Bye, Bye AJ, we hardly knew ye

by Hawk42 on Apr 30, 2008 1:43 PM MST

Avery fired in Dallas, D'Antoni reportedly at top of Maverick's list

Avery Johnson was fired today just two short years after holding a 2-0 lead on the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA finals. This was reported earlier today by Marc stein of SI.com. The sports showss all agree that should the Suns fire D'Antoni, MikeD should be at the top of owner Mark Cuban's shopping list.

I still hold out hope that Mike will stay, but if he feels he is not getting the support of Kerr and Sarver, he should do what he has to do.

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DANTONI!!???

Part of the mavericks BIGGEST problem is their lack of defense, why in the hell would they hire a coach whose main objective is offense instead of defense?

by slucky on Apr 30, 2008 1:52 PM MST reply actions

If that's true...

Then I certainly won’t blame Coach D for leaving. Working in an environment where you feel that you have no support from your colleagues has got to be frustrating. Our loss will certainly be another team’s gain.

by KJ7 on Apr 30, 2008 1:53 PM MST reply actions

AJ regrets not starting Harris sooner

I am listening to an interview with Randy Galloway of AJ right now, and he lists his biggest regret as not giving Devin Harris he ball sooner as the starting point guard. It appears thathe may have mellowed in his control of the point guard. That was one of the objections to Avery that I heard from Suns fans, that he would want to control Nash too much.

April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?

by Hawk42 on Apr 30, 2008 2:05 PM MST reply actions

Hmm...

AJ did instill a ton of discipline into the MAVS for about a year…if he really has mellowed than it might be worth giving him a try. Anyone else have any other ideas besides AJ if we must replace DA?

by RealTangiblesGuy on Apr 30, 2008 2:31 PM MST up reply actions

Other choices

I think Rick Carlisle and, to a lesser extent, Jeff Van Gundy would be fine options. They’re both defensive -minded and have experience taking teams deep into the playoffs. Tom Thibodeau is another hot defensive option from the Van Gundy school. A lot of teams are looking for coaches though, so it will be a fight to get these guys.

So right now I’m thinking:

1) Carlisle
2) AJ
3) Van Gundy
4) Thibodeau

Just please not Scott Skiles. For the love of all that is holy: no Scott Skiles.

You're not going to fall for the banana in the tail pipe?

by rosewood on Apr 30, 2008 3:24 PM MST up reply actions

carlisle

as someone who follows a team carlisle used to coach (i’m a spurs fan first, but also follow the pacers), be careful what you wish for.

carlisle is an excellent coach, no doubt about it. the way he got the pacers into the playoffs following the pistons/pacers brawl, and then into the second round that year (and took 2 games from eventual finalists detroit), was masterful. the decline of the pacers wasn’t really his fault, he was just made one of the scapegoats.

having said that, you’ve gotta realise what you’re getting with him. saying he’s a defensive-minded coach is an understatement. he will slooooooooooooow the suns down massively. he micro-manages from the sidelines. players won’t have much leeway to do anything. his personality can be jarring with players.

this isn’t to say he won’t get further with the suns as presently constructed than d’antoni did – with the change in philosophy that the shaq trade signalled, he may be better suited. but be aware of what you’ll be getting…

by sleep research facility on May 1, 2008 4:58 AM MST up reply actions