped into the job for the Suns, and he turned out okay.
1. Here’s a name I haven’t heard mentioned at all in speculation, and it stuns me: Marc Iavaroni. He’s a former Suns assistant who worked with many of the players on the current roster. He was well-respected and well-liked here. He has championship experience as a player (on a team where he played alongside a dominant, if not exactly fleet, center in Moses Malone). His coaching forte´ is defense. And while it wouldn’t be a hire from within the organization, a strategy that’s always worked pretty well for the Suns, it’d be the next best thing. I know Coach I just split to coach Memphis a year ago, but coaches leave contracts all the time (see D’Antoni, Mike). And wouldn’t you rather coach the Suns than the Grizzlies?
So that’s my list. Obviously, Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver have their own lists, and they know the candidates and their qualifications far better than I do. Whoever the Suns bring in, I hope it’s someone who shares the vision of team management, and that together they can create a vision of the franchise’s future that extends into the long term, while keeping the team competitive in the short term. I hope it’s a coach who’s going to be here a while and develop an identity as a “Suns Coach,” the way MacLeod and Fitzsimmons did, and then be someone who, when he leaves, passes the torch on to someone who worked under him, developing a new chain of continuity that lasts for decades.
Because the alternative is the carousel, and I’d much rather see the team advance forward along the links of a chain than go round and round like so many other franchises have.
Comments
unlv - vegas
Come on, if the suns don't go get avery johnson, to me, they will be making a huge mistake. johnson has to be one of the best coaches out there. this guy can light a fire, the problem with the Mavs was they are to old and the players only gave him one good year doing it his way. Defense is what he brings and defense is what the suns need.
Royce Sabaduquia - Bacolod City,Phillipines
maybe they should get silas as a assistant coach for the "big men"like amare,shaq,diaw and etc. and have a head coach who has a well balanced philosophy...defensive and offensive minded,,,,
mr kerr,
pls add or invite Louis Amundson during summer games and training camp,i know he will be a great addition.he's a hustling power forward who rebounds well dspite of his size,plays defense,quick under the basket and pesky defender.please
Gerald - Philippines
Get Coach K!! period.
carl - england
get AVERY JOHNSON!!!!!!!!...plz o plz
John S. - Surprise AZ
Suns next coach, come on, do we care as long as he doesn't make practice fun, short, lacking time for defensive lessons, or the reason players want to come here. Make it someone who plays a bench properly, brings along talented rookies, and follows the flow of a game. Could he possibly not look like a spoiled 2nd grader when calls go against us. Maybe someone who utilizes more than 6 players, and trades anyone french. Oh! yeah, make sure it's someone who would foul with one to give, seconds remaing in a playoff game Suns are winning against the NBA champs. Thanks
Leonard - Santa Ana
Well, I would say for us to get Tom Thibodeau but at the same time we need offense. So this will be kinda weird. For sure we need to get Tom, a good coach for big men, and a coach that can keep our offense up!
robert - canada
you need a coach that has a defensive mind after all the team can score they just cant defend !
Lori Ann - Sedona Superfan
Yes Adam, this certainly IS a bit awkward, not having a coach, yet so many prospects. I have my hopes up for a few candidates: Paul Silas, Jeff Hornacek, Eddie Johnson, Kurt Rambis, and Dan Majerle (not specifically as Head Coach picks). I'd like to see The Suns "keep it in the family". Tom Thibodeau (my 1st pick) is the exception to the rule. He'd be a GREAT addition to our staff! Of course, Mike D'Antoni will be missed greatly, and NEVER forgotten! Whoever is hired/selected as the new Suns Head Coach, I hope will be THE BEST man for the job and that the selection won't be decided on any financial criteria. I'd like to see the Suns stay together for a change. A revolving door of players and coaches doesn't build much (if any) stability, nor the strong foundation that is crucial to developing a solid and cohesive team. Let's stick together, Phoenix!
GO SUNS!
JR - Barcelona, Spain
Get Hornaceck, please and Corbin as assistant.
Kenny - Phoenix
I have a strong feeling that Boris and Barbosa are on their way out. I love those 2 guys but this is the second playoff year where they had trouble preforming consistantly. The Suns as they where, needed everybody to preform to beat the challenges they faced. We did not score as easily as we did in the past years with this bunch, people figured out our game. With a new coach I and a defensive mind, I think Nash is in trouble, Bells offence will be missed and so on... With out run and gun and instead looking for defense this is not the team I want on the court. In a run and gun as we played before I wouldnt but make minor adjustments.... What all this says is- another 5-10 year rebuilding period for another Arizona team.
James White - Las Vegas
I don't understand this Avery Johnson shun. Kerr and Avery played together for 3 years and won a championship together. Is there bad blood there? Sure his team choked two years straight in the playoffs, but those experiences are what makes a coach grow. Those are battle scars that will only make him tougher. In the past 3 seasons Avery's team has averaged in the top 5 in offensive and top 10 in defensive ratings. Under D'Antoni's reign, Phoenix averaged in the top 2 in offensive and top 20 in defensive ratings. Avery will not only bring a better defensive game, but the Suns will still score. If he is as smart as he portrays, his coaching style will adapt a bit to the talent he would adopt in Phoenix. Toughening up the D while allowing them to run. Last of all he played the game and played it well. A few of the players on Phoenix's roster actually had to face him before. He has an understanding of the game and a presence that demands player respect. The current prospects just don't make sense. Why take a "rookie" when you can get a growing "Head Coach" from a major sports city. It's a no brainer to me.
Dave - Missouri
Why the heck isn't Paul Westphal mentioned on the candidate list?
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