Celtics' Tom Thibodeau to coach Chris Paul and the Hornets?

[mogrovejo]

Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau has emerged as the frontrunner for the New Orleans Hornets’ coaching job and an offer could be forthcoming in the near future, sources told Yahoo! Sports.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-thibodeauceltics052410


Long past due and well deserved. Good luck.

[Ghazi]

Bad fit IMO. Great defensive mind but..

Getting Chris Paul/David West to play defense? :lmao :lmao

[DOMINATOR]

This guy is a scrub coach that benefited from having a stacked team. No one even knew his fucking name before yesterday.

uhh he was known while being JVG's assistant in Houston. idiot.

[DJ Mbenga]

have fun paul only playing in the half court

[Pelicans78]

He is the top choice for the Hornets followed by Portland's Monty Williams. We really need a good defensive coach because our defense suffered without Tyson Chandler in the paint. Okafor was undersized, West is too slow, and CP3 missed most of the season leaving Collison to play 45 minutes a night without a backup. Thibodeau will help, but the team needs better personal as well. A new center would help. This is probably West's last year as a Hornet. We also need more wing players. We have the worst set of SFs in the league.

[Pelicans78]

have fun paul only playing in the half court

The Hornets have always been a half-court team. They've been one of the slowest pace teams the last few years. They're trying to be more up-tempo with Collison and Thornton on board, but they know it won't happen until the defense improves.

[Pelicans78]

Thibodeau's been a great defensive coach since his days at the Knicks and the Rockets. His teams are usually one of the best defensively each season.

[mogrovejo]

uhh he was known while being JVG's assistant in Houston. idiot.

I think he became more well-known as a JVG assistant even before that, when they were in the Knicks with those great defensive teams.

There are no limits to lakaluva's idiocy.


have fun paul only playing in the half court

Why do you say this?

[Pelicans78]

And what did Houston accomplish for this great act of assistant-ness?

T-Mac?

[Pelicans78]

:lol

Avery is the best coach on the market, and he can be had for cheap too.

He's ok, but he wants dual role as coach and as head of personnel decisions which is why the Hornets passed on him. I think he's a little overrated, but he's still decent. Still, he shouldn't be a team's GM.

[Indazone]

There are no bounds on Avery's Man who would be King attitude. Any GM would be able to see that and stay the hell away.

[Hornets1]

:lol

Avery is the best coach on the market, and he can be had for cheap too.


:lol:lol:lol:rollin:rollin:rollinWow! Just Wow!!! :bang:bang:idiot:stupid:


:deadhorse:frying::stfu:shootme

[redzero]

Finally, the Hornets will play some defense again. I can't stand seeing West defend like Dirk.

[TheRealCB]

Finally, the Hornets will play some defense again. I can't stand seeing West defend like Dirk.

And not being able to score like him,huh?

[Pelicans78]

And not being able to score like him,huh?

Dirk should score more since he makes 12 million more per season. :toast

[Ghazi]

Finally, the Hornets will play some defense again. I can't stand seeing West defend like Dirk.

Dirk is Bill Russell compared to David West

Or anyone else on the Hornets for that matter

[Pelicans78]

Dirk is Bill Russell compared to David West

Or anyone else on the Hornets for that matter

Not for 21 million a season.

[Ghazi]

Dirk lives up to his salary more than David West, IMO

You take Dirk off a team and it loses 15-20 wins.

You take West off a team and it gains 5 wins.

[TheRealCB]

Dirk should score more since he makes 12 million more per season. :toast

How about Chris Fall then?:toast

[Pelicans78]

Dirk lives up to his salary more than David West, IMO

You take Dirk off a team and it loses 15-20 wins.

You take West off a team and it gains 5 wins.

:lmao

Dirk isn't worth 21 million. Luckily he plays under a billionaire who can afford to go over the luxury tax, but on most teams Dirk would be considered a bad contract. Dallas were about to fall into a 6th or 7th seed before the trade with Washington.

[Pelicans78]

How about Chris Fall then?:toast

A healthy CP3 puts up better numbers and is more valuable. IMO, most teams would rather have CP3 than Dirk and it wouldn't surprise me if CP3 has the better career.

[LnGrrrR]

This guy is a scrub coach that benefited from having a stacked team. No one even knew his fucking name before yesterday.

*cough Phil Jackson cough cough*

[duncan228]

Hornets begin contract talks with Thibodeau (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-thibodeauhornets053010)
By Adrian Wojnarowski

The New Orleans Hornets have begun contract discussions with the representatives of Boston Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower has exchanged proposals with Creative Artists Agency, which represents Thibodeau, on parameters of a possible deal. Sources say Thibodeau still plans to meet with New Jersey Nets GM Rod Thorn about his coaching vacancy sometime before the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

It’s unclear how close the Hornets and Thibodeau are on a possible agreement, but one thing seemed certain: Thibodeau still wants to stay in play for openings with the Nets and Chicago Bulls, and that could become a slippery slope for his candidacy in New Orleans.

Though Bower is eager to work out an agreement with Thibodeau, league sources believe the Hornets GM will quickly turn his courtship toward Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams should it seem Thibodeau is hedging in order to leverage New Orleans against the other jobs.

It’s possible Thibodeau could discuss the Bulls’ coaching vacancy before the Finals, too. He’s high on Chicago’s list, but league sources believe team officials are moving slowly on filling the job and may keep the position open all the way into the July free-agent market. Thibodeau has told confidants the Bulls job is his No. 1 choice.

Perhaps, it was no coincidence when Thibodeau recently signed with CAA, the agency that represents free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. CAA holds a hammer over several franchises in summer free agency, especially Chicago.

Nonetheless, Thibodeau’s hesitancy to come to contract terms with New Orleans could be a risky move. After all these years of pining for a head job, he runs the risk of getting shut out yet again. After falling short as a head-coaching candidate for several years, Thibodeau’s standing in the league has never been higher with Boston’s second run to the Finals in three years.

Bower is sold on Thibodeau’s preparedness, work ethic and acumen on the defensive end, and sources familiar with his thinking believe it’s been a close call with the fast-rising Williams.

Within the organization, there are some who prefer Williams over Thibodeau, including All-Star point guard Chris Paul. Sources insist Paul isn’t anti-Thibodeau, but has been more enthusiastic about Williams’ candidacy.

[BRHornet45]

Dirk lives up to his salary more than David West, IMO

You take Dirk off a team and it loses 15-20 wins.

You take West off a team and it gains 5 wins.

son Dirk has never once in his career put up 20 and 10 ... that is absolutely fucking pathetic for a power forward that you claim is one of the game's best. Not to mention the fact that he is terribly over paid. Dude made over 20 million this season and he isn't worth half that. maybe 5-8 million per year at the very most. he is a proven choke artist and the softest player in the NBA .... David West will at least live up to his salary. He only makes 7-9 million per season and has been a given 20 and 8 over the last 3 seasons. Dirk on the other hand has done nothing but eat up salary and choke. West owns Dirk.

[duncan228]

New Orleans Sets a Decision Deadline for Tom Thibodeau (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-neworleanssetsadecis)
SportingNews

Last week, I noted that the Hornets were ready to make Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau an offer (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/67113/hornets_to_offer_tom_thibodeau_their_coaching_job, _but_will_he_take_it) for their head coaching position. One problem for Thibodeau and New Orleans, of course, is that the coach currently has his hands full trying to create a defensive plan against the Lakers. He can’t devote his full attention to the offer on the table.

According to Marc Stein, it appears that the Hornets are tired of waiting for an answer (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5243406):

The New Orleans Hornets, who offered their vacant coaching job to Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau last week, might hire someone else if Thibodeau has not accepted the job before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, according to sources close to the situation.

The Hornets don’t want to let their coaching search drag beyond this week and plan to offer the job instead to Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams if Thibodeau, Boston’s defensive specialist, doesn’t accept by Thursday, according to sources.

I understand that the Hornets want a resolution to this issue as soon as possible, but Thibodeau seems like someone worth waiting for. He’s one of the most respected assistants in the league with a reputation as a bona fide defensive genius. It’s not as if he’s just a hot name—he is in many ways more dependable than someone with a Coach of the Year award like Mike Brown.

Everyone wants to feel loved, and if Thibodeau is more interested in other jobs then the Hornets might feel like they’re a backup plan. But their approach feels like the definition of short-term thinking, especially considering that Thibodeau is most focused on the Lakers at this moment. There’s no real harm in waiting for an answer until after the Finals.

Monty Williams is a nice candidate, but he’s not exactly at the top of everyone’s list like Thibodeau is. Exercise some patience and reap the benefits down the road.

[Ashy Larry]

*cough Phil Jackson cough cough*


all Phil does is take the talent that other coaches couldn't win with and wins ........


talent wise, those late 90 teams > than the three-peat squads. Del Harris is brutal.

[LnGrrrR]

all Phil does is take the talent that other coaches couldn't win with and wins ........


I actually agree with this, and think that PJ is a good coach. Is it easier to coach when you have MJ or Kobe or Shaq on your team than it is a bunch of scrubs? Yeah, I'd say so. But it's still a challenge for different reasons.

I just think it's funny that a Laker fan would discount a coach's abilities because his roster is stacked...

[Ashy Larry]

I actually agree with this, and think that PJ is a good coach. Is it easier to coach when you have MJ or Kobe or Shaq on your team than it is a bunch of scrubs? Yeah, I'd say so. But it's still a challenge for different reasons.

I just think it's funny that a Laker fan would discount a coach's abilities because his roster is stacked...


you can have all the talent in the world. If you don't have the right leader guiding that talent, it's a waste.

you give Phil:

Nick Van Exel
Kobe Bryant
Eddie Jones
Ced Caballos
Derek Fisher
Rick Fox
Robert Horry
Shaquille O'Neal
Elden Campbell

It would have been great to see that squad in a structured offense .......

[Pelicans78]

you can have all the talent in the world. If you don't have the right leader guiding that talent, it's a waste.

you give Phil:

Nick Van Exel
Kobe Bryant
Eddie Jones
Ced Caballos
Derek Fisher
Rick Fox
Robert Horry
Shaquille O'Neal
Elden Campbell

It would have been great to see that squad in a structured offense .......

Horry was traded for Ceballos, but anyway I think Phil would have won big with that lineup.

[Ashy Larry]

Horry was traded for Ceballos, but anyway I think Phil would have won big with that lineup.


yeah, I know .... just naming some of the players in that era that era that Phil could have been working with. Would have been something to see ......

[LnGrrrR]

How dumb would the Hornets be to not just wait to see how Thibodeaux does in the Finals? Besides Thibodeaux is a perfect name for a Louisiana team...

[Dunc n Dave]

This guy is a scrub coach that benefited from having a stacked team. No one even knew his fucking name before yesterday.

:rolleyeswhat a douche... He is the guy responsible for the Celtics Defensive schemes. Before coming to the C's, he was well known as the mastermind behind the Rockets defenses that were Top 5 in the league for several years under Van Gundy.

If he can get Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen (among others) to play D, he can get CP3 to play D too, (jury's still out on David West, though).

He will be a good fit for the Hornets.

[redzero]

If he can get Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen (among others) to play D, he can get CP3 to play D too, (jury's still out on David West, though).

He will be a good fit for the Hornets.

I wasn't aware that Chris Paul didn't play defense.

[Dunc n Dave]

I wasn't aware that Chris Paul didn't play defense.

:rolleyesHe gets a lot of steals by gambling and flops more than Manu. If that's what you can defense, than yeah, he plays defense...

[redzero]

I haven't watched Chris Paul play and I think that getting a lot of steals means that he doesn't play good defense.

[Pelicans78]

How dumb would the Hornets be to not just wait to see how Thibodeaux does in the Finals? Besides Thibodeaux is a perfect name for a Louisiana team...

It doesn't make sense for them to wait. Its been leaked he prefers Chicago and even the Nets at this point. They've offered him the job about a week ago. If he really wanted it, he would have decided already. Plus, the new coach can help with draft evaluations which will be important since the Hornets can't sign a big FA other than the MLE.

[Dunc n Dave]

I wasn't aware that following up an embarrassing defensive performance vs Billups in the playoffs by giving up 18 points to Chris Duhon and 17 to a washed up Bibby early season means Paul doesn't play defense.

:toast

[Dunc n Dave]

He's just another scrub coach. I don't eve remember the Rockets getting out of the first round, do you? Except for when he left.

Do you think it's mere coincidence that every team he's coached in the last 7+ years had been Top 5 defensively?

Here's some tidbits for you. You should get to know him, because he'll be a great head coach one day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thibodeau

-One of the finest defensive coaches in the league, he helped the Houston Rockets rank among the Top 5 in the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense from 2004 to 2007,[1] and has helped his team finish in the league's Top 10 in team defense 15 times.[2]
-During his tenure with the Knicks, he helped the team set a then-NBA record by holding 33 consecutive opponents under 100 points in the 2000-01 season.

[Giuseppe]

Dunc!!!!!!!!!!! Sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pumpkinpuss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ain't seen you since the surrender. Fact is, I didn't see you at the surrender.

[redzero]

Since I haven't actually watched Chris Paul play defense, I'll just use three games in his entire career as evidence that he doesn't play defense and ignore the fact that he has gotten on a all defense team and was in the top ten in defensive win shares in 09

Cool story, bro.

[Dunc n Dave]

Since I am a Chris Paul homer, I will ignore the FACT that name recognition and STATS (like inflated steal #'s from gambling in passing lanes, while giving up easy shots to your man when the gamble doesn't pay off) are what ignorant sports writers use to pick All Defensive teams and DPOY, and I will defend CP3's defense even though the games you quoted happened this season BEFORE the injuries started. *Damn, guess, I can't use the "he was coming back from injury" excuse for those games. :depressed

:wakeup

[Giuseppe]

Uh, hello, Dunc?

[Dunc n Dave]

Dunc!!!!!!!!!!! Sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pumpkinpuss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ain't seen you since the surrender. Fact is, I didn't see you at the surrender.

You're losing your edge Cully. Goin senile on me?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4382619&postcount=168

[redzero]

:wakeup

Is that the best you can come up with? Three games in Chris's entire career?

And you continue to equate getting steals with playing bad defense. :lmao

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2314/defense.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/i/defense.jpg/)

Chris got on this list by only getting steals, because they apparently make up for bad defense.

http://www.nba.com/games/20100106/NOHOKC/gameinfo.html

At 1:42 of the video denies 6-10 Kevin Durant the ball in a must win situation.

But that doesn't matter, because he gave up 17 points to Mike Bibby. :lol

[midnightpulp]

No, the motherfucker tip toed his ass upstairs, you know, in the library, where it's all nice and quiet, and no one will bother you. Now he slithers his bitch ass back down to the basement, right when he thinks those Lakers are in trouble, you know, all gay and shit.

Kinda like the way you slithered into this site post-Gasol trade?

Game recognize game, and Gay recognize gay.

[sook]

TT would be an absolute STEAL for the hornets.

There is a reason the rockets were top 3 in defense when he was here, and still the two yrs after he left, not counting last year due to injuries.

[midnightpulp]

I was minding my own business. "Hey luva, you should come to ST, you'll like it over there."

And we're glad to have you :toast

[duncan228]

Tom Thibodeau Reportedly Turns Down Hornets (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-tomthibodeaureported)
SportingNews

Eric Freeman wrote about the potential deadline imposed by the Hornets on Tom Thibodeau (http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/67822/new_orleans_sets_a_decision_deadline_for_tom_thibo deau) and it appears New Orleans has its answer. According to the New York Post, Thibodeau rejected the Hornets’ offer on Wednesday.

When asked by the media for an update on Wednesday, Thibodeau declined to comment, according to the Times-Picayune (http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/06/nba_notes_tom_thidodeau_wont_d.html).

The Post also passes along two other bits of coaching housekeeping: Sources tell the Post that ex-Mavs coach Avery Johnson continues to be the leader for the open Nets job. The paper also reports that Thibodeau is "almost guaranteed" to wind up with the Bulls."

Both the Nets and Bulls figure to be significant players in the free agent market thanks to an abundance of cap space to go after some of this summer’s biggest names. As for the Hornets, they’re expected to turn their attention to Blazers assistant Monty Williams if Thibodeau has rejected them.

[Bob Lanier]

lol nawlins

[duncan228]

Rivers OK with Thibodeau’s Bulls meeting (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-thibodeauceltics060310)
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers insisted he was “fine” with his top assistant Tom Thibodeau meeting with Chicago Bulls officials less than 24 hours before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

“I’m fine with it,” Rivers told Yahoo! Sports upon arrival at Staples Center Thursday night. “Tom does his job. He always does his job. If it was somebody that could be distracted, then I wouldn’t have let it happen. But this was all cleared.”

The Chicago Tribune first reported Thibodeau’s meeting with the Bulls.

The New Orleans Hornets made an offer to Thibodeau several days ago for their coaching opening, but he clearly has been trying to buy time to meet with officials from Chicago and New Jersey. Sources say he prefers those jobs over the Hornets, but those teams have yet to make an offer to him.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower set a Thursday deadline to get a deal done with Thibodeau, and sources close to him say he was unaware Thibodeau was meeting with the Bulls in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Understandably miffed at a process that has started to become an embarrassment for New Orleans, Bower was contemplating pulling back the offer and hiring Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams.

[Ghazi]

:lmao Hornets

[Dunc n Dave]

Is that the best you can come up with? Three games in Chris's entire career?

And you continue to equate getting steals with playing bad defense. :lmao

Chris got on this list by only getting steals, because they apparently make up for bad defense.
Love how you twist what I said to deflect. Show me where I said getting steals = bad defense. There are plenty of guys who average a lot of steals and are very good defenders. I did say Chris Paul's defense is over rated because he GAMBLES for his steals, and like gambling in Vegas, you lose more than you win.



http://www.nba.com/games/20100106/NOHOKC/gameinfo.html

At 1:42 of the video denies 6-10 Kevin Durant the ball in a must win situation.

But that doesn't matter, because he gave up 17 points to Mike Bibby. :lol
:lmao You use THAT clip as an example of Paul's "stellar" defense??? :rollin
Durant made a half-ass attempt to come to the ball then stopped, and Paul hardly had to move. It looked like a Shell Drill at a high school basketball practice. Wow! That really convinced me! You're right, after seeing that play, I now believe Chris Paul is the greatest defender to ever play the game! :rolleyes

And again, the Bibby game was bad but Duhon scoring 18 against him? Duhon was in the worst shooting slump a PG has ever seen early in the year shooting less than 25% and suddenly snaps out of it for one game, conveniently against CP3 and scores his season high at the time. That was the first meeting in November. When they met again in December he tops that game (AGAIN against CP3) going for 22pts on 7-11 shooting, after going 4 of 19 the two games prior to playing the Hornets.

You want more examples? Stuckey lit him up for 26 points. Aaron Brooks for 27 points, Randy Foye for 23, Johnny Flynn for 20. None of these guys are considered Top PGs or even the Top scoring option on their team, except for arguably Aaron Brooks with Houston. I didn't even mention guys like Billups, Tony Parker, DWilliams, etc that also put up 20+ on CP3 THIS season, for obvious reasons. All this happened THIS SEASON... BEFORE Paul went down in late January with his injury.

You can live in the past all you want with your 2009 defensive stats, still doesn't change the fact that Paul is overrated as a defender. :toast

[Pelicans78]

Chris Paul did play with a bad ankle most of the season before his knee injury. He didn't have his lateral movement which is why his numbers were down a bit this season.

Plus, the Hornets have two of the worst defenders in the paint with Okafor and West, and their wing players are slow and terrible as well. CP3 was asked to help double alot leaving his man wide open since no one else on the team were very good defenders. Hornets were a horrible defensive team this season, especially after trading Tyson Chandler.

[redzero]

So, you bring up how Paul playing bad defense last year, then when I show you evidence to the contrary, you try using this year to prove a point, even though he probably played 15 games healthy the entire year AND the Hornets as a whole were bad defensively?

Bullshit.

[fevertrees]

Rondo is 50x the defender lil floppy is, and that's the reason why HE is in the Finals for the second time while CPFlop is bowling with Lebron!

[redzero]

Rondo is 50x the defender lil floppy is, and that's the reason why HE is in the Finals for the second time while CPFlop is bowling with Lebron!

Those videos were hilarious!

[duncan228]

Thibodeau Meets With Bulls, Could Be Next Coach (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/06/04/thibodeau-meets-with-bulls-could-be-next-coach/)
By Tom Ziller

It took a few weeks, but the wild coaching carousel is finally picking up speed. Tom Thibodeau, who reportedly has the Hornets' job (http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/06/03/thibodeau-reportedly-declines-hornets-job/) if he wants it, met with Bulls management Wednesday night in Los Angeles (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-03/sports/ct-spt-0604-bulls-chicago--20100603_1_bulls-bright-offensive-mind-chairman-jerry-reinsdorf), according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Apparently, that meeting went well, as Johnson's sources report Bulls decision-makers John Paxson and Gar Forman were so impressed with Thibodeau the pair advocated for the Celtics assistant in discussions with team owner Jerry Reinsdorf Thursday. Negotiations on salary and contract length for Thibodeau could be next.

Even though it's June, this would be remarkably swift resolution for Chicago, given the stakes. And by "stakes" I mean the "6-8 elephant in the room," and by "6-8 elephant in the room" I mean "LeBron James." Chicago is one of four teams with both a coaching opening and a legitimate opportunity to employ King James next year. While the free agent has demurred on his role in picking a coach in Cleveland or elsewhere, it's safe to say no team chasing LeBron wants to disqualify himself by choosing the wrong man for the bench.

Thibodeau, however, might actually be the right man to lead LeBron's next team. After all, it's Thibodeau's defense which stopped James' Cavs two of the past three seasons. While Boston struggled to slow the Lakers in Game 1 of the Finals Thursday night, Thibodeau's reputation is impeccable, and James surely knows that as well as anyone. At the very least, hiring Thibodeau wouldn't seem to dampen Chicago as a potential James destination. It's possible it boosts the Bulls' case for LeBron.

[Dunc n Dave]

So, you bring up how Paul playing bad defense last year, then when I show you evidence to the contrary, you try using this year to prove a point, even though he probably played 15 games healthy the entire year AND the Hornets as a whole were bad defensively?

Bullshit.

:rolleyes What a moron. THIS year is LAST YEAR for every team right now except the Lakers and Celtics. Way to deflect... AGAIN...

[Giuseppe]

Dunc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[redzero]

:rolleyes What a moron. THIS year is LAST YEAR for every team right now except the Lakers and Celtics. Way to deflect... AGAIN...

How am I deflecting, dumbass? You haven't even addressed my post.

I showed you stats showing that CP3 was a good defender in 08-09. You tried to bring up a handful of games from 09-10 as evidence he is a poor defender, even though he was only healthy for the first ten games basically.

Rondo was lit up by Darren Collison for 26 or so points. Does that make him a bad defender? Tyreke Evans lit up Deron Williams for 30. Does that make Deron a bad defender?

[duncan228]

Just breaking.

Sources: Williams to become Hornets coach (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Am2Ks95nfg5CMR9GY5BmF_i8vLYF?slug=ys-williamshornets060410)
By Adrian Wojnarowski

After pulling an offer to Tom Thibodeau, the New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams have agreed to the framework of a three-year contract for him to become the team’s head coach, a source briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

Hornets GM Jeff Bower abandoned his courtship of Thibodeau, a Boston Celtics assistant, on Friday afternoon, and entered into discussions with Williams to take the job. The source says the three years of the contract are guaranteed and the team will hold a fourth-year option.

Hornets star Chris Paul was a strong advocate for Williams’ hire, and sources say he was hoping Bower would turn to the Blazers’ respected assistant.

Thibodeau was the Hornets’ top candidate for the job, but had always preferred to fill the Chicago Bulls’ vacancy. He met with Bulls officials in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, and is now waiting on an offer from the team. The New Jersey Nets also have spoken with Thibodeau, but aren’t expected to hire a coach until after the NBA Finals.

[redzero]

Just breaking.

Sources: Williams to become Hornets coach (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Am2Ks95nfg5CMR9GY5BmF_i8vLYF?slug=ys-williamshornets060410)
By Adrian Wojnarowski

After pulling an offer to Tom Thibodeau, the New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers assistant Monty Williams have agreed to the framework of a three-year contract to become the team’s head coach, a source briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

Hornets GM Jeff Bower abandoned his courtship of Thibodeau, a Boston Celtics assistant, on Friday afternoon, and entered into discussions with Williams to take the job. The source says the team will hold an option for the third season of the deal.

Meh. I'll have to learn more about Monty before forming an opinion.

[Dunc n Dave]

How am I deflecting, dumbass? You haven't even addressed my post.

I showed you stats showing that CP3 was a good defender in 08-09. You tried to bring up a handful of games from 09-10 as evidence he is a poor defender, even though he was only healthy for the first ten games basically.

Rondo was lit up by Darren Collison for 26 or so points. Does that make him a bad defender? Tyreke Evans lit up Deron Williams for 30. Does that make Deron a bad defender?

You are seriously using Tyreke Evans, who averaged 20 ppg as a rookie and was the first option on his team, as an example against Williams' defense? And Darren Collison was regularly putting up 20+ on people with Paul out. He scored 20 or more 16 times last year (09-10 season, just so you don't get confused), and most of those games played over 40 minutes a night, so Rondo wasn't the only guy he lit up.

The only guy I used who was even close to being a 20 ppg scorer was Brooks. Bibby, Duhon, Stuckey, Foye, and Flynn aren't even the #1 option on their teams and played some of their best games of the season vs CP3. You can blame injuries all you want, I still say CP3 is over rated defensively because of the number of steals he gets. He's still a BEAST offensively.

This is all a moot point now anyway, since Thibodeau decided getting the Hornets to play D was not a job he felt like taking on. Good luck to the Hornets next year.

[redzero]

Okay, I'll use an entire season's worth of games to come to my conclusion, and you use half a season's worth of games in which the player isn't even healthy.

Great argument.