Fair enough, but I have to wonder if we're getting all of the story here.
Oh I'm sure this is just the straw that broke the camel's back. But apparently Deron has been a baby all year -- complaining about his teammates, not practicing, etc. I'm sure he was just setting up his excuses to leave Utah. He probably didn't think Sloan would quit midseason though.
He sure didn't seem like that was the case when he was interviewed up in Golden State. I'm not sure where the interview is but he made it sound like he would stick around post-duncan. who knows though.
The solution is simple. The Spurs need to pick another hall of fame player from the draft.Well I know I won't cry () but it will be a different team when Tim Duncan and Pop are gone. I love the other guys, but Tim Duncan and Pop are the rocks that this dynasty has been built on.
It will be a sad strange day. Thats for sure.
Deron was unhappy at the beginning of LAST season when they traded Ronnie Brewer to the Grizz and Eric Maynor to OKC for nothing. He was already making noises about opting out. If management made any mistakes, it was in not trading him between then and now. They'll almost certainly lose him for nothing next summer.
I hope he stays, but after watching sloan go out like this... unless the spurs draft another selfless star, I could see how Pop wouldn't want to deal with a Dwill. God forbid.
Self-righteous calling card for many a narcissistic asshole."That's why I am the way I am and will continue to be the way I am."
If it was an unrelated, individual decision that had nothing to do with his relationship with Sloan as Williams claimed, funny that Sloan's longtime assistant coach Phil Johnson resigned as well. Just a coincidence I suppose.
Sloan was a good coach - but not a great coach. And not just because he never won a championship. He knew the fundamentals of the game, and coached them as well as anyone ever has. But he was also an absolute bas . And like it or not, the game is played by human beings.
A lot of people quietly wondered if he might have gotten more out of his teams, and out of his players as individuals, if not for all the late night drinking benders, and next morning hangovers. I remember talking to a Jazz scout, back when Malone and Stockton were still playing. He was talking about Sloan's drinking and hanging out in bars till all hours during the season. The comment I remember most was, "A man can't serve two masters, although Jerry is trying his best to." He didn't think that Sloan was ever able to get full value out of his own talents, because of the drinking.
For those of you who didn't know, think a little bit about Sloan's personality. Remind you of any drunks you ever knew? Didn't he ever strike you as somebody who could fly off the handle and beat the wife? Didn't you ever think he looked and sounded like maybe he had a few between the final buzzer and the post-game?
I think Sloan could have been a great coach. His teams have always been able to get more possessions in the last two minutes of a game than anyone else. And they have always run the pick and roll to absolute perfection. Those are both signs of the precision he drilled into his players. But there have always been too many nights when it seemed like he just wasn't into it. Not that he didn't pay attention. But too much of the time, his "adjustments" during a game consisted mostly of getting angry. And that only goes so far.
If you doubt me, check around. He was notorious for going on binges when he was a player. His marriage to his first wife was in the toilet when she got sick. There are plenty of people around who know what he was like after hours. Don't try to make him into more than he was, just because he stayed in one place for so many years. It's no accident that his teams never won a championship. They definitely had enough talent at times. Sloan has always had a habit of pissing on people. And most people aren't motivated much by that.
D-Will might regret his part in this disrespectful treatment of a Hall of Fame coach. A career changing move in all likelihood.
Yeah it's called Michael Jordan.
I swear there should be a silver Larry O'Brien trophy they give out to every team that had to play the Bulls in the Finals.
Jerry Sloan has been and will always be a class act. I always considered the guy the second best coach in the league after Pop. He always got the most out of a questionable team and if there were issues between him and Williams and the GM backed Williams then it was time to pull the plug. Sloan was a noble foe. I see his replacement is Ty Corbin. Ty was a pretty damn good Spurs player back in the day and I remember when he left he was missed around here. Good luck to him in the future, the Jazz and the average Jazz fan seems to be pretty normal folks, not your average Phoenix/Laker/Boston/NY/Heat whining crybaby types.
Didn't read your post GSH before I wrote mine. If he is such a notorious drunk, why would a place like Salt Lake City put up with him for decades and why would the NBA, Stockton, and many others hold him in such high regard? I'm not denying your comments, just wondering.
This.
No one was denying Michael Jordan his rings.
How about I say it more plainly? He was a damned old drunk. He laid out in the bars half the night, even during the season. And when he was on a bad streak, which at times was fairly frequently, he yelled and bullied and belittled his players and assistants. The Jazz teams are known for going into slumps. Lots of them have been directly caused by Sloan and the way he treats people.
The first time the Jazz lost to the Bulls in the Finals? Sloan was out drinking after the losses. And you can argue that it never affected his coaching, but that's bull . Other coaches are watching film and getting some sleep. Not Sloan.
I feel kind of sorry for him at times. But Michael Jordan wasn't the only thing that kept him from winning a le.
mj retired a long time ago
Hold on just a second. I'm sure there are some references to it on the Internet. I'll find a couple, and you can decide for yourself. Check back in a few minutes.
ask the colts how much power the coach has compared to peyton manning
He talked about it back in 2002 in SI. He said that he had a problem and quit for a while.
Thats freakin crazy! Hes one of the best coaches in sports! he will be missed!
why he can pick his coach
byron scott?
Some Jazz fans are really pissed about this.
Although I've seen some fans in a Jazz forum that are actually happy that Sloan is gone.
Here - this is a good start. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...oan/index.html
Nobody is all bad or all good. Sloan can be a personable guy, and some people have thicker skin than others. He was a of a good coach, and I have utmost respect for that. But I just don't agree with trying to make him into something he wasn't.
And for the people who say that he was a class act? The old Jazz owner was a class act, right up until the day he died. (I still remember him letting the Spurs use his private jet to fly Timmy home after getting injured in Utah that time.) Sloan could be a class act at times. But he could also be a top-notch bas .
All I'm saying is that motivating people is part of being a great coach. Like it or not, that has been a big part of Phil Jackson's success. And... in my opinion anyway, that is where Sloan came up short over the years. He alienated the out of too many players. (And assistants, and scouts, and ball boys.) And, again in my opinion, his teams' morale has gone to for weeks at a time over the years - and that always seemed to coincide with him being the biggest asshole.
I'm sure I'll catch the usual from some people who want to believe that he was a saint, or a coaching god. Whatever.
The difference, though, is that Pop wouldn't be dealing with anybody like Williams. He'd be dealing with the likes of Parker and Hill, Splitter and Blair, maybe Anderson. It's one of the bonuses to the Spurs' drafting of high character players: the example set by Tim is carried on by the team.
Tony or Manu could hold this team hostage just as easy as Tim, especially since both have to share shots and offensive responsibilities and could probably get more recognition on different teams. But they don't, and they never have, because they buy into the team concept.
It's going to be a big change for this team Post-Duncan. Losing Pop at the same time would only exacerbate the problem. While I think we all took Pop's jests seriously, his recent interview in Golden State left me feeling like he will probably stick around for a while after Tim goes. Too lazy to go digging for quotes, but it really sounded like he still has some coaching left in him.
With respect to anyone who has ever had a drinking problem - I'm not judging anyone for that. But people who have drinking problems can't "quit for a while".
He has a lot of die-hard friends who have stuck with him. But if you have any contacts who are (or were) with the Jazz during that 97 Championship loss against the Bulls, ask them about it. A lot of people were more than a little bit pissed about his behavior during the Finals.
His insistence that it never affected his coaching is no different than him saying that he was going to quit drinking "for a while". He had a problem, and he wouldn't deal with it. And he alienated players just like he alienated his wife. I don't see how anyone can think that could be healthy for a team.
Is he ever a nice guy? Of course he is. But have you ever known someone who would drink and beat his wife - and then a day or two later he was full of remorse, and doing his best to be charming? You look closely at Jerry Sloan's behavior over the years, and see if it doesn't fit that pattern. And for the record, I've known guys like that whose buddies would swear was a great guy. And maybe they are great guys - except for when they are being abusive.
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