spurschick
07-20-2005, 10:53 PM
NBA coaches come and go, but they seldom stay
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2005-07-20-lopresti-nba_x.htm
Woke up this morning to find out the world's most loathed agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was a national hero for saving a drowning kid. And the French were being nice to Lance Armstrong.
Was this the Twilight Zone? But then the man on television said Larry Brown is on the move again. Ah, normalcy.
Brown has more mileage than a cruise ship, and now he's supposedly going to New York to coach, when he promised that if he were on anyone's bench next season, it'd be the Detroit Pistons.
You're probably waiting for a shrewd, perceptive analysis from this sophisticated observer. Here it is.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
But before Brown is dismissed again as an incurable vagabond, whose coaching marriages fall apart faster than Hollywood couples, let us pause.
There are 30 NBA teams. Thirteen have changed coaches since the start of last season, a turn-over rate comparable to your average drive-thru window.
Maybe Brown just knows how to ride the carousel better than anyone else, which is apparently accomplished by never fully unpacking.
"I have a hard time," he said during the NBA Finals, "when I don't think people like me."
And so he remains a moving target, coaching in a Hall of Fame zigzag pattern. I wouldn't believe Larry Brown if he said he was staying for dinner, let alone another season.
But hardly anyone else sticks around long, either. His restless feet are conspicuous because of his success, and it is hard to see how owners or public can complain, when they have their own sudden mood swings.
Guess how many past winners of the coach of the year award still have their jobs? Two. Phoenix's Mike D'Antoni and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich.
Guess how many coaches from the past seven NBA Finals have left or been forced from their positions? All of them, except Popovich.
So if Brown's resume appears to have some sort of attention deficit disorder, consider his profession, where the coaches are as recycled as aluminum cans.
There are 21 NBA teams with head coaches who used to coach another NBA team. Four have worked for at least three other teams. Add another if the Knicks hire Brown.
So it is hard to follow the ins and outs, and not all of them are named Larry.
Brown is out at Detroit, so Flip Saunders may be in. He was just out at Minnesota.
Rick Carlisle is in at Indiana, because he was out at Detroit, despite 100 wins in two years. That's because the Pistons wanted Brown in. But now, two years and a title later, they wanted him out.
Byron Scott is in at New Orleans, because he was out at New Jersey, despite two trips to the NBA Finals.
Brian Hill is in at Orlando, even though he was out at the same place eight years ago. Jim O'Brien is out at Philadelphia after only one season, so Maurice Cheeks is in, not long after he was out at Portland.
Now Nate McMillan is in at Portland, which means he is out at Seattle. Paul Silas was out at Cleveland late last season, despite the fact he was brought in to help LeBron James mature, and James is still not 21.
If Brown is in at New York, it's because Lenny Wilkens was out last winter. Wilkens had spent three decades as an NBA coach and been in and out of a lot of places, but never before during the season.
And of course, Phil Jackson was in with the Lakers, and then he was out, and now he's in again.
Larry Brown comes and goes, but don't they nearly all? And he wins. The numbers don't mislead, even if he occasionally might.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2005-07-20-lopresti-nba_x.htm
Woke up this morning to find out the world's most loathed agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was a national hero for saving a drowning kid. And the French were being nice to Lance Armstrong.
Was this the Twilight Zone? But then the man on television said Larry Brown is on the move again. Ah, normalcy.
Brown has more mileage than a cruise ship, and now he's supposedly going to New York to coach, when he promised that if he were on anyone's bench next season, it'd be the Detroit Pistons.
You're probably waiting for a shrewd, perceptive analysis from this sophisticated observer. Here it is.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
But before Brown is dismissed again as an incurable vagabond, whose coaching marriages fall apart faster than Hollywood couples, let us pause.
There are 30 NBA teams. Thirteen have changed coaches since the start of last season, a turn-over rate comparable to your average drive-thru window.
Maybe Brown just knows how to ride the carousel better than anyone else, which is apparently accomplished by never fully unpacking.
"I have a hard time," he said during the NBA Finals, "when I don't think people like me."
And so he remains a moving target, coaching in a Hall of Fame zigzag pattern. I wouldn't believe Larry Brown if he said he was staying for dinner, let alone another season.
But hardly anyone else sticks around long, either. His restless feet are conspicuous because of his success, and it is hard to see how owners or public can complain, when they have their own sudden mood swings.
Guess how many past winners of the coach of the year award still have their jobs? Two. Phoenix's Mike D'Antoni and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich.
Guess how many coaches from the past seven NBA Finals have left or been forced from their positions? All of them, except Popovich.
So if Brown's resume appears to have some sort of attention deficit disorder, consider his profession, where the coaches are as recycled as aluminum cans.
There are 21 NBA teams with head coaches who used to coach another NBA team. Four have worked for at least three other teams. Add another if the Knicks hire Brown.
So it is hard to follow the ins and outs, and not all of them are named Larry.
Brown is out at Detroit, so Flip Saunders may be in. He was just out at Minnesota.
Rick Carlisle is in at Indiana, because he was out at Detroit, despite 100 wins in two years. That's because the Pistons wanted Brown in. But now, two years and a title later, they wanted him out.
Byron Scott is in at New Orleans, because he was out at New Jersey, despite two trips to the NBA Finals.
Brian Hill is in at Orlando, even though he was out at the same place eight years ago. Jim O'Brien is out at Philadelphia after only one season, so Maurice Cheeks is in, not long after he was out at Portland.
Now Nate McMillan is in at Portland, which means he is out at Seattle. Paul Silas was out at Cleveland late last season, despite the fact he was brought in to help LeBron James mature, and James is still not 21.
If Brown is in at New York, it's because Lenny Wilkens was out last winter. Wilkens had spent three decades as an NBA coach and been in and out of a lot of places, but never before during the season.
And of course, Phil Jackson was in with the Lakers, and then he was out, and now he's in again.
Larry Brown comes and goes, but don't they nearly all? And he wins. The numbers don't mislead, even if he occasionally might.