https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/466734454317527041

this should get interesting.

you know what'd make this awesome. phil quitting before the season started. that'd be great.

https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/466738116511154177
https://twitter.com/SBN_Ricky/status/466739648040280064
https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/466738540320423936
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/466737508701974528

classic...

lol.....


He knows Melo ain't re-signing...

It's actually a combo of both.

For a coach with no experience, the knicks situation isn't horrible bc they can retool in 1 year if melo left

Granted, gs got a nice core as is. Still gonna be tough to make noise in the west tho.

didnt want to let phil down
dolan is the perfect escape goat.

i mean theres almost nothing at this point you cant make dolan's fault.

>didnt want to let phil down
>dolan is the perfect escape goat.
>
>i mean theres almost nothing at this point you cant make
>dolan's fault.


You know the term is scape goat, right?

still, i like yours better, i might start saying Escape Goat to my friends.

A bit like Scarey Cat instead of Scaredy Cat.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Escape+Goat

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=2561041&mesg_id=2561041&listing_type=search#2561173

Start from scratch. No expectations. Build an actual....you know team.

and i've watched a ton of spurs and bulls games over the years.

i would settle for like 2 million a season.

-->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe9Sn5IcGVM


but shit, sorry Knicks fans :(

unless there is something in all of this I ain't seeing....

to me..if Phil ain't gonna coach....Mark Jackson to the Knicks is a no brainer...but I'm not sure how he and Phil would get along..

from the jump...I just can't see Phil giving up the chance to sit in Red Holtzman's seat so to speak.... Phil considers himself a disciple of Red Holtzman....

And how much is he gonna want to do both....30 mil? Lol

Can't imagine he wants someone even half as headstrong as Jackson.

Maybe he can get Brian Shaw from the Nuggets. Jim Cleamons and Kurt Rambis? I would hope not but it depends on how much control Phil wants, I guess.

ago..

he's a former Knick..

Moments like this give OE life purpose

@rob_starrk

>
>Moments like this give OE life purpose
>
>@rob_starrk

-->

-->

5 years? lol knicks probably did dodge a bullet.
i didnt want kerr, but fuck i still dont know who i want.
or who anyone else wants for that matter.

But what are the alternatives.

>But what are the alternatives.

http://i.imgur.com/58ML7DW.jpg

wants this job. mark probably doesnt want this job, except for the humongous chip now on his shoulder.
i was getting used to the idea of kerr. 5 years is a lot. but i guess who cares when they just fire coaches anyway.
if phil wasnt here, i'd want mark. but now they just gonna clash.
who were some of phil's assistant coaches? i cant even remember.
i just hope they dont hire someone in haste.

I think the air of uncertainty about the Knicks' roster for the long term is going to be a concern for whoever coaches the team.

*head scratch*
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imagine if the coach's salary counted against some kind of cap.
still a head scratch

i believe mjax had a 3-year $2M per with 4th year option. you think he's gonna get $5M at his next coaching job with the playoff experience?

oh wait.

-->

He has been doing the assistant coach thing for years hoping to get a gig but I think he might be on that Cap plan.
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if phil wasnt here. but now we gotta worry about clashing with phil.

I thought for sure we were going to be supremely fucked, but now we're just kinda fucked.

I need someone to convince that, coaching-wise, this isn't a lateral move from Jackson. His only upside can't be that he gets along with upper management.

Owner's known him for decades... current president was Suns president when Kerr was GM.

No wonder Kerr slow-walked the Knicks... he's probably had a handshake deal with the Warriors for weeks. Jackson was just collateral damage.

-->

Having a personal relationship with the management certainly helped.

http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/259iqa/getting_to_know_steve_kerr_an_unnecessarily/

"Getting to Know Steve Kerr" - An unnecessarily excessive look into the mind of Steve Kerr

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.� -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The basketball universe is overflowing with data waiting to get processed into meaningful information that can help a team win. That's how most NBA executives see it anyways, and they are looking for the perfect coach who is information savvy in addition to being a basketball guy.

Before I go any further, I want to say being information savvy is not exclusive to understanding advanced metrics. Watching tape, reading scouting reports, building databases, and crunching numbers all provide valuable information. The problem is everything is en masse now, and the solution is finding someone who knows how to employ his resources (human or machine) more effectively and efficiently than the competition.

Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle, Terry Stotts, and Eric Spoelstra are some coaches that have really shown to be everything management wants. Brad Stevens was hired for that reason. There's plenty of documentation over their approach to coaching so I will skip the details.

Yes, Steve Kerr knows the Triangle, but so does Kurt Rambis. Steve Kerr is a hot commodity because he has the potential to be one of those coaches that's the perfect mix of basketball, communications, and analytics expertise.

Plus, there are other things that make Kerr a popular target.

..

Steve Kerr has done a lot during his professional career...

In the 1988 draft, the Phoenix suns drafted the Steve Kerr from the University of Arizona with the 50th overall pick. Some speculate that then-owner Jerry Colangelo only did so as a personal favor to Steve Kerr's coach, the great Lute Olson.

From 1988 to 2003, Steve Kerr played for six different teams and six different head coaches: Cotton Fitzsimmons at Phoenix, Lenny Wilkens at Cleveland, Matt Guokas at Orlando, Phil Jackson at Chicago, Gregg Popovich at San Antonio, and Maurice Cheeks at Portland.

After retiring from the NBA in 2003, Steve Kerr joined TNT as an NBA analyst and contributed to Yahoo! as a sports commentator.

Sometime in 2003, UA grad Robert Sarver had long dreamed of owning an NBA franchise, and after amassing enough wealth he consulted with legendary UA coach Lute Olson for advice (Sarver once dated his daughter). Olson sent Sarver straight to his former player Steve Kerr. According to Sarver:

"Lute brought up Steve's name right away as a guy who could be trusted, who knew everybody in the NBA from top to bottom, and who obviously knows the pro game in and out," Sarver says. PNT.

With the help of Kerr, Sarver finalized the deal with the previous owner Jerry Colangelo in 2004 for $401 million.

In 2007, Steve Kerr left TNT to become the Phoenix Suns general manager, and after a strenuous tenure, Steve Kerr left the Suns front office in 2010 to go back to TNT. Looking back, most would say Steve Kerr was a pretty good general manager who had some bad luck.

After firing Rich Cho in 2012, Trail Blazers President Larry Miller put a lot of effort into his unsuccessful attempt at recruiting Steve Kerr as the team's new general manager. TOL.

Steve Kerr has also been a regular contributor to the BS Report on Grantland since 2011, which I will reference extensively here.

..

...and Steve Kerr has a lot of connections (this is one of those other things).

In the recent 2013-14 season, there were eight head coaches, at least six assistant coaches, seven GMs/executives, and three majority owners that are former colleagues of Steve Kerr the player, the TV analyst, or the general manager.

Head coaches: Gregg Popovich, Mike Budenholzer, Mike D'antoni, Mike Brown, Tyrone Corbin, Maurice Cheeks, Mike Woodson, and Jeff Hornacek
Assistant coaches: Rasheed Wallace, Mark Price, Terry Porter, Alvin Gentry, Pete Myers, and Igor Kokoskov
GMs and Execs: RC Buford, Phil Jackson, David Griffin, Danny Ferry, Flip Saunders, Sam Presti, and John Paxson
Majority Owners: Robert Sarver, Michael Jordan, and Peter Holt
Other basketball figures: Lute Olson (HOF NCAA Coach), Shaquille O'neal (min. owner SAC, TNT), Kevin Johnson (mayor, NBPA), Jerry Colangelo (USA Basketball), and Damon Stoudemire (ac. Arizona)

The list is more quantitative than qualitative, but it is still a substantial list. Just to give some perspective, Phoenix GM Steve Kerr often sought advice from friends and mentors such as Lute Olson, Jerry Colangelo, Johnny "Redd" Kerr, John Paxson, Danny Ferry, RC Buford, Gregg Popovich, and Doug Collins. Suns.com.

That's a pretty impressive support group.

The point I'm trying to make here is this: Steve Kerr is a walking insider-info database and a one-man HR department, and that raises Kerr's value quite a bit.

..

Still, would Steve Kerr the GM have hired Steve Kerr the coach? Maybe Steve Kerr can answer that.

Here's some of things Steve Kerr has said back at the 2014 MIT SSAC Basketball Analytics panel.

SK: We had a couple people in our organization who ran a lot of numbers, mostly line up combination stuff... I think the tricky part was def getting the coach to buy into it. I think that is still a major issue around the league.

Interesting tidbit: one of the guys who ran the numbers for Kerr at Phoenix is David Griffin, Cleveland Cavalier's interim executive.

SK to SVG: You were talking earlier about sometimes the numbers don't add up. When I was in Phoenix my last year (2009-10), Amare Stoudemire was going to be a free agent. We had to think about trading him so we are watching tape of all these guys, and we were looking at JJ Hickson.
One of our stats guys says "JJ hits a better shooting percentage from 0-5 feet than Amare Stoudemire."
I said "you're kidding me right?"
He said "no it's right here 65% to 62%."
I'm thinking "no that's impossible." Amare is one of the great finishers in the history of this league especially with all of the tough four footers... So we watched JJ Hickson, and after about 20 minutes I realized... All he can do is dunk. He didn't try any from 2-5 feet.
So, I would want somebody who can look at the numbers and figure out pretty quickly "that number won't work." There's so much information, but how you get through it all... I think it would help a lot to get somebody with both backgrounds.

Wait, I could have told you Amare Stoudemire was better than J.J. Hickson.

...

Let's take a deeper look into Steve Kerr's basketball mind.

..

Steve Kerr loves defense.

After his first season as GM, Steve Kerr fired Mike D'antoni because he wanted a more defensively minded coach. Here is what Steve Kerr had to say in his GM diary after hiring Terry Porter as D'antoni's replacement:

Terry has put together a great staff that includes two former NBA head coaches � Bill Cartwright and Alvin Gentry. Bill and Alvin have a ton of experience in this league, and they�ll be able to help Terry deal with the many pressures and demands of the head job. The staff also includes two very impressive young coaches: Igor Kokoskov, a Serbian coach with tremendous knowledge of both the NBA and the international game, plus one of the all time great players in Suns history - Dan Majerle. Dan has already brought great energy to the job, and he has really connected with our players. And of course, he embodies everything Terry is trying to teach: defense and toughness. Suns.com

Steve Kerr did fire Porter halfway into the season and promoted assistant coach Alvin Gentry as the new head coach. On the plus side, Gentry did take Phoenix all the way to 2010 Western Conference Finals.

..

Steve Kerr loves low post defense.

SK: I'll tell you why I think OKC needed to keep Perkins. They don't beat the Spurs last year without Perkins. He was able to guard Duncan one on one that whole series... I don't think Perkins is the greatest players on earth, but I think he is one of the best low post defenders. There's about five teams where you have to have one of those guys to advance in the playoffs. - BS Report, 01/15/2013

In 2007, GM Steve Kerr made his most controversial move by trading Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for 35 year old Shaquille O'neal. Although the trade was originally Sarver and D'antoni's idea, part of me thinks Kerr agreed to this trade because Shaquille O'neal had the potential to be "one of those guys" down at the post.

Steve Kerr even received death threats and "ASU was right" comments because of the Shaquille O'neal trade. By the way, if you don't know about Steve Kerr vs ASU, then you are missing out on one of the greatest "Fuck you. I win." games in basketball history. PNT.

Fast forward to the 2008 draft. Steve Kerr drafts Robin Lopez with their 15th pick. Here are some more thoughts from his GM diary:

It�s rare to find an active 7 footer who can run and defend, so we felt fortunate that he fell to us at 15. Robin will provide something we don�t have � a versatile big guy who can get out on the perimeter to defend screen and rolls, but who also has the size and mentality to protect the rim. Suns.com

..

Steve Kerr also loves Zach Lowe.

SK: If I ever get back in the league, I may have to hire Zach Lowe from you. - BS Report, 01/15/2013

..

Steve Kerr is not the biggest fan of small ball.

Steve Kerr has always shown more enthusiasm for more traditionally balanced teams with a strong post presence. His favorite teams coming into the 2013-14 season were Chicago (with Rose) and Indiana. Here is what Steve Kerr had to say about Indiana on the BS Report from 11/19/2013.

SK: You know what I really love is that they're old school. There are so few teams that can really pound you inside and play inside-out physical basketball. There aren't really many low post players, but they got two really good ones. If they were a football team, they would be the 49ers. They are just gonna run the ball down your throat and play defense and they kinda just wear you down. You just don't see it anymore with everybody playing the stretch four, playing small ball. That's another thing I like about them is they're doing things that other teams won't do or can't do, and that makes them unique.

What I really got out of this is Steve Kerr realizes that every team has different needs, and teams should be played and formed to their existing strengths even if the coach or a GM prefers a different style.

After all, Steve Kerr did sign Channing Frye as a free agent and was immediately used as a stretch-four under his watch. Also, while he did trade away Boris Diaw after his first season there, Kerr did explicitly admit that he missed Diaw coming off the bench at the four once Stoudemire started having injury problems.

..

Steve Kerr has a knack for spotting talented guards.

In the 2007 draft, Steve Kerr drafted Rudy Fernandez with their 24th pick, but was traded to Portland for cash and James Jones.

In the 2008 draft, Steve Kerr was hell bent on getting Goran Dragic after flying him in for a private practice. They traded the rights to there 48th pick, cash, and a 2009 2nd round pick to San Antonio for the rights to their 45th pick. Here is what Kerr had to say about Dragic after drafting him:

As soon as we chose Robin, we set out to climb high enough in the second round to land Goran Dragic, a Slovenian point guard... we had him ranked as the second best point guard prospect in the draft after Derrick Rose... Goran didn�t work out for any other NBA teams, because he wanted to play for the Suns. He�s a huge Steve Nash fan and would like to learn under Steve as his backup. Suns.com

With Steve Nash, Goran Dragic, Grant Hill (post-injury), Jason Richardson, and (almost) Stephen Curry under his belt, he had a pretty good eye for talented guards.

Wait. Stephen Curry?

..

Did I mention Steve Kerr almost landed a trade that would send Amare Stoudemire to Golden State for the draft rights to Stephen Curry?

Here's a Q&A with Kerr about the 2009 draft:

SK: It was close. There was not a deal done. But it was tricky because of Amare�s physical situation... But we were very far down the road.
Q:When you took Earl Clark over Jrue Holiday at 14 was that partly because you thought you had Curry?
SK: We liked Holiday a lot. We still had Nash. We had Goran Dragic who we loved, and we had a potential thought we had a potential deal involving Curry... But we were in desperate need of a wing defender and we liked Earl�s potential as a 3-4 defender. Obviously in retrospect, Holiday was the better player...

(Steve Kerr loves defense.)

Q: Those are four pretty good PGs�Nash, Curry, Dragic and Holiday. Wow, other than that�s too many point guards, can you imagine that roster?
SK: Yeah, those are four good point guards, huh?
Q: So was the plan to play Curry with Nash?
SK: Oh yeah, the plan was to have that be kind of succession plan.
Q: I guess the way Curry is playing now explains why you wanted him so badly.
SK: The first time I saw him play live was in Anaheim. He was with Davidson and played UCLA in the Wooden classic and he was magical. He didn�t even shoot that well but just his feel and his passing. I was with a lot of our scouts. We are watching, and we are like, "This is the second coming of Steve Nash. This guy is special." MN

Steve Nash and Stephen Curry. Together. Just think about that.

Here is a photo of Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry from 2009 (their names are oddly similar).
http://www.nba.com/suns/photos/skerr_540_091223.jpg

..

What else did Clairvoyant Kerr have to say?

Note: All of these are from the BS Report, which is the reason behind the heading.

"You know who I have not given up on is Jimmer... The way he shoots it, as hard as he works, he can kind of play both positions if you work out the defensive matchup... I think he can be a good player on a good team." - 01/15/2013

"Take Thomas Robinson (SAC) and put him on a team and a coach who says: Alright. Here's the deal. You're going to be Reggie Evans or Dennis Rodman. All you are going to do is chase the ball down. You are going to play with incredible energy, but I want you to lead the league with rebounding. With offensive rebounding." - 01/15/2013

"Anthony Davis is absolutely ridiculous... Over the next 6-8 years as Lebron fades, he might be the guy we are talking about in terms of the best player in the league." - 11/19/2013

"I also like Jason Kidd's potential as a coach. He's got the temperament. He's well respected. I think he's going to be really good, It might be that his best coaching days will come in his next job... like Bill Belichick." -11/19/2013

"Let's hope that as basketball fans that Embiid- like Hibbert, like Duncan- actually stays in school. I'm convinced that the only way to develop a low post game is in college. You can't do it in the NBA. It's too hard. If you get to the NBA and you go "alright, now I'm going to develop a low post game," you're just going to get destroyed on a nightly basis, and you're never going to gain any confidence." -11/19/2013

"Pat is one of the smartest guys in the league. One of the greatest executives ever. He usually beats the curve. The league has gone small... since the D'antoni Suns. I would say that's been the trend. Here we are this year , and three of the four teams in the conference finals are more kind of old school, beat-you-up teams. Here's Pat Riley, who has always been a proponent of defense and rebounding, watching his team getting pummeled. Even though they can win the title, is Pat sitting there thinking "You know what? The trend is heading back in the other direction. I've got to do something before everybody opts out, and I've got to go bigger inside and help Lebron out defensively..." I'm just throwing that out there. I know Pat's always a step ahead of the league." -05/30/2013

Like I said, Steve Kerr really loves the low post.

..

Steve Kerr really values good team and front office chemistry

From Kerr's GM Diary:
It�s a big part of the job, talking to the guys, making sure they�re feeling good about our team and observing the chemistry and the unity. One of the most satisfying feelings with this year�s team has been standing in hotel lobbies, watching 8 to 10 of our players heading out together to go grab dinner. We have a very close group, which is one of the reasons we have a good team. Those guys play hard for each other. Suns.com

Another excerpt from Kerr's GM Diary:
When it comes to the team�s playing rotation, I never told Mike (D�Antoni) who to play, and I�ll never tell Alvin (Gentry) who to play. I may make suggestions that are all in the spirit of getting better or I may give him an idea, but I won�t tell any coach who he has play or what he has to do. That�s his job.
My job is to support the coach and to help him through the difficult times because as tough as my job is, Alvin�s is ten-times harder. The NBA coaching job is incredibly difficult.
There is a stress level that those guys go through that�s really, really difficult to deal with. Think about the average coaching tenure in this league, and you can understand why coaches feel the heat. Whatever I can do to ease the pressure and strain off of Alvin, that�s what I need to accomplish. Suns.com

From the same Q&A about the potential Stephen Curry trade:
SK: If you remember, we were kind at the final stages of our run with Nash and Amare and so we were in a difficult spot. We were looking towards the future but we also knew we still had a team that was very competitive.
In fact by not making that deal we were able to keep that group together and made the conference finals that year with Amare as our starting four. We had a great season, but had an aging team but knew were eventually going to have to make that transition. That (trade) would have been the first domino to fall for the Suns� sort of re-invention.
But in some ways it worked out fine because we had a great year, we came within a couple games of getting to the finals. It was just one of those things.

..

Steve Kerr has really pondered about health and technology

Steve Kerr's injury problems started when he blew out his knee in the 1986 World Championships Madrid, but perhaps his biggest injury problems were not personal injuries. At Phoenix, Steve Kerr had to manage the health of Steve Nash, Grant Hill, and Amare Stoudemire, and under his watch, the Phoenix medical and training staff did some amazing things with those three.

Kerr also has some ideas with applying advanced metrics for medical and training purposes:
I like the angle of the health issue, trying to use the Sport Vu stuff to calculate recovery.
One of the things teams do in the NBA is if a guy doesn't play he gets on the bike for 20 minutes. Is there a way to design our conditioning programs based on- not only how much a guy played- but the stress on his body? That information is probably all available. There's probably some things we can do to try to improve our conditioning programs."

As a TV guy, Kerr heard a lot of theories behind the injury bug with guards. Not surprisingly, Phil Jackson's theory interested him the most:
The only one that sort of made me think was Phil Jackson said "it's all the pick and roll" because a lot of the guys that's getting hurt are the guards who are attacking. Maybe if you take that theory and you take all this information we are talking about maybe you can come up with an interesting .

Both of those quotes are also from the 2014 Basketball Analytics panel.

..

Steve Kerr pays a lot of attention to college basketball

Aside from being a college basketball analyst, here is this excerpt from his GM Diary:
I go to a lot of ASU games. Anytime anybody comes through that has a potential pro, I�ll go over and watch ASU. The last couple of years, the Pac 10 has been loaded with NBA talent, so it�s been easy to see a lot of players right in our own backyard. It�s also fun to see different strategies that teams are employing, and to see where the game is trending. Even though I�m a Wildcat, I enjoy watching Herb Sendak�s zone defense at ASU. So even when I am not scouting, I keep an eye on what�s going on out there at the college and pro level. Suns.com

..

Technically, Steve Kerr has at least two days of coaching experience or learning.

SK: . The next year I left the suns. I went back to tv. I called Popovich and I asked them if I could sit in on a couple of their camp practices... He invited me to the coaching retreat that they do every year before camp starts. So I sat in for two days with the coaches, and it was awesome. It was a great experience for me.
That was the moment when Pop basically announced that the Spurs had to start running. That we can't win anymore by just going into Duncan. We have to become Parker's team. It was cool. I was sitting in the conference room watching tape and everything Pop was showing. "We have to push the ball. We gotta run. We have to outscore our opponents. We have to change our identity."
From that moment on it became Tony's team, and they just got better and better. -BS Report, 05/30/2013

By the way, I never knew San Antonio offered an $80 million max contract to Jason Kidd after beating him and the Nets in the 2003 finals. All right under Parker's nose!

..

Speaking of Jason Kidd...

BS: Let me ask you this. You just retired, you won your last ring at San Antonio . Could you have just immediately started coaching a team four months later?
SK: No. No.
BS: Let's say... Phil Jackson's leaving the Lakers, you have Kobe and Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton. You're going to be in LA in this big fish bowl, and they offered you $5 million a year to do it.
(Steve Kerr gives a hearty chuckle.)
SK: That's tough, and that's a tough one to turn away, but no I wouldn't have felt prepared. I think coming from TV is a little different. Guys like Doc and Mark Jackson have done it and been pretty successful, but that's with a chance to kind to get away kind of see the league from a different perspective and have a chance to get with coaches and learn some different things instead of just diving in headfirst.
I don't think there's any position in life where if you never done it before you can just dive in headfirst and say "this is going to be easy." There's always going to be an adjustment period.
When you take one of these jobs, whether its gm or coaching in the NBA, everything is about where the team is and what are the expectations and the timing of when you take it. I think Brad Stevens was brilliant to take that Celtics job when he did.
Expected to win right away and no chance for an adjustment period? That's real difficult.

..

Any last thoughts, Steve Kerr?
SK: Like anything else. You need work. You need some experience. The environment in which you gain that experience is really critical in the NBA. I think guys have proven they can do it right away if they're given a team that needs to grow and they can grow along with that team. When the expectations are off the charts right away, it can be pretty tough. - BS Report, 11/19/2013

Best of luck to you, Steve Kerr.

This is his FIRST time ever winning 50+ games. Actually, this is his FIRST year EVER finishing ABOVE .500 in a season

All of a sudden he's a good head coach? Never mind he's got a young talented starting 5?

Sigh

Or, in the case of 2012-13 blazers, were constantly injured and had a center who instantly makes teams worse (Hickson)

He's not a good head coach

https://twitter.com/TimBaffoe/status/466737976307761152

Tim Baffoe
‏@TimBaffoe

/Phil texts MJ to go punch Kerr in the face again

Kerr is a former player, former GM, and has done analysis for years,
which includes film study

ain't like he don't know sht

I'm curious to see how he addresses Golden State's turnover issues.
that was his main complaint with the team.

also, if he'll make it a priority to revive Harrison Barnes

We don't know if he's a good coach worthy of a five year deal.

Especially the way J Kidd did it for years. Not to mention the credibility he has with active players.

Kerr shot open jumpshots

There's no comparison

Kidd got a 4 year deal with the 4th year as an option at 1/2 the price.
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Fuck a system. If Phil wants it so bad he should come down from mt Olympus and coach like Riley in 06.

Let's get Jackson.

i will be judging this new "Xs and Os" guy on our regular games vs. teams that typically seed in the west: OKC, Spurs, Clips.

oh yeah...if any of our starters get injured during the regular season, it's management's fault.

Not a big deal...we can find a good coach, we need the player personnel to be figured out and that will set the ship right.

.

dude got top money for a non marquee job with no relevant experience
that privilege, smh

Thank God!! Bullet dodged Knick fans.

http://bkknicksfan.tumblr.com/post/85780771829/good-bye-steve-thank-god-talk-about-dodging

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KNICKS BLOG: The Knicks are Like an Abusive Boyfriend
http://bkknicksfan.tumblr.com

"God's commands are only as hard to obey as his promises are to believe."

but you got more bombs flying your way

I know. At this point, I can only pray that Dolan and Mills get kidnapped by aliens and Phil Jackson hires Mark Jackson while they're gone.
--------------------------------------
KNICKS BLOG: The Knicks are Like an Abusive Boyfriend
http://bkknicksfan.tumblr.com

"God's commands are only as hard to obey as his promises are to believe."

phil wants a young mind he can mold

-->

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

.

Phil on some wizard of oz behind the curtain thing....

has several years of assistant coaching under different coaches under his belt. I can't see some of the knuckleheads currently on the Knicks roster taking him seriously for 82 games though.

So Feel basically got Kerr a better gig in a place he'd rather live.

cism at it's finest.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Roll me further bitch"

but nobody says a word?

k.

-->
www.realmdynamics.com

when the lakers and knicks interview fisher next month, these WHY IS KERR SO IN DEMAND mofos better not lose the intensity.

>when the lakers and knicks interview fisher next month, these WHY IS KERR SO IN DEMAND mofos better not lose the intensity.

Fish got a job with a terrible team.

That's a big difference.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

.

-->

Those are the two differences.

The giant white bols are healthy. Bogut looking like
a #1 overall pick again, eating.

Draymond looking like a versatile dynamo

Steph and Klay are pretty much the same. Both were good
last year.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=21&topic_id=101918#102148

i guess you could say i had a GOOD FEELING about draymond.

nah, but seriously...he better than Barnes...by a LOT and UNC fans should be embarrassed.

playoffs do you have them going?

A healthy Bogut and a reinvigorated Green go a long way, but this team also has more depth than I can honestly remember a Warriors team having. ***Maybe*** those early '90s teams might have been deeper (as well as the '94-'95 team that never was), but that's all I can think of. So I'm not willing to chalk this all up to the brilliance of Kerr.

These next three games will show us how good this team can possibly be. I can see dropping the Houston and Spurs games (depending if Pop decides to rest people), but if we still play well and still lose, I won't be mad.

I'll say if this team doesn't make the WCF, it'll be a disappointment. I'd say that no matter who the coach is/was.

jumpshooting team in the playoffs.

And a healthy Bogut certainly cuts down the need to rely on the outside-shooting.

I'm under no illusions that a healthy Bogut is only a temporary thing. I can 100% see a world where we're cruising through the season as a #1-#3 seed, then Bogut gets hurt in March/April, and we're fucked. I can honestly see any and all of our big contributors dealing with injuries throughout this season. But I'm still going to hold to saying that this team needs to make the WCF this season, or else it's a disapointment.

shambles, and I don't trust the Clippers.

-->

Kerr is doing a great job of building on what Jackson created.

White guys come in late, claim ALL the credit.

Just like Gruden and Dungy: Gruden got ALL the credit in
Tampa Bay, using DUNGY's team (Dungy took an inferior Bucs
team to the NFC championship with rookie Shaun King at QB,
losing to eventual champ 'greatest show on turf' Rams). Then,
Gruden started to SUCK while Dungy REBUILT THE FUCKING
COLTS from a 4-5 win team to a SUPERBOWL champion.

And EVEN THEN, people talking about "Peyton Manning coached
that team more than Dungy." And how has Manning done
WITHOUT Dungy as his coach?

Oh.


To Golden State:

The real reason this team is good? MARK JACKSON teaching
Steph Curry how to be a PLAYMAKER. He was a screen running
jumpshooting dynamo at Davidson. Jackson TAUGHT him to how RUN
AN OFFENSE. He made this team emphasize team basketball, and
they players are evolving. Hell, even KLAY is a COMPLETE
player, and not a one-dimensional gunner.

when he was hired as coach.

We'll see just how effective of a coach he can be -- if he can build upon
what Jackson started and bring this team to the next level. I think he can -
and if he does, he should get credit.

But I also think a lot of the irrational hate Kerr was getting for landing the
job was silly.

-->

"And was not a point guard, the position that people
tend to think makes the best coaches (from Blatt to
Doc Rivers to Jason Kidd, etc."

He might end up the best coach of all time.

That doesn't mean the criticisms weren't valid, because
they were.

Kerr never really demonstrated much of a big IQ as a player,
so the hire was kinda given a "why?"

Its kinda like how Scott Brooks gets to keep his job -- the
type of privilege rarely afforded black coaches with that level
of scrubery.

Kidd, on the other hand, is one of the 5 biggest basketball
savants ever, no debate. And Fisher has been long lauded
for his IQ.

Facts.

Kidd got a good NBA job, and did an excellent job by
every account, and has his young Bucks team player *much*
better than a year ago, including *instant* transformation
of Brandon Knight.

Nobody is hating on Kerr by asking why *he* deserved *that*
job. Its a fucking FIFTY WIN TEAM.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Nobody hated on Kerr necessarily. They wondered why
A. Why he was THE most sought after coach, with ZERO coaching experience (GS and NY weren't the only teams after him)
B. Will he be better than a guy in Mark Jackson, who coached them to 50 wins and the best stretch in franchise history

As for the Knicks dodging a bullet...Fisher got the job KERR TURNED DOWN...so I don't know where that came from

>As for the Knicks dodging a bullet...Fisher got the job KERR
>TURNED DOWN...so I don't know where that came from

it was said in this very post, as if hiring Kerr would've been
a Pringles-like disaster.

-->

but to say that Kerr has no demonstrated B-ball IQ
is hardly fair. He has experience in the front office
(Pres. of Basketball Operations for Phoenix) - and several
years experience as an analyst w/ TNT. I was never particularly
fond of his commentary, but he is definitely sound from a b-ball
IQ standpoint.

So while get the point about the disparity of fairness/perception
attributed to black coaches versus some white coaches who get are
afforded presumptive legitimacy - in this instance - it seems that
Kerr really did have the requisite credentials and experience to
get a head-coach slot. I just think the abrupt and controversial
manner in which Jackson was ousted made Kerr's hire seem bitter.

>but to say that Kerr has no demonstrated B-ball IQ
>is hardly fair. He has experience in the front office
>(Pres. of Basketball Operations for Phoenix) - and several
>years experience as an analyst w/ TNT. I was never
>particularly
>fond of his commentary, but he is definitely sound from a
>b-ball
>IQ standpoint.

No, he's a good commentator.

There are LOTS of guys who demonstrate intelligent
commentary on TV. LOTS.

Jeff Van Gundy is an AWFUL commentator. Says wild, hilarious,
outrageous things (he's very entertaining, but he's says
crazy things). Jeff Van Gundy was a very good coach. Being a
coach is about leadership. Its about guys with the *it* factor.

Kerr was a great, great, great jumpshooter. That's what he was.

He didn't deserve these opportunities, any of them (coach or
GM).

This doesn't mean he's a bad person. Doesn't mean I don't
like him.

I'm saying he just inherited a FIFTY WIN TEAM and y'all are
ALREADY talking about "how he's transformed the Warriors."

That's silly.

Mark Jackson built that team and they were *already* damn
good. Only thing holding them back was HEALTH and normal
progress.

>get a head-coach slot. I just think the abrupt and
>controversial
>manner in which Jackson was ousted made Kerr's hire seem
>bitter.

This is exactly right, and its the entire point: Jackson
built that team. He didn't deserve to lose his job. And hiring
a guy with no credentials to claim all the credit is...hmmm.
It was a 50 win team already...more than that if Bogut and
Lee are healthy the whole year.

but you disregarded that as well as his experience as
Pres. of Basketball Operations for Phoenix. Not sure why,
it's silly.

why is it silly? Because guess what Mark Jackson's credentials were
prior to landing the G.S. job? TV Analyst OMG'Z!!

>Kerr was a great, great, great jumpshooter. That's what he
>was.
>
>He didn't deserve these opportunities, any of them (coach or
>GM).
>
>This doesn't mean he's a bad person. Doesn't mean I don't
>like him.

This also is non-sense. How many great former player have turned into great coaches? It's a different paradigm and it doesn't follow that just because you were a great player, that it's an indicator of how you will do as a coach. Kerr's basketball IQ is not wholly contingent upon his player experience as a great jumpshooter. Silly.

>>get a head-coach slot. I just think the abrupt and
>>controversial
>>manner in which Jackson was ousted made Kerr's hire seem
>>bitter.
>
>This is exactly right, and its the entire point: Jackson
>built that team. He didn't deserve to lose his job.

again, nobody's disputing that. But that doesn't mean you get to lobby cheap shots at his successor just because you don't like him and he YT.

And
>hiring
>a guy with no credentials to claim all the credit is...hmmm.
>It was a 50 win team already...more than that if Bogut and
>Lee are healthy the whole year.

What were Mark Jackson's credentials prior to taking the G.S. job?

Oh that's right - TV analyst.


-->

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ast_career.html

Fourth all-time in assists, and *easily* the least athletic
guy in the top 10, meaning it was all deep understanding of
the game. He was one of the greatest floor generals ever.

That *does* matter. Its a real credential.

Being a good TV guy is not a real credential.

Just like Jeff Van Gundy being a bad TV person doesn't
mean he's not a good coach.

But back to the list: In the top 50, you have:

Kidd who is a good coach.

Thomas was a good coach (bad GM, actually a very good
on the floor coach, though).

Bird was a good coach.

Hornacek is a good coach.

Avery Johnson, who I still believe is a good coach
(if Wade doesn't go Michael Jordan, the Mavs in that
2007 title).

The point-guard-as-good-coach idea isn't always right,
but its a belief, the same way former Quarterbacks end
up NFL coaches. Its case by case...but it is definitely
seen as a credential.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

got it.

-->

All good
Need to send you an email btw lol


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>All good
>Need to send you an email btw lol

fire away bred. I'm headed to miami this week for some
pretty exciting stuff. Almost was convinced to head to
Hamburg for the Wlad fight (Briggs is there heckling lol) - but
decided against it.


-->

>>
>>All good
>>Need to send you an email btw lol
>
>fire away bred. I'm headed to miami this week for some
>pretty exciting stuff. Almost was convinced to head to
>Hamburg for the Wlad fight (Briggs is there heckling lol) -
>but
>decided against it.
>
>
>-->


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

-->

>
>-->

-->

Kerr *not* calling a timeout last night and letting Curry do magic was
a better decision than your favorite coach has made as of late.

#KerrBetter

-->

>Kerr *not* calling a timeout last night and letting Curry do
>magic was
>a better decision than your favorite coach has made as of
>late.

And of course there's no timeout.

Most timeouts are to get the best ball handler the ball in
a position to score or dish. The best shooter in the league, who
also happens to be one of its three best ball handlers,
already had the ball. There's no play you can call that
will get you a better shot than the one he can generate,
especially against a young team who has no idea WTF they
are doing (Orlando).

Golden State is good because "they have the deepest team
in the league" (c) George Karl. And Bogut hasn't been this
healthy in YEARS. When he's healthy, he's one of the better
bigs in the league.

Golden State was pretty damn great last year. They just
weren't healthy.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Yes - GS is very deep, but off to the best start in franchise history?

yea, that deserves a little bit of praise for the new coach at the helm.

-->

>Kerr *not* calling a timeout last night and letting Curry do
>magic was
>a better decision than your favorite coach has made as of
>late.

Curry is the best person in the league to have the
ball at the end of the game. He can pass, he can
shoot, he can break you off the dribble.

That's why you don't call timeout.

Would the team's record look any different under Jackson? I think Kerr is getting a little too much credit here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

n/m


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

GS off to its best start, ever.

Might they have done the same thing under Jackson?

Perhaps, but since he decided to wild out w/ his homophobia (when your
owner is gay) - we'll never know.

That is questionable judgment at best from Jax.

>Would the team's record look any different under Jackson? I
>think Kerr is getting a little too much credit here.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-->

...none of matters unless this team has a deep play-off run.

That was the unstated reason (beyond Jackson not getting along with management) that this move was made: the team has a shit-ton of upside and should be a championship contender, and Kerr is going to be the guy who takes them to the next level.

So, to me, upping this post is pointless unless the Dubs make it to the conference finals. If this team is healthy, they need to make the Conference Finals. Bottom line. It's great that the Splash Bros. are looking like the best backcourt in the league, that Green has taken his game to the next level, that Bogut is the defender/rim protector we need him to be, that Speights is playing the best ball of his career, and that Barnes looks revitalized. But, if we're healthy, we need to make that Conference Finals. I'd hold any coach to that standard.

Bwahahahahahahaha


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

If you actually read this post and the initial "Is Mark Jackson an asshole or something?" post, then you'll see I've been saying firing Jackson was wrong from word go.

>


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

That said, it's fun to ^ this post because of all the hate he was catching on this board - most of it unwarranted.

-->

Two would be nice but as long as they have a tight second-round series, it would be cool to me. They still have kind of a precarious balance in their frontcourt and the west is really competitive.

No pre-emptive plea cops

Sorry breh

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

you think that highly of steve kerr, huh?

it's early in the year, they are not exactly running away with it.

looking at the team they have, they should *at least* make the second round. "failure" criteria. of course losing with home court is always a bad look, you know all about that, but let's not extrapolate the first 20 games to the full 82. You've got a half dozen teams within four games of them

Days of setting low expectations are over. If we're working towards eventually winning a chip, gotta make a statement this year.

Period.

So, no bust then? K, thanks, bye.

Just say Jackson is a bible thumper and you don't like
it.

But this? THIS is how you met me to dislike you.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11988620/golden-state-warriors-owner-joe-lacob-criticizes-former-coach-mark-jackson


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

You want to sing Kerr's praises? Fine. (Even though it's still too early to get so smug). But throwing Jackson and his former assistants all the way under the bus is just petty and obnoxious. Dudes gone. He's not working for you or any other team in the league right now. Show some class.

As good of a coach as he may have been, shit was dumb dumb dumb.

-->

Nah...it's a bad look any way u slice it. On the sports front, Jackson turned GS into winners. And he gave them a defensive identity...The owner should shut the fuck up and respect Jackson's run and impact on that franchise...

> On the sports front,
>Jackson turned GS into winners. And he gave them a defensive
>identity...

Indeed - that's not in dispute. Nor should it be in dispute that Kerr is doing a tremendous job thus far.

The owner should shut the fuck up and respect
>Jackson's run and impact on that franchise...

But Jax shouldn't shut the fuck up and respect Lacob and Welt's stance on equal rights for gays?

K.

-->

Jackson was a chubby, unathletic slob who ended up top
10 all-time in assists, was one of the best natural
playmakers ever, and did it almost entirely with
his understanding of the game.

That is BEYOND dispute.

Guys like Stockton, for example, were thousands of
times quicker and more athletic.

SAY he's a bad coach.

SAY he's an asshole and a bigot.

But THAT shit isn't right.

That's what I"m saying.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

mark jackson is an average coach who will never be mistaken for larry brown on the X/O side but might be mistaken for him and worse on the "piss people around you off" side.

he'll work again but his place in the carousel is not totally firm.

And it makes Lacob look immature.

Not to mention that with three quarters of the season ahead, its quite premature for doing victory dances. We just started a tough 10-game stretch, and we no have no idea how we'll emerge from that. Not to mention that we have been largely injury-free thus far (aside from Lee, who has probably played four minutes so far this season). Too early to be crowing about Kerr's superiority over Jackson.

Lacob has a long history of being an ass since he got here, going back to the Mullin's number retirement fiasco. So this dumb shit is par for the course.

I mean, he could be a shitty coach (he wasn't)

There is NO way a white boy with that many
assists gets accused of not understanding Xs and
Os

Period

He's one of the greatest, most cerebral playmakers
ever

He was a much WORSE athlete than Stockton, and unlike
Stockton didn't run the pick and roll and didn't play
with Karl Malone...more of Jackson's success was due
to cerebral understanding of hoop Xs and Os

He knows more about hoop than 99.9999% of good white
COACHES

of course not.

this is very simple. mark jackson is an adequate NBA head coach. you dont get places alienating people when you're adequate. dude wants to act like kobe when he's really swaggy p.

You guys make my work easier.

n/m

Or did he end up top 10 all time in assists through
his "athleticism?"

Answer the question.

was that a quote that was in the article before? I can't find it.

it's obviously full of shit for the owner too assess how well he does or doesn't know xs and os, but that quote isn't in there.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

You guys talking about a top 10 all time playmaker not
having the intellect to coach puts better food on my
table

You wanna make O_E poor, stop with the veiled 'cism


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

He was a far superior playmaker to Jackson or Kidd or Carlisle or guys who didn't even play in the NBA. One has little to do with the other. You're also taking this statistical accomplishment to an extreme. Tell me with a straight face that Jackson was on the level of Magic, Stockton, Kidd, et al, the guys at the top of that list.

And even IF Magic sucked as a coach WAS IT BECAUSE
HE LACKED UNDERSTANDING OF Xs and Os?!?!?

Oh.

Good, shut the fuck up, please?
----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

someone who doesn't watch basketball such as yourself, but to other professional coaches, many of whom were also good players?

ride this one out because mark jackson is going to have a totally forgettable coaching career.

Shut the fuck up

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2293445-stephen-curry-defends-mark-jackson-calls-owners-comments-a-distraction

bottom line is that they accomplished nothing of note as a team under jackson and have thrived under kerr. this is almost as weak of a spin as your andy reid shit.

>bottom line is that they accomplished nothing of note as a
>team under jackson and have thrived under kerr. this is almost
>as weak of a spin as your andy reid shit.

He didn't just shit on the owner

he went OUT OF HIS WAY to praise Jackson...Jackson built
that team

Be made at STEPH for calling you a pussy

Or you gonna cling to that "Jackson doesn't understand
strategy" angle?

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

On May 21, 2013, it was announced that the Clippers would not renew Del Negro's contract after its expiration at the end of June. At times during the season, he was criticized for his player rotations. Del Negro had a 128-102 regular-season record in three seasons with the club, and his .557 winning percentage was the highest in club history. He was only the second coach to leave the Clippers with a winning record. However, much of the club's success was credited to Paul and Griffin. According to Yahoo! Sports and CBSSports.com, Paul, who was scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason, did not support Del Negro's return. Del Negro felt that Paul had "a lot of say-so" in the team's decisions, and Clippers owner Donald Sterling said he needed to be supportive of the team's star players. Paul was upset that he was being blamed, and the Clippers later denied any player involvement in the coaching decision.

Curry openly said Jackson helped him become a
well rounded point guard, and Klay has credited
Jackson with his defense

Paul and Griffin didn't like Del Negro

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

In Vinny's case it was twice & both times he was criticized for "not being too bright" although he cultivated a winning culture, led a young squad into the post-season & even won a series. But you are right in that there were rumors which indicated Vinny wasn't well liked by the players (both Bulls/Clips).

I guess Mark Jackson's case could best be compared to Lionel Hollins in that they both developed young cornerstone players (Conley/Gasol vs. Klay/Curry), cultivated a winning culture & were well liked by their players but clashed w/ management b/c of they didn't like anyone stepping into their den & telling them how to do their job. They basically felt disrespected & started ego tripping which cost them their job.

Kerr owes a lot of his early success to Mark Jackson just like Joerger owes his early career success to Hollins. Unlike recent hires such as Dwane Casey or Jeff Hornacek, they each had a steady foundation to build upon thus I feel like they would have to win a chip to insure long term job security. A good example would be Avery Johnson not getting the credit he deserved for taking the Mavs to the finals (although he won COY) b/c he inherited a perennial playoff team from Nelly. Then Carlisle inherits the team from Avery but didn't get his dues until the Mavs won a chip although he revived the Pistons (lol @ Larry Brown getting all the credit) plus won COY & could have made a Finals appearance w/ Indy if it wasn't for Prince chasing down Reggie in '04 & Artest being suspended for the '05 postseason (not to mention Jermaine O'Neal never being healthy for an entire postseason during Carlisle's tenure).

Steve Kerr is going to be under fire if the Warriors have a hiccup & get bounced in the 2nd round even if it is in part b/c of their main players being injured (Bogut/Lee). Recent history has shown ownership/upper management doesn't give 2 shyts unless the coach is bringing in the jewels.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

which was laughable, but whatever, i guess it worked out OK for all parties involved in the end.

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=11999835

Hi.

DISCUSSSSS

-->

>-->


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Steve sucks.

-->

that game wasn't close

i really mean it! (c) dip set

-->

: - )

Steve Kerr on his historic 19-2 start, "It means I'm the luckiest coach in NBA history because I inherited a really good team."

https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/542922255408189441

And I have NO PROBLEM with Steve Kerr.

None.

But people saying Mark Jackson didn't understand
X's and O's?

Really?

Not only did Curry set that shit straight, Kerr just
did.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

meanwhile, Mark Jax is giving a Tyrese wisdom sermon somewhere
ranting on the evils of the homosexual agenda.

#KerrBetter

-->

Boy, the Knicks sure hurdled an obstacle!

-->

Kerr can't coach to save his life, obviously.

-->

and what agenda is in play here? I haven't been keeping up with all the episodes of this one.

and certain Knicks stans thought the Knicks "dodged a bullet" when Kerr decided to
coach G.S. instead of NYK.

I'm here for that.

-->

.

He has so pissed at halftime that they had let the Kings back in the game that he cursed them out and told them he wasn't even going to call any offensive plays for them the second half. Then the Kings tied it, Klay got the hot hand, and the rest is literally history. By all accounts, Draymond called more plays in the third than Kerr.

Does it help/hurt Kerr's case as a great coach? I dunno. But the team to a man say it's what got their heads back in the game.

>He has so pissed at halftime that they had let the Kings back
>in the game that he cursed them out and told them he wasn't
>even going to call any offensive plays for them the second
>half. Then the Kings tied it, Klay got the hot hand, and the
>rest is literally history. By all accounts, Draymond called
>more plays in the third than Kerr.
>
>Does it help/hurt Kerr's case as a great coach? I dunno. But
>the team to a man say it's what got their heads back in the
>game.

Dude was like "fuck y'all, y'all just gotta chuck and figure
it out"

And the team just goes completely apeshit with zero input
from the coach.

Kinda been the case all year, really. Kerr doesn't really
contribute much.

This is an instinctive basketball team with elite athletes
at every single position. All of them.

And Kerr is a good coach if he recognize that, and his own
basketball IQ shortcomings and just let's them play ball.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>This is an instinctive basketball team with elite athletes
>at every single position. All of them.

Why white players get to be smart but black players gotta be instinctive, Bull Conor?

OE always good for a ridiculous laugh these days

Who anointed Draymond as "The Preacher"?......Mark Jackson!

Goodness knows we heard this type of shit all day long about Lenny Wilkens, K.C. Jones, Bernie Bickerstaff and such.

http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-kerr-coaching-philosophies-for-golden-state-warriors-2015-2

http://www.si.com/nba/2015/02/20/golden-state-warriors-steve-kerr-stephen-curry-klay-thompson-joe-lacob

From one-dimensional and one-and-done to NBA title favorites
BY CHRIS BALLARD

The giant in the yellow T-shirt lumbers across the concrete, advancing on his target.

It’s a Wednesday evening in late January, in the cavernous underbelly of Oracle Arena, minutes before the first-place Warriors are to host the Rockets. Golden State’s primary owner, 59-year-old Joe Lacob, has just finished speaking to a bunch of venture capitalists in North Face vests. Straddling a stool in a private room, Lacob spoke of penciling profits and leveraging assets and the general awesomeness of Steph Curry. But now he’s headed toward the tunnel to his courtside seat. Before he can get far, however, the giant intercepts him.

“THANK YOU JOE!” the man bellows.

Lacob peers up and recognizes the looming figure of Bill Walton, whose son Luke is a Warriors assistant coach and who, for reasons that never become totally clear, crashed the VC event and asked a handful of relatively complex financial questions.

“THANK YOU!” Walton shouts a second time, pumping Lacob’s hand. “Thank you for everything you’ve done!”

Lacob smiles, nervous. “It feels weird when people say that,” he says. “We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

“But you have!” booms Walton, becoming serious. “You’ve changed EVERYTHING. You’ve made people BELIEVE again.”

Belief. When it comes to pro basketball in the Bay Area, it is a recession-proof currency, forever propped up by an enduring fan support that even team COO Rick Welts calls, “unexplainable.” This is a franchise that has taken and taken from its fans while providing little in return.

No one expected change to come this quickly, though. Five years ago, when Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team for $450 million, the Warriors were 25-56 and coming off a stretch of 14 losing seasons in 16 years. The roster was riddled with D-Leaguers. The previous owner, the reclusive Chris Cohan, was loathed by fans. The coach – Don Nelson, in his final, melancholy, hangdog iteration – was already daydreaming about his beachfront home in Maui.

And now? Now, the Warriors are riding a 107-game sellout streak. At points this season they’ve had the top-ranked offense and defense. Their core is young and talented, their coaching staff deep, their owner committed and their executives earned the “Sports Team of the Year” award from Sports Business Journal for 2014.

Which leads to the question that all the North Facers want answered: How, in just five years, and without a draft pick higher than No. 6, did the Warriors go from a joke of a franchise to one of the best in all of sports?

The answer is about basketball and business, of course, but ultimately it’s about people. It involves a prideful preacher and a mad scientist, a spindly point guard and a passionate power forward, an impatient multimillionaire and a UCLA walk-on. And, in perhaps the most crucial role in the months to come, a professor’s son with a knack for diplomacy.

...

At 49, Steve Kerr still looks more like a YMCA All-Star than an NBA player, all bones and elbows and spiky blonde hair. During his years with the Bulls and Spurs, Kerr was the guy who, sizing him up, you figured you might be able to take on a good day. Skinny, short, bereft of hops. And yet, somehow, magically, he won five titles, earned the trust of Michael Jordan and retired as the game’s all-time leading three-point shooter.

Now, as a coach, Kerr can give off a similar vibe: The Guy Who Just Got Lucky. He merely inherited a great team, Kerr tells you. It’s all about the players, he stresses. Don’t talk to me, talk to my assistants -- they’re the ones doing the real work. This story? Kerr doesn’t want it to be about him. Really, he says, there are more important things to write about.

Sorry, Steve. Not going to happen. Because there’s one major difference between last year’s Warriors, which finished 51-31 before losing to the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, and this year’s team, which returned its top seven rotation players and entered the All-Star break with the best record in the NBA at 42-9. And that difference looks a lot like a spiky-haired YMCA All-Star.

Kerr always planned on coaching, but it wasn’t until two years ago, while working as a broadcaster for TNT, that he says he began preparing in earnest. That summer he attended a sports leadership conference at the Aspen Institute in Colorado and ran into Jeff Van Gundy, whose work Kerr admired. Van Gundy told Kerr what he tells all aspiring coaches: Write down everything. Everything you’ve learned, everything you want to do. Everything you’d change. It’ll organize your thoughts. Develop your philosophy.

So Kerr created a Word file on his laptop. Some days he added a few notes; other days he filled pages. During four years of college and 15 seasons in the NBA, Kerr played for Lute Olson, Lenny Wilkens, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. His teammates included Mark Price, Tim Duncan, Scottie Pippen and Jordan. There was a lot to write, and no detail was too small. He jotted down offensive sets and defensive philosophies, but also included the little stuff - everything from a policy for families traveling on the road to whether players are required to do 20 minutes of cardio after a game if they don't play a certain number of minutes.

Kerr began collecting plays too, pausing games on the flat-screen at his San Diego home whenever he saw an action he liked – a backdoor lob off an inbounds or a particularly potent flare screen. Then he’d shoot an email to Kelly Peters, a friend and coach at nearby Torrey Pines High (and now a Warriors advance scout). Peters pulled the footage and compiled it using iMovie. Week by week, Kerr’s file – named ATOs, for ‘After Timeouts” – grew.

By the spring of 2014, the video library had swelled to over 50 plays and the Word file had morphed into a detailed Power Point presentation. Kerr loved broadcasting, just as he’d enjoyed playing, but friends believed coaching was, in the words of Bruce Fraser, a Warriors assistant who’s been close to Steve since the two played together at Arizona, “his calling.” Now, with two of his three children off at college, it was time.

The plan was simple, and seemingly foolproof: Follow his mentor, Phil Jackson, to New York. But then the Warriors, coming off a second straight playoff appearance, did something unexpected: They fired their coach, Mark Jackson.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins, the dean of Bay Area sportswriters, called the move a “risky gamble,” labeling Lacob as “meddling” and “pathetic.” “I don’t buy this notion that, with a new coach, these same Warriors reach the NBA Finals next year,” wrote Jenkins. “Dead wrong. Zero chance of that.”

Privately, Lacob fumed. Publicly, he conducted a high-powered coaching search. In early May, he offered the job to Kerr who, after consulting with Popovich, as well as family and friends, took it, thereby breaking Phil Jackson’s heart. But the Warriors offered a better roster, proximity to his family and a stronger organizational structure. Still, it was a weird situation to enter. Expectations were simultaneously high and low. You better win at least 51 games. But we don’t think you can do much better.

To find success, Kerr knew he needed people to buy-in. He began with the most important man in the franchise.

...

Of the 15 players on the Golden State roster, it is strange to think that the 26-year-old Steph Curry is now the longest-tenured. Especially because he never should have been a Warrior.

The year was 2009 and Don Nelson couldn’t believe it. The Minnesota Timberwolves had just taken two point guards in the first six picks and neither was named Curry. Nelson had long been enamored of Curry, seeing in the skinny Davidson star the playmaking and shooting skills of Steve Nash. Nelson and then-GM Larry Riley had Curry ranked second overall in the draft, behind only Blake Griffin. “And there wasn’t really anyone else we liked,” says Nelson. When the Timberwolves took Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, shouts of joy echoed in the Warriors draft room in Oakland. Curry was theirs.

It would be the last significant contribution Nelson made to the Warriors. He was fired soon after Lacob took over, but Curry remained. Beset by ankle injuries and mismanaged by interim coach Keith Smart, who often pulled the young guard after bad turnovers and in favor of veterans, Curry flourished under Mark Jackson, whom Lacob hired in June of 2011 to replace Smart.

As a point guard for 18 years in the league, Jackson had catered to stars, setting up players like Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller. Now, as a coach, he did the same. He encouraged Curry to run endless pick-and-rolls and go one-on-one. The rest of the team? Much of the time their job was to set screens for Steph. Or feed Steph. Or guard the opposing point guard while Jackson hid Curry on a weaker offensive player. The strategy worked in at least one important respect: Curry got better. He was allowed to make mistakes. His confidence grew. He became an All-Star.

Meanwhile, the Warriors evolved as a team, due in part to Jackson’s influence. He emphasized individual skill development, mandating that every player put in at least 15 minutes of extra work with an assistant coach. A pastor at a non-denominational church in Reseda, Ca, Jackson had an uncanny knack for fostering an us-against-them mentality. To this day, the Warriors still exit each huddle yelling “Just Us!”, a unifying chant that began in the Jackson era. Upon his hiring, Jackson had immediately – and foolishly – promised that the team would make the playoffs in his first season. The Warriors didn’t, and wouldn’t for two more years, but Jackson’s formidable public confidence and oratorical skill – which, says one team source, is what got him the job over then-Spurs-assistant Mike Budenholzer, because, “Of course Mark’s going to win the interview” – buoyed the players’ confidence.

Jackson was the right man at the right time. In many respects, though he was the wrong man for the long run.

...

Golden State GM Bob Myers looks younger than his 39 years. Tall and lanky, with a thatch of dark hair and big eyes, he has both the physical presence of a former athlete – he walked on at UCLA and still plays intense full court 1-on-1 games after Warriors practices against advance scout Chris DeMarco – and the social acumen of an agent, which he was for 14 years. Hired in 2011 to apprentice under Riley as an assistant GM, Myers impressed Lacob so much that he was elevated to general manager in only a year.

From the beginning, Myers and Lacob followed a plan. It revolved around a few key tenets. First, that the future of the league lay in position-less players. Size, length and versatility were more important than traditional designations. Second, despite recent trends, they believed that centers still mattered. Third, they believed that organizations flourished when stocked with high-character people. “I’d noticed that sometimes the most talented people don't help the bottom line in regards to winning,” explains Myers. The executive motto became, in Myers’ words, “Size, then character.” They began with a significant advantage, possessing in Curry a tiny Tim Duncan. “Our best player is arguably our highest character player,” says Myers. “It's like having a CEO that exhibits the highest character. Everybody else falls in line.”

Meanwhile, Lacob set about changing the business side. In an effort to create both literal and figurative transparency, he ordered executive office walls to be replaced with glass. He informed basketball operations that, instead of being the team that sold draft picks, they’d now be buyers. And he took aim at the best in the business, luring Jerry West to become head consultant and then recruiting Welts, who dreamt up the concept of All-Star Weekend and the Dream Team during a 20-year stint with the NBA. This would prove to be Lacob’s MO heading forward: Always go for the gold.

In March 2012, the Warriors traded Monta Ellis, the team’s most popular player but a redundant piece next to Curry, to Milwaukee for center Andrew Bogut, an elite defensive big man. They drafted one big, long position-less wing after another – Klay Thompson (6’7”), Harrison Barnes (6’8”), Draymond Green (6’7”) – and hit on a surprising number of them. They filled in holes with free agents like Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, and acquired Andre Iguodala (6’6”), yet another long-limbed wing, while unloading the bloated salary of Andris Biedrins. In a business where 50% is a good success rate on personnel decisions, it was a remarkable hot streak.

By last spring, Lacob’s five-year plan was ahead of schedule. Golden State had the talent and the mindset. There was just one more move to make.

...

During Kerr’s three-hour interview last May, at an airport conference room in Oklahoma City, many things impressed Golden State’s decision makers. First was the Power Point presentation, which by then ran 16 pages. It began with a section titled “Why I’m Ready To Be A Head Coach” and included segments on leadership, relationships, analytics and everything from dress code to dieticians to yoga instructors to sleep specialists. Kerr also included detailed thoughts on Warriors players, including potential rotation changes. But what sealed it, at least for Lacob, was Kerr’s list of potential assistants. At the top, along with David Blatt (now the Cavaliers’ coach), were Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams, two of the top strategists in the business. Here, Lacob knew, was a man who wouldn’t feel threatened by those around him.

This, in the end, had been part of Jackson’s undoing. Upon joining Golden State, he’d instituted a rule forbidding assistant coaches from talking to the press. Even so, assistant Mike Malone received credit for the team’s improved defense, which angered Jackson (who declined to comment for this story). Within the team, he pitted players against each other to gain loyalty. “He’d say, ‘You’re my guy, and so-and-so is a clown,’” recalls one person with knowledge of the situation. “Then he’d go say the same thing to the other player, only reversed.” When Jackson became frustrated with Malone’s growing profile, he gave the defense to someone he could trust, Darren Erman. At the time, Erman, a former lawyer, was a recently-promoted assistant with no experience running an NBA defense. Fortunately for Jackson, Erman thrived in the role, molding a top-tier defense.

Then, last spring, things got downright strange. In March, without explanation, Jackson reassigned Brian Scalabrine, a well-liked assistant, to Golden State’s D‑League affiliate; in April, Erman was fired for violating team policy. (Jackson later cited “disrespect” in Scalabrine’s firing; Erman was reported to have secretly recorded team meetings.) Players became wary of publicly crediting assistants, lest they incur Jackson’s wrath. Meanwhile, the Warriors were heading into the postseason with a depleted, relatively inexperienced coaching staff and a number of troubling losses. To the Knicks, Hornets and Timberwolves at home. To the Spurs at home even though San Antonio sat its starters.

While Jackson excelled as a leader, he was not interested in the minutiae of coaching, according to sources. He so rarely watched film that the video team eventually stopped loading clips onto his laptop. He didn’t draw up plays during huddles, or carry a clipboard. He often looked at his cellphone during practice, even when management was around. His relationship with the front office grew more strained.

There were other, cultural concerns. Jackson often emphasized his faith with the players. “It’s fine to be religious,” says one Warriors insider, “but it’s a different thing to bring it to your work.” When Jason Collins publicly announced his homosexuality in April 2013, Jackson told reporters, “I know Jason Collins; I know his family and am certainly praying for them.” This seemed particularly tone-deaf considering that Golden State COO Rick Welts, the first high-ranking sports executive to come out, worked in the same building. Welts says he approached Jackson and had “a nice conversation, like grown‑ups,” adding, “He knew how I felt, I knew how he felt. I’m sure he thought it was an opportunity to educate me, and I thought it was an opportunity to educate him.”

By the time the season ended, Lacob felt the situation had become too dysfunctional. Jackson no longer fit with his larger vision for an integrated, inclusive operation. As he later told a venture capital luncheon, by way of explanation: “You can't have 200 people in the organization not like you.” (Afterward, Lacob felt bad about the comment. “I didn’t know it was being taped,” says Lacob of the event. “But that’s no excuse.”)

With Kerr’s hiring, Lacob hoped to restore stability. One of the new coach’s first moves involved a reclamation project.

...

Harrison Barnes was shocked when Kerr called him last May and said he wanted to meet him wherever he was. “That’s big, actually making the commitment to fly out and see guys,” says Barnes, who was in Miami at the time. “It would’ve been easy for him to fly and meet Steph and just call everybody else.”

A talented 22-year-old forward, Barnes was coming off a miserable season. As the leader of the second unit, he was expected to score, and often out of isolation sets. It hadn’t worked. “The best players in the league shoot only 20%, 30% or so on iso plays,” Kerr said when they met, at the Four Seasons in Miami. “Any idea how well you shot?”

Barnes grimaced. “Probably way lower than that?” he ventured.

Kerr nodded. “I don’t think you were used last year in a way that was best for you. But if you buy into what we’re saying, you have a chance to be successful.”

Over the weeks that followed, Kerr met with a number of other players, including flying to Australia to see Bogut. He gave them all the same message. Here is what I’m hoping to do, here’s why and here’s how. The players, some of whom had been conspicuously silent when Kerr got hired, appreciated the no-BS approach. “I think he was destined to be a coach,” says Klay Thompson. “Just the way he’s composed. He’s got a real good way of dealing with people.”

This may have something to do with Kerr’s upbringing, which is well-chronicled. When Steve was 18 and a freshman at Arizona, his father, Malcolm, was working as the president of American University in Beirut. On January 18, 1984 as the elder Kerr headed to work, he was shot twice in the head and killed. Three years later, as a Wildcats senior, Kerr became a central character in John Feinstein’s book, A Season Inside, which paints a portrait of a scarred yet uncommonly mature young man. In 1987, Arizona coach Lute Olson told the New York Times that Kerr was, “the smartest player that I've ever coached or ever seen.” At an age when most young men were still forming their identity, Kerr already knew exactly who he was.

Now, as a coach, he wanted to be both firm and fair. And that meant making tough decisions. The first, and potentially riskiest, involved Barnes. After two weeks of training camp, Kerr knew that Barnes needed to start to fulfill his potential, so he could play off of Curry and Thompson. And that meant telling Andre Iguodala, a former All-Star who’d started the first 758 games of his career, that he was going to the bench.

Iguodala was skeptical at first. “But it’s important not to dismiss things immediately so I thought on it,” he says. Kerr had made some good points. The second unit, so ineffective the previous season, needed Igoudala’s leadership and playmaking. And Iguodala appreciated Kerr’s directness. “I agreed with his larger vision,” he says. Plus, he adds, “I’ve been in this league 11 years and I want my professionalism to be something that stands out.” In the end, he accepted the demotion gracefully. “Who else is going to complain now?” says Kerr.

Then, in November, Kerr got lucky. David Lee got hurt, straining his left hamstring. A two-time All-star and a favorite of Lacob and many fans, Lee is a gifted playmaker and finisher. He is also a subpar defender who lacks the range to be a stretch four. Assistant coaches had pleaded with Jackson to move Lee to the bench the previous season in favor of Green, arguing that it would tighten the starting unit’s defense and provide a desperately-needed offensive boost to the bench, but Jackson stood firm.

Kerr claims he intended to do the same. “If David Lee doesn't get hurt, he's still starting for sure,” says Kerr.

But Lee did get hurt. And thus Kerr unleashed upon the league a unique, and uniquely voluble, defensive force.

...

It’s a Warriors home game in late January and Draymond Green is hearing it.

“He’s too little! TOO LITTLE!”

That’s the Denver bench, shouting at Green, who just got ducked in twice – hoops jargon for scoring on deep inside position – by 6’8 Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried, who is springy and muscular. And now Green, who is 6’6 without shoes, not much of a leaper and won’t be on the cover of Men’s Health anytime soon, is being told that he’s too little. And, as Green says, “That does not sit well with me at all.”

His whole life, Green’s been told that he’s too this or not enough that. An older sister used to sit on him and twist his legs to see if he could break free. One of his brothers, springy and athletic, challenged him to jumping contests in the house, knowing he’d win. The men down at Civitan Rec Center in Saginaw, Michigan mocked the chubby kid. Even after Green won high school state titles and led Michigan State to two Final Fours, the talent people projected him as a “tweener.” Which is code for - you guessed it - too little.

What they overlooked was Green’s versatility and mindset. He is, in the best sense, the perfect pick-up hoops teammate, willing to do whatever’s necessary to help a team win. That’s how he earned respect at Civitan and MSU and, later, in workouts with the Warriors. “His team just kept on winning all the drills,” says Myers. Meanwhile, assistant GM Travis Schlenk remembers something else from that workout: “Draymond kept blocking jumpshots,” says Schlenk. “He must have blocked three on the perimeter. You know how unusual that is?”

Now, Green is the unlikely anchor of the Warriors’ top-ranked defense, one of the few humans who can guard both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. As of All-Star break, he leads the league in defensive rating and defensive win shares and is being mentioned as a potential Defensive Player of the Year. “The thing I love about him is he hates to be scored on,” says Adams, the team’s Yoda-like assistant coach, “and that’s all you want in a defensive player.”

Under Adams, the Warriors run a “shell” protection scheme predicated on length, anticipation and the ability to think and act decisively. They switch most every pick and roll, taking advantage of all their interchangeable parts, and Adams expects everyone to contribute. To him, there’s no such thing as an innately poor defender. In Chicago, he helped Kyle Korver become part of a top defensive scheme and now he wanted to do the same with Curry. “I don’t think you’re a bad defensive player,” he told Curry last summer, “but you don’t play enough possessions well.” (He also said, “Prove to me you’re better than your dad.”) Steph embraced the challenge. Though he now regularly covers opposing point guards, he’s improved from an average to above-average defender, posting one of the top ten defensive ratings in the league while leading the NBA in steals, which he accrues without gambling in passing lanes.

Still, Green is the heart of the defense, banging and bodying and talking trash (Tim Duncan is the only forward Green says he won’t jaw with, partly out of respect and partly because, “You say something to Timmy, he just look at you with that Timmy face like, ‘Wow, you’re talking to me!’”). And yet, Green disappoints himself daily. “I feel like each possession is a battle and you never want to lose a battle,” Green explains after a recent practice. “And if somebody scores on me, it really bothers me. It doesn’t make me feel any better if it’s Kevin Durant and he hits those shots on everybody. Well, I’m not everybody.” Green leans forward, getting fired up. “People say, ‘That’s great offense, there’s nothing else you can do.’ No, I could have done something else, because he scored.”

Which brings us back to the Nuggets game. On four other occasions already, Faried has tried to post Green and tossed up, in Green’s estimation, “garbage shots.” But that doesn’t matter, because Green can’t stop thinking about the two baskets Faried did make. “The one thing you know about Faried is that he’s going to duck in, every time,” explains Green. “Going into the scouting report, I should have known to sit on that duck in every time. Now, when he ducked me in the first time, I thought, man, I went to help and tried to come back a little bit and he ducked me in. The second time, I’m like, man, I had to step off a little bit and he ducked me in. So I went to the bench and there was a timeout. I said to the guys, “If I’m going to help, y’all gotta help me.”

As the half wore on, however, Green continued to replay the sequence in his head and came to a different conclusion. Maybe he had helped too far. Maybe Faried did just get good position. “And then I realized, damn, I think I just got ducked in,” says Green. So at the next stoppage he went to Adams. “I said, ‘I been replaying the play and…I could be wrong.’ I think I just got ducked in twice. So I’m going to go talk to the guys.” Confirms Barnes: “He came right over and apologized.”

By the way, the Warriors won that game by 43 points.

...

As important as Green’s ascension has been, the Warriors defense was already stout before Kerr arrived. It’s on the other side of the ball that the coach has had the larger impact.

Last season, the Warriors offense was often stagnant, and it frustrated Jerry West in particular. He couldn’t understand how a team blessed with shooters like Curry and Thompson, and passers like Bogut and Lee, could be last in the NBA in passes per possession.

That was Jackson’s preferred style of play, though, which resembled classic NBA basketball from the 80s and 90s – isolation and pick and roll. Kerr’s approach has been a stark contrast.

Many first-time head coaches begin their career by mimicking a mentor. Think of Erik Spoelstra in Miami or Budenholzer in San Antonio. But Kerr has the advantage not only of multiple Hall of Fame mentors but also a respected offensive sidekick in Gentry, whom he hired last June. Together, they created what Gentry calls a “melting pot” system on offense. Watch Warriors games and you’ll see the high-post action of Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, the drag screens and sideline tilts favored by Mike D’Antoni’s Suns (where Kerr served as GM from 2007-08 to '09-10), the low post splits from the old Jerry Sloan Utah handbook, and, most prominently, the motion offense and loop series of Popovich’s late-generation Spurs.

The result is a system in which the only sin is standing still. “Ball movement and people movement,” is how Gentry describes it. The bigs use dribble hand-offs, the shooters curve and cut in a continual churn and everyone, eventually, gets to touch the ball. To Kerr, who had the advantage of watching the Warriors up close as a broadcaster, this was the best way to utilize a roster stocked with bigs who are better-suited to passing than diving to the rim (in particular, Kerr calls Bogut “a witch with the ball.”)

After debuting the offense in summer league, Kerr and Gentry installed it in training camp, while simultaneously focusing on conditioning. Initial results were mixed. There were moments of gorgeous passing and cutting, but there were also turnovers. Lots of turnovers. Seven games into the regular season, the Warriors were averaging 22 a game. For a coach like Kerr, who believes ball movement, limiting mistakes and defending are the keys to basketball, it was painful to watch. “I had so many ideas in my head,” Kerr admits now. “I put in too much.”

So he simplified the offense, from over 20 plays to a core of four or five sequences. It worked. The Warriors, one year after finishing last in the league in passes per game (245.8), are now 11th (313.6). They lead the NBA in both assists (1,389, tied with the Hawks) and hockey assists (8.1 per game), and they’ve cut their early-season turnover rate by a third (from 22.1 to 14.6). In previous years, Curry and Thompson often ended up launching difficult jumpers, and Thompson rarely ran off screens. This year, Thompson’s improvement is due in large part to the evolution of his game, but he and Curry are also getting easier shots. “No one ever knew how good Klay really was last year,” says one opposing coach. “Because Mark never ran any plays for him.” Which, in retrospect, may help explain why the Warriors opted not to trade Thompson for Kevin Love. Perhaps they knew something the rest of us didn’t after all.

There’s another trickle-down effect to the offense, however: as reserve guard Justin Holiday says, “everybody gets a taste.” Two role players in particular have benefited. The first is Barnes. As a cutter and kick-out threat, he’s now shooting over 50% from the field and making 43.2% of his threes.

Barnes’ improvement might have been predicted. The same can’t be said for another Warrior.

Many coaches would have given up on Mo Speights. The Warriors originally targeted the 6’10 reserve forward in free agency for one reason: he could hit midrange jumpers. But last year Speights showed up 30 pounds overweight and not even his jumper could keep him on the court. Even when in shape, Speights profiles as the opposite of Kerr & Co.’s preferred player: an unwilling passer and passive defender. “I wouldn’t have blamed Steve for ignoring him and counting the days until they could get rid of him,” says one Eastern Conference GM. “To me, incorporating Mo is the most impressive thing Steve’s done. How many coaches even try?”

This season, Speights is averaging 12.0 ppg on 50.3% shooting while displaying surprising flashes of defensive intensity and voluntary passing. All of which, teammates believe, ties back to coaching. “No one ever ran plays for Mo before,” says Barnes. “Now there’s a play, it’s literally called ‘Mo’s Play,’ to get him an elbow jumper.”

Kerr, as is his nature, deflects credit. That’s all Mo, he says. I just told him if he came to camp in good shape that he’d have a chance to really help the team. It was assistant coach Luke Walton, a former teammate of Speights’ in Cleveland, who ran sprints with Mo every day after practice. And all this may be true, but it’s overlooking the advantage of a coach like Kerr: like Phil Jackson and Riley before him, he understands life on the margins. “I know what all those guys are going through, and it sucks,” says Kerr of the reserves. “I have great compassion for all the bench guys.”

Kerr strives to mimic Phil Jackson, who, “never let anybody rot at the end of the bench.” Says Kerr: “In ways the guys at the end of the bench define your chemistry. And if you ignore them, and they never play, they're going to get bitter. And all of a sudden it becomes insidious.”

So Kerr rewards good practice play with playing time, and gets mad at himself when he misses an opportunity to play bench guys (he says his biggest regret of the season was not getting Brandon Rush into an early season game when Thompson didn't play). “Steve is an extremely positive guy, but he's no one's fool,” says Adams. “He gives people opportunity. So the opportunity may come and it may go. There's no browbeating.”

So far, the players appreciate Kerr’s approach. Barnes credits his new coach for, “empowering the players,” while Green likes that he and Kerr can have a dialogue. “Earlier this season I yelled at him during the game and he yelled back,” says Green, who to be fair spends much of every game yelling at or with somebody. “Afterward I walked over to the sideline and said, ‘My bad.’ He said, ‘Nah, you’re fine. I love your passion, why would I try to stop that? That makes you the player who you are.”

Lacob describes Kerr as, “exactly who he sold himself as,” which, says Fraser, is one of Kerr’s best attributes. “There’s no bulls--tting about him,’ says Fraser. “He may be a bit nerdy, but you can’t say he’s not an honest, real guy. He does a good job of explaining and talking, not just commanding.”

As for Curry, he says he likes that Kerr didn’t, “try to come in and be the hero and reinvent the wheel when it came to what we were good at.” “He’s very mature for a first time head coach,” says Curry. “To be able to have an awareness of the bigger goals, not just having the best record right now.”

Green agrees: “He don’t let us settle for mediocrity in anything.”

...

One place that Kerr certainly Kerr does not abide mediocrity: the stair stepper. After most every practice, Kerr engages in a one-man assault upon the hulking black machine in the corner of the Warriors’ practice facility, after which he does pushups and planks. Unless, as on a recent afternoon, he is challenged.

“Coach Kerr,” says Curry. “You want some today?”

As Curry says this, he is in the midst of hitting either 39 or 40 free throws in a row – it’s hard to keep track when the number gets that high. Hearing this, Fraser, who is Curry’s shooting coach most days, walks over and waves his arms at Kerr from afar, pointing at Kerr and then at Curry, mimicking free throws.

Kerr dismounts and prepares for battle. Though he was an 86.4% free throw shooter, he knows the odds are against him. He and Curry typically play a game to 10, shooting two free throws at a time, where each make is worth one point but a swish is worth two. And, as you might imagine, Steph does a lot of swishing. At one point, says Kerr, the two had battled 11 times, during which time he had made roughly 84 out of 85 free throws—and won only once. “Steph swishes them all.”

On the surface, the competition seems a fun diversion. But, like most things with Kerr, it’s more than that. What is coaching if not a power balancing act? Here is Kerr, one of the best shooters in NBA history and a famously (if quietly) competitive man, willing to publicly lose, repeatedly, to his star player. That takes a certain innate confidence that carries over to other areas. At the end of timeouts, he often asks the team if they’re seeing anything he isn’t. Earlier this year, reserve Leandro Barbosa suggested a late-game play. Kerr not only listened; he used it.

The shooting contest also aligns with a core Kerr concept, which he talks about with Fraser often: maintaining the joy of the game. It’s why he once held impromptu 2-on-2 football route-running competitions instead of traditional warm-ups before practice. It’s why he took the team bowling, as he did two weeks ago in Minneapolis, overseeing a 2-on-2 competition in which all players were seeded based on perceived ability (in a complete shocker, Curry’s team won).

Kerr is also a believer in process and preparation. He asks the video staff to load the previous five games of an upcoming opponent on his laptop leading up to a game. Last July he visited Pete Carroll and was impressed with how Carroll used music to energize the Seahawks in practice. Now the Warriors do the same thing. Following an example set by both Carroll and Bill Belichick, Kerr hired as his personal assistant Nick U’Ren, a 28-year-old who’d spent the previous five years as an assistant video coordinator with the Suns. Explains U’Ren: “The idea is that rather than have a 45-year-old woman behind a desk answering mail as your assistant, why not instead use that spot to add another young basketball mind to the staff.” So now U’Ren does both; on any given day he might book Kerr’s travel, splice video footage and spend 20 minutes breaking down game strategy with his boss. As far as he knows, he’s the only person in the NBA with his job.

Other times, Kerr’s moves are diplomatic. From day one, he has made a point of consistently praising Mark Jackson, which built good will with his players. Similarly, he downplays his impact on the team at every turn. “In the end both Pop and Phil taught me the players are the ones that do all the work,” says Kerr. “You just want to guide the team in the right direction to play the way that they're best going to utilize their talent and skills.” In pro sports, this mindset is unusual. “Usually winning breeds arrogance but he’s a rare guy,” says Van Gundy, who makes a point to also praise Mark Jackson’s work as Warriors coach. “I think Kerr’s fully aware that he’s done an outstanding job. You don’t play as long as he did without great pride and ego. But the way that Steve has handled himself, forget the coaching. What I have such great respect for is his humility with this success. Very, very few people I’ve known in coaching would have this humility with this success.”

That Kerr is also comfortable with the media doesn’t come as a surprise. As a former broadcaster (and one-time sports columnist for his high school paper), he understands the power of narrative. Take the famous story of how he and Michael Jordan got into a fight after practice, oft-cited as proof of Kerr’s fire and toughness. “Let’s be honest,” says Kerr. “If we were losing right now, the narrative would be, ‘This is a guy that got beat up by Michael Jordan.’ We just tailor the facts to however the story is going.”

If that’s true, the facts aren’t cooperating on this day. After a few warm-ups, Kerr bricks his first two free throws. Then Curry bricks one of his first two. “Oh no, I tried to go for the swish!” he yells.

Presently, both begin making their shots and, as usual, Curry goes on to win on yet another moonball swish, after which he runs off in celebration before returning to pantomime a golfer’s handshake. But, for a moment, it was interesting to see the two of them there, disgusted with themselves and trying not to show it.

Two men bent on winning, united by a momentary failure.

dude can't coach to save his life.

-->

maybe if he hurled homophobic slurs at simp churches and wasn't so pasty he'd get some respect in OKS?

maybe.

-->

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBf_fwDUUAAmT_v.png

>https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBf_fwDUUAAmT_v.png

LOL

#a!

-->

kerr just rolls the balls out, then sits on the sideline doing sudoku.

>kerr just rolls the balls out, then sits on the sideline
>doing sudoku.

And he didn't have two Olympians as his
starting backcourt

Y'all gave him ZERO credit.

ZERO.



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

lolz

He JUST proved my point

JUST

JUST proved it

He was the HEAD COACH

Is anyone giving Kerr credit for ONE SIDE of the game!?!?

Or is he getting credit for being the HEAD COACH!?!

It's racism, Dula.

I know you're gun shy with the trigger on it, especially
recently.

But it is.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

you y'alled me. i don't do "y'all". we've been over this.

Not for the whole reply.

Unless Steve Kerr made it. In which case he'd get
credit for the whole reply.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

brown got a ton of credit where he deserved it, on the defensive end.

>brown got a ton of credit where he deserved it, on the
>defensive end.

He was the HEAD FUCKING COACH

You giving him CREDIT FOR ONE SIDE OF THE BALL

So which side does Kerr get credit for!?!?

Defense!?!?!

Bwahahahahhahahahahahhahahaahahahahahahahha

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>kerr just rolls the balls out, then sits on the sideline
>doing sudoku.

you were one of the few here to give Kerr respect before he even won a game.

I kept notes.

-->

anyone who watched him on TNT, heard him on the simmons podcast
or really paid attention to his front office moves in phx should've
known that he's one of the sharpest basketball minds out and among
the most personable cats in the game.

i always knew he'd make a hell of a coach. and he's just
getting started. he'll retire as one of the greats in the profession.

#knicksdodgedabullettho

We did indeed put ourselves in the best position possible with this historic regular season, and Kerr deserves a lot of credit for that. This team didn't make a lot of the mistakes that last year's team did (e.g., dropping home games to mediocre teams), and Kerr has certainly helped with the development of Barnes, Thompson, Green, etc., and help revitalize the careers of Speights, Livingston, and even Barbosa.

Now the real season starts. Anything other than conference finals is a supreme disappointment. And since this is probably the deepest team we're going to have for the foreseeable future, we really do need to strike now and win the whole chumpie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ0OUq_kDh8

-->

http://i.imgur.com/CJHMQv7.gif

Is he top 3 on his own team?

Memphis needed 100% of everything to be healthy and firing and breaking in their favor to win the series. When do you see that? In the playoff? Fucking never. I wanted Memphis to win but Golden State was very clearly the better team.

Oh my bad - I mean: "Jackson responsible for Warriors historic record, Curry being MVP, and Warriors advancing to WCF for first time since walkmans were invented"

#AgendaWin

-->

>Oh my bad - I mean: "Jackson responsible for Warriors
>historic record, Curry being MVP, and Warriors advancing to
>WCF for first time since walkmans were invented"
>
>#AgendaWin
>
>-->


#WhenAgendasCollide

That's all.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

That further proves my point.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

You're coaching three all-stars, two HOF'ers, one of the five best players in the league and the highest-profile franchise in the league that is a year removed from two championships, what better job is there than that?

>You're coaching three all-stars, two HOF'ers, one of the five
>best players in the league and the highest-profile franchise
>in the league that is a year removed from two championships,
>what better job is there than that?

And the Lakers haven't been good since Mike Brown left.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

he got all the recognition anyone could hope for and the best job anyone could want. he fucked it up.

please, kindly, STFU

>he got all the recognition anyone could hope for and the best
>job anyone could want. he fucked it up.
>
>please, kindly, STFU
I know I'm late to the party, but Brown didn't fuck up in LA...dude got to the 2nd round with that team and lost to OKC team that went to the Finals.

Coming off THAT season, he got fired after 5 games

So how did he fuck up in LA?

>>he got all the recognition anyone could hope for and the
>best
>>job anyone could want. he fucked it up.
>>
>>please, kindly, STFU
>I know I'm late to the party, but Brown didn't fuck up in
>LA...dude got to the 2nd round with that team and lost to OKC
>team that went to the Finals.
>
>Coming off THAT season, he got fired after 5 games
>
>So how did he fuck up in LA?

BWAHAHAHAHA



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

and the start of the next season was an abortion, refer to the eddie jordan princeton offense fiasco. do you guys watch the games? that is a rhetorical question.

and i see you both conveniently dodging the fact that the lakers was an incredible job and the cavs the first time was a very good job. quality of opportunity was never an issue.

props to Coach Kerr for the franchise record wins, coaching an mvp & 2 first-team defense players. he's the real deal. the entire coaching staff is...even luke walton.

warriors organization took the shine from the clippers, thanks to don sterling.

I mean..

damn..

he saw a well oiled machine in oakland, just a couple healthy players away from running the west

or a rusty bucket with one semi bright spot in midtown manhattan

if he had taken the latter, we would have gotten an idea of how good a coach he really is...

It was a no brainer

Boy James Dolan is probably sitting in a penthouse somewhere reflecting on how fortunate he and the Knicks were to #DodgeABullet when Kerr decided to create history by leading Golden State to previously unseen heights.

-->

But props to Kerr 100%

Blatt can't keep track of timeouts, getting openly embarrassed
by his players, calling awful plays...this much obvious and true

Kinda seems like the two teams with the best players made
the finals


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

was seen staring blankly into the sky during critical possessions while his assistants drew up the plays.

-->

n/m

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Those are the rules.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

You will never, ever, escape that L.

He was CRITICIZED for not winning!!!

LEBRON GOTTA WIN WITH JR as his #2 or BUST!!!

And the REST of Carmelo's team was still worse than
the rest of the Cavs...hahahahahah

Look at y'all SCRAMBLING NOW YOU LITTLE WIMPS!!!


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

And then tried to go back and change the definition

The gall of these niggas, I tell you


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

people asking Bron to win a title against a historic, best team in the league w/ out his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best players are...well....very special.

-->

>people asking Bron to win a title against a historic, best
>team in the league w/ out his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best players
>are...well....very special.

The excuse office is closed

Lebron has to win a chip

No excuses

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

on 40%....so lebron still got help

talkin about he gotta win in the FINALS. FOH.

Bron went further. Jr's been the 4th best player if that.

now he's arguably the 2nd best. Let's see if he plays like it.

I'm so glad we're done with those idiotic hockey substitutions from the previous administration

>I'm so glad we're done with those idiotic hockey
>substitutions from the previous administration


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Stick to one side, chief.

"if kerr doesn't make it to the finals and this backtracks vex needs a ban!" -StarksGotSon'dByTheBulls.

#WhenAgendasCoalaesce got the stannies going nuts.

-->

that "smallball" may work in the regular season but in the postseason it will get you exposed against a more physical team.

.

and Lee is looking like a better option than Barnes in both categories.

Cleveland has NO BUSINESS being in the gym right
now

Pathetic

out-coached by Tyronn Lue

>out-coached by Tyronn Lue

They lost in the FIRST ROUND with Jackson last year, you fucking simp.

Should have been easy sweep, but 6 games
is fine

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Kerr went even smaller and the Warriors took control of the series.

Because they are better at basketball than the
Cavs

1)smallball can't win in the postseason
2)jumpshooting team can't win in the postseason

oh #3

3)pgs(beside zeke) can't lead a team to a title

All star 2 guard

you keep pushing this and it's pathetic, these dudes are about to be NBA champions and you're talking about "getting exposed." LMAO.

They're terrible

Awful

This serious shouldn't be close at all

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

I'm lovin it (c) McD's

not even in the same game, i mean combined.

I thought he'd give 2/7 good games

This shit here?

Whoa


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

maybe he's saving it for games 6/7?

the reason JR balled out that season. Dude hit two game winners sans Melo that season. Insane when you think about it.

willing to share the ball enough to let JR do his thing. Jr had the highest fga attempts per game avg that season. He was also getting to the line, rebounding and dishing. His confidence was at an all time high bc the knicks were optimizing his skillsets.

He was still dumb tho.

Kerr better. Jackson JOB DOWN, SLOB DOWN!

and JR isn't even playing well under bron's tutelage anymore.

It sure seems like JR is gonna be JR no matter who he's playing with.

Not to mention that 49 win pacer squad was 1 game away from the finals and won 56 games, number 1 seed, with the same core the next season

I know you got the JR smith is 2 years older plea cop though

That's gonna be on JR Smith too



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Knicks fans were the ones cysing him and Woodson, two guys I knew were just guys.

That said, drawing any equivalency between the two situations and the respective "failures" here is just ridiculous. One team has a similarly talented opponent and home-court advantage, the other is at a serious disadvantage and starting on the road against a 67-win team with multiple all-stars.

Now y'all are eating wart-infested shitty buttholes

Eat much ass, ass eater

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Amare Stoudamire was a lot healthier when the trade occurred and Carmelo Anthony wasn't banking on his body breaking down so quickly.

winning culture or competence. If we are faulting players for their fagency decisions in connection to winning(which has been happening with other players as well) then putting that on melo is absolutely fair. Doesn't relate to his skills as a player tho.

They had a good regular season and got bounced
first round that one year everyone was saying that
they were better w/out him

Carmelo is now responsible for Denver's best season
in franchise history, and the Knicks best season in
over a decade

He proved his worth

And at least he's on a bad team in a great market
and has solidified his branding

Otherwise he'd be in Denver with his wife
being called racial slurs in the crowd

He won


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Don't act like 09 was the norm, on average they lost in the first round with Melo, that was absolutely par for the course during his career there.

After that first year they lost players (Iggy's departure, Gallo constantly injured, etc) and have been killed by injuries. It's rare that a team basically makes a deal under duress and actually improves, but that just shows what a ball-stopping, me-first player Melo is.

Cry pussy, Carmelo still captained the best
Nuggs team ever

Eat butt

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

A suck ass franchise that's never accomplished anything led by a suck ass player who'll never win a title. Too bad he is the third best wing player in franchise history, behind David Thompson and Alex English, and that fluky, one-off trips to the conference finals are never memorialized anywhere, ever.

Anything else is you eating dirty butthole

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

I was downplaying the whole idea of being the most __________ in Nuggets history, dipshit. You're now trying to muscle in and take credit for something I am saying is NOT actually an accomplishment. God, you are not even trying anymore.

My main point is that at the time of the Carmelo Anthony trade, the situation for the Knicks wasn't completely hopeless; Amare was an MVP candidate for the brief moment he was healthy and they weren't in the horrible situation they are currently in now.

By far

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

FOH

Made by Established of the Orb

had more insight into Amare Stoudamire's health than Carmelo Anthony's front office and medical staff.

They couldn't even get his contract insured lol The insurance company used the same records the knicks had at their disposal. Same reason Amare couldn't participate in whatever Olympic qualifier they had going on at the time...no insurance on the knee he had the last procedure on.

The knicks signed him to a 5yr deal to outid phx. They were hoping to get 3 good years out of him(the same projection that phx had) They got less than 2.

Like, teams could not get the contract insured and Phoenix didn't offer him money because of it. I've googled and posted the link multiple times.

If Melo didn't know, he was the only one and it was because he's lazy.

Which we know he is.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d8/Stay-puft-marshmallow-man.jpg

-->

L.

This is one of the worst mismatches in finals history

it's lebron, dogg. lebron! not sweeping him isn't a cause for shame in any rational assessment.

kerr did an excellent job this year with this group. imo there's zero chance jackson wins a title w/ the same personnel. he doesn't start barnes over iggy all yr, or green over lee. he doesn't bench bogut in the finals, or implement the offense that finished 1st in the league.

and to make it perfectly clear that i'm talking strictly about coaching and not 'something else', guys like thibs and scotty brooks wouldn't have made those adjustments and implementations either. all those guys are old-school thinkers, and the game is passing them by.

>rational assessment.

JR Smith ruined Lebron's chances, thereby retroactively winning me
the Carmelo agenda, so this is spectacular win for me, actually

Niggas was CELEBRATING on Carmelo not winning with JR, that
Lebron "turned him into a winner"

I TOLD niggas JR Smith would lose the series

I SAID it...I was right...so me doing what I do in here is
fair


>kerr did an excellent job this year with this group. imo
>there's zero chance jackson wins a title w/ the same
>personnel. he doesn't start barnes over iggy all yr, or green
>over lee. he doesn't bench bogut in the finals, or implement
>the offense that finished 1st in the league.

Jackson almost benched Bogut last year, which is why they
didn't get along

In fact, Jackson's alleged problem was too much ball handling
and small ball, which is exactly what, according to you, is
"winning this series"

>and to make it perfectly clear that i'm talking strictly about
>coaching and not 'something else', guys like thibs and scotty
>brooks wouldn't have made those adjustments and
>implementations either. all those guys are old-school
>thinkers, and the game is passing them by.

But Jackson's problem was *too much* small ball and ball
handling

They lost to the Clips because Bogut and Lee were gimpy
and shitty and couldnt deal with Deandre and Blake

So that lineup that you insist Jackson wouldn't use is the
exact one we criticized him for using

This is the type of double standard shit I'm talking about

Y'all just make shit up

And you didn't answer the question





----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>Jackson almost benched Bogut last year, which is why they
>didn't get along
>
>But Jackson's problem was *too much* small ball and ball
>handling
>
>They lost to the Clips because Bogut and Lee were gimpy
>and shitty and couldnt deal with Deandre and Blake
>
>So that lineup that you insist Jackson wouldn't use is the
>exact one we criticized him for using
>

jackson didn't play smallball. he played bogut and lee together -- almost 1500 minutes over 60+ games -- until bogut got hurt. never benched bogut. and once bogut went out he was trotting jermaine o'neal's corpse out there and still staying 2-big, until he literally had no other options.

the dubs' 14-15 starting 5 (barnes-green-bogut-thompson-curry) played 51 total minutes in jackson's last year. the "smallball" lineup (iggy-barnes-green-thompson-curry) played 41.

bogut "couldn't deal with Deandre and Blake" because he didn't play in that series.

>
>This is the type of double standard shit I'm talking about
>
>Y'all just make shit up
>


double standard? you mean like

'oh well kerr's got bogut and jax didn't, that's the difference'

morphing into

'jax played *too much* smallball, he almost benched bogut'

right.

...

i mean, you can ride for a dude and still be able to concede his flaws. like i said, jax is like thibs, they're old school dudes. they both prefer, if possible, to play 2 traditional bigs for all 48 minutes, and they prefer vets over young guys. jax wasn't playing green over lee or barnes over iggy. no way, no how. same way thibs wouldn't play mirotic and snell over noah and hinrich, even when those guys were struggling mightily, and that's what ultimately cost him his job. you can't be that rigid and inflexible and stubborn-to-a-fault in today's league.

Draymond has admitted it, he was taking Iggy minutes
LAST YEAR

THAT was Jackson's greatest innovation

The large increase in Draymond minutes

It's precisely why Draymond's rise to semi-stardom wasn't out of
nowhere...writing been on the wall

And the main COMPLAINT about Jackson was his reliance on
Steph and Klay....which is what they did THIS YEAR...team
didn't change all that much, quite frankly

DIFFERENCE IS, Kerr had a HEALTHY Bogut and Lee + SEVERAL
other ball handlers and the two stars got closer to their
primes

Niggas act like Livingston wasn't a VERY sought after free
agent


>jackson didn't play smallball. he played bogut and lee
>together -- almost 1500 minutes over 60+ games -- until bogut
>got hurt. never benched bogut. and once bogut went out he was
>trotting jermaine o'neal's corpse out there and still staying
>2-big, until he literally had no other options.

Kerr didn't play "small ball" either, until he got out
of the West and faced these awful Eastern Conference teams

Kerr was trotting out big lineups the same way Jackson was.

Difference was Kerr's bigs were healthy and not 90 years
old


>the dubs' 14-15 starting 5 (barnes-green-bogut-thompson-curry)
>played 51 total minutes in jackson's last year. the
>"smallball" lineup (iggy-barnes-green-thompson-curry) played
>41.

That's because Bogut was HURT, Barnes and Green were young
and figuring basic shit out, Barnes been inconsistent THIS
year too...difference is, the Warriors have the depth to
mask it

And Draymond hit his contract year THIS YEAR, hell, he just
started getting his weight together

>bogut "couldn't deal with Deandre and Blake" because he didn't
>play in that series.

EXXXXACTAMUNDO

Proving MY point

I remember when Steph was OPENLY SHITTING on the owner in
favor of Jackson, and y'all was mum, not saying shit

Steph said that for a REASON. It's because Jackson developed
him from a run around screen jumpshooter into a well rounded
playmaker....if Jackson is white, we give him that credit at
least, because it's OBVIOUS what his impact was. He was a
flabby slow point guard, and is one of the 10 best passers
ever. Dude obviously knows a thing or two about playmaking,
and Steph is now a THOROUGH, POLISHED ball handler and passer


It's precisely why Steph was bummed when Jackson said Harden
was his MVP (a perfectly fair opinion)

Y'all didn't say shit, because it doesn't fit your opinion of
Kerr "cerebral, futuristic guru" vs. Jackson's "old man"

It doesn't add up

What kind of "old school" coach is coaching Steph and Klay to
be creative the way they are on offense? None. That was all
Mark Jackson.

And it was JACKSON that got criticized for saying they were
"the best shooting backcourt in the history of basketball"
LAST YEAR. It was him being "crazy." Not 'insightful'. Turns
out he was RIGHT.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

http://media.giphy.com/media/asqdDXxnRnGAE/giphy.gif

this is pointless. have a good night, bro.

(LOL!)

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

n/m
----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

https://d39ya49a1fwv14.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/mbrownjk.jpg

http://media.cleveland.com/livingston_impact/photo/bill-mikebrownjpg-6a65a1ee4bee9cb5.jpg

http://www.sportspickle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/f739b117e51e0b3d60c5ef419487e808.jpg

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1102665/jrsmith.gif

Dula, believe or not I'm gonna dive into
Harry Potter soon, need a solid fantasy
That's not all fringed out
----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

He happy as hell

You stay saying slick shit about
Black coaches, tho... What's good
With that? You gotta anything to
Say about Blatt, how?
----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

First rookie head-coach to win an NBA title since Riles in '82.

Knicks dodged that bullet!

-->

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHrQkCmUYAAt4-q.jpg:large

-->

As anyone can read, I was skeptical about this hire at first. Not that he'd be bad, but that he was an unknown and unproven quantity. But hey, I was wrong to be skeptical. Dude guided us to our best season ever, managed the talent perfectly, rested players when they needed to be rested, helped them win the games they need to win, and managed adversity immaculately.

Helluva job, Steve.

be and how would you? lotta times people criticize new coaches when they get jobs but really have nothing to base it on. You can't really go off of how someone was a GM, TV guy, even the type of player. Those things may give you some cues, but its not real insight.

I'm always skeptical of new coaches bc its an unknown. At the same time, an old coach can change some of their ways/philosophies as well although that isnt awfully common.

as i stated earlier: watched the guy on tv for a decade, heard him on the simmons podcast a dozen times, saw him do some really smart things while running the suns (hell, he had an amare-for-steph trade in place on draft day 2009 until gsw backed out at the 11th hour)

there was plenty there to go off of, and provide real insight into his philosophies on the game. i never doubted he'd be great.

translate over to good coaching.

But i agree you would def have more insight than the average person who would assume that ie Gary payton would be a better coach than Kerr bc PAyton was a better player and a pg.

>as i stated earlier: watched the guy on tv for a decade,
>heard him on the simmons podcast a dozen times, saw him do
>some really smart things while running the suns (hell, he had
>an amare-for-steph trade in place on draft day 2009 until gsw
>backed out at the 11th hour)
>
>there was plenty there to go off of, and provide real insight
>into his philosophies on the game. i never doubted he'd be
>great.

none of that had anything to do with how he'd relate to players, how he'd get them to buy into his program an execute it. That's what makes a coach great.

-->

"Kerr overhauled a team culture that had grown poisonous, for well-documented reasons, under Jackson and his assistants. In his zeal to motivate players, Jackson fostered resentment among them and toward the front office. He fired two assistants, requested Jerry West stay away from practices, and asked a younger front-office official to stop rebounding for players, sources have said.

When Ezeli was injured last season, Jackson and his staff told the healthy players that Ezeli was cheering against them — so that he would look good, according to several team sources. Players confronted Ezeli in a meeting, and he wept at the accusation — which he denied."


http://www.thescore.com/nba/news/782178



In the aftermath of the Golden State Warriors' first championship in 40 years, praise for rookie head coach Steve Kerr has been met with praise for Mark Jackson, who instilled a defense-first mentality with the young Warriors over his three years at the helm.

Of course, that praise, in turn, has been met with further criticism of how Jackson handled his team, and the downfall that led to his firing last year despite back-to-back postseason appearances.

Grantland's Zach Lowe expanded on the toxic environment that existed under Jackson in a Wednesday column on the Warriors:

Kerr overhauled a team culture that had grown poisonous, for well-documented reasons, under Jackson and his assistants. In his zeal to motivate players, Jackson fostered resentment among them and toward the front office. He fired two assistants, requested Jerry West stay away from practices, and asked a younger front-office official to stop rebounding for players, sources have said.

When Ezeli was injured last season, Jackson and his staff told the healthy players that Ezeli was cheering against them — so that he would look good, according to several team sources. Players confronted Ezeli in a meeting, and he wept at the accusation — which he denied.

Many rushed to Jackson's defense when the Warriors relieved him of his duties last May, citing unrealistic expectations from the team's ownership, but a 67-win, championship season that saw Kerr's team dominate on both ends of the court certainly validated the decision to move away from Jackson.

While often lauded as a great motivator and a classic 'players' coach,' Jackson's X's and O's simply weren't up to par, and he wasn't enough of an overall difference-maker on the sidelines for a team whose title aspirations proved to be well founded. Throw in reported horror stories like that of Ezeli's and the dysfunction that existed within his coaching staff and it's no wonder Joe Lacob and Co. made the decision they did.

Not to mention, entrusting Kerr, who thereby entrusted high-powered assistants like Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams to help him build a second-ranked offense and top-ranked D, seemed like it worked out well for the organization.

a win for a jump shooting team predicated by a free-flowing O

good use of personnel by Kerr

Jackson gets credit for the defensive foundation

defense.

if Kerr had decided differently what would be different for the Warriors and the Knicks?

...had decided to coach the Knicks.

As you can read from the post, at the time I was skeptical of the Kerr hiring (major L on my part), but when the finally made him an offer he couldn't refuse, they'd backed themselves into a corner with no other choices. I think they'd thought their back-up choice was Stan Van Gundy, but I'm pretty sure he'd signed with Detroit by then.

I don't know, maybe they would have hired Gentry as the head coach?

But Detroit made him that crazy over he couldn't refuse.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think the talent level of players is 90% of what makes a winning team so it's hard to see even the best coach making a significant difference on the Knicks. They only won 30% of their games since 2014. Let's say a great coach squeezes an extra 10 wins or so from the players they've had (ignoring the possibility that a better coach would attract better free agents)... they're still out of the playoffs.

So, realistically, no matter how good you may think Kerr is, he'd probably be on his 2nd job by now if he'd gone to the Knicks.

And Golden State would probably still be a playoff contender without him... there's not much space to be better so I'd assume marginally worse.

good?

What if they don't come from being down 3-1 to OKC in the 2016 WCF? Does KD get a ring with Russ in OKC and stay? Does Bron still win with Cleveland in the Finals? Does Bron win they year before in 15? Is Bron going for a 3-peat with Cleveland in 2017?

so many what if's...