Baffled By Instant Gratification Coaching Standards

by Steve Weinman on Mar 29, 2008 11:30 PM EDT in NBA Articles

The NBA really confuses me sometimes.

Well, most of the time. But today is one of those days in particular.

When exactly coaches in clearly rebuilding cities began to get such little leeway, I have no idea.

The New York sports media is reputed to be the toughest in this country. Somehow, in the so-called city that can't rebuild, Isiah Thomas remains coach despite a 53-101 record in two seasons. Nearby in the swamp of New Jersey, Lawrence Frank comes under a lot less scrutiny than he could for generally being a rather mediocre basketball coach.

Yet in Memphis and Charlotte, two rookie coaches are already rumored to be on their respective ways out.

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Last week, we discussed in this space the rumors that the Grizzlies are looking to replace coach Marc Iavaroni, most likely with Larry Brown.

On Saturday, the Weekend Dime at ESPN reported that the clock is ticking in Charlotte as well:

Bobcats president Michael Jordan would surely prefer not to fire Sam Vincent after just one season. Yet one plugged-in source describes it as an inevitability, with any hit that Jordan might take for the growing perception that the former teammate he hired can't reach Charlotte's players sure to be softened if he can convince a coach of Brown's stature to take over.

Call me naive, or call me too patient, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

These aren't teams that have been powerhouses forever that suddenly went downhill with the addition of a new coach. These aren't coaches with history of failures in other NBA head coaching opportunities.

The Grizz put together a miserable 22-win season last year, good for the worst record in the league. Then Memphis failed to win the lottery. We're talking about a team with lots of youth, little experience, little defense, a rookie point guard and a notably inept general manager.

For their parts, the 'Cats have never won more than 33 games in their four and a half seasons of existence. Another young team with a young point guard, not enough fire power and little defense. Not exactly a piece of cake job to make over.

In Memphis, Marc Iavaroni has long been reputed as one of the game's best coaching minds. He worked with Pat Riley in Miami for a few seasons and then assisted Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix for several years prior to getting the head job in Memphis last summer. Iavaroni is known as a master tactician, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. On a team of youngsters not necessarily accustomed to killing themselves on the defensive end, there generally needs to be some passage of time prior to seeing big-time results.

Vincent's situation in Charlotte is similar. Although he didn't come with the same degree of touting that Iavaroni did, he is a first-time head coach trying to work with a team in need of help in a myriad of areas of the game. Thanks to Gerald Wallace's series of concussions, he has also been without one of the team's leaders and most important young players throughout portions of this season.

All this simply makes both situations all the more confusing. These two teams combined for 55 wins between them last year. Neither made any player personnel changes that were necessarily guarantees or near-guarantees to vault them to inordinately greater levels (the biggest off-season acquisitions were Darko Milicic and Jason Richardson for the Grizz and 'Cats respectively), and they brought in brand-new coaches. Yet the front offices seem to be expecting these coaches to create turn-arounds out of nowhere.

It almost goes without saying that it doesn't work like that. These coaches don't just make magic. At the NBA level or otherwise, it takes time to teach the game of basketball, and sometimes teams go backward before they go forward. No, Iavaroni and Vincent haven't done flawless jobs coaching their basketball teams this year. They've coached like the newbies they are. Like their neophyte players, they have made mistakes, and like many of their neophyte players, one of the crucial ingredients needed to help overcome those errors and move forward is time.

How that time can already be running out on these two -- particularly in such small-market pro basketball cities -- is a question to which I simply don't have an answer. Anyone else?

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Comments

Gotta agree with you, Steve. The Iavaroni thing surprises me the most of the two. He’s been a successful assistant coach for years, and he’s been handcuffed with terrible personnel (and a worse front office) in Memphis. At least give the guy a year or two to bring in his type of players and to fully implement his system.

What good would Larry Brown do in Memphis? That team is just too young and poorly put together to contend any time soon. Charlotte would make a little more sense for Brown, in that they have a lot of decent talent that just hasn’t been able to put it together yet. Okafor, Wallace, and Felton are all pretty good players, and with May and Morrison hopefully contributing next season, they could eventually be a playoff contender.

by Roy_Hobbs on Mar 30, 2008 2:56 AM EDT reply actions

Neither made any player personnel changes that were necessarily guarantees or near-guarantees to vault them to inordinately greater levels (the biggest off-season acquisitions were Darko Milicic and Jason Richardson for the Grizz and ’Cats respectively)

Well I think Jason Richardson qualifies as a major personnel change. They added an all-star caliber wing that cost them nothing from last years team. He’s a steady 20ppg scorer that can score every way under sun – fast break, penetration, finish around the rim, mid-range game, great perimeter shooter, post game, gets to the line (although not as much as he should), moves well without the ball. Good defensive player and rebounder. Great teammate. That’s a big addition.

Should it vault them to contender status? No

But should it put them in the playoff race is this weak conference? Absolutely

They’d have to win 5 of their next 9 games just to match last season’s record. Last year’s team won 33 games without any go-to scorer, adding a 20ppg all-star caliber wing should improve them. Not land them less wins and worse performances.

…………………..

The reason both Iavaroni and Vincent are in such precarious situations isn’t their teams respective records, it’s their growing reputations for being abrasive and having bad relationships with the players on their teams.

With Vincent it’s manifesting itself on the court. This Charlotte team would break their backs for Bernie Bickerstaff but all too often this season their customary night-in-night-out effort filled performances can only be described as irregular.

Coaches who can’t manage relationships with players. That’s the reason they’re on the hot seat. Not their team’s record, although that surely isn’t helping the situation.

by Who on Mar 30, 2008 6:15 AM EDT reply actions

Agree with Who—the talent level on the Bobcats should get them into the playoff race, at the very least. While franchises shouldn’t let fans dictate hiring/firing moves, they’re calling for his head in Charlotte…just see the comments below.

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2008/03/whats-wrong-wit.html

by We Rite Goode on Mar 30, 2008 11:18 AM EDT reply actions

Good article, Steve. Another coach who’s been getting off easy is Pat Riley. He has reached a point when he bails every time things get tough, like when he surrendered the coaching duties a few years back and then again this year. Did he do a better job this year than Iavaroni? No, but he is also the basketball boss, so his job is secure. Even if he takes off half the season to “scout.” I’m not saying the guy shouldn’t be looking toward the draft, but he clearly surrendered the season and doesn’t want his face to be the one you see on the sidelines during the chronic Heat blowouts.

by Cousin It on Mar 30, 2008 6:37 PM EDT reply actions