10. Mark Jackson – The former Knicks point guard is one of the most respected color commentators in sport today, and had a solid career with the Knicks. Jackson would be good for players like Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon because he played the guard position well for so long, but his lack of coaching experience hurts him. Plus there’s already rumors he will take the Knicks job after he quit his position at the YES Network. And what if he hires his older brother Troy, AKA Escalade from the And 1 series? Escalade and Joakim Noah would be out partying every night.
9. Dwane Casey – The former T-Wolves head man lasted merely a yeah and a half as a head coach, but has a respectable track record having coached under George Karl and Nate McMillan. He also had absolutely nothing to work with in Minnesota besides KG and could be okay in the right situation. Unfortunately I don’t see the Bulls being the right situation.
(Editor's Note*** Points were deducted from Mr. Casey because his name is spelled a weird way. We have a work colleague who hates it when people have uncommon names, so this one is for him. IF Dwane had a Y in his name as he should, he could have easily been #6 on this list. Tough luck Dwane... Hope you get some parents who are more adept at naming kids in the next life. )
8. Larry Brown – Everyone knows what Larry Brown has done and he does a tremendous job rebuilding teams and teaching players how to play the game (something Pax has emphasized in the coaching search) but he skips town so often its ridiculous. This guy is like the “deadbeat Dad” of coaching. He's been a coach at 12 different places. You remember Davidson, the tiny liberal arts college with Stephon Curry? Yeah Larry Brown actually was a coach there, for ONE SUMMER! That was his first head job, a sign of things to come.
7. Doug Collins – To his credit, Doug Collins is an above .500 career coach. But he’s probably better destined to be a color commentator than a coach. This guy rode Michael Jordan’s coattails worse than Juanita. Two of his three head jobs were because of Michael, and most of wins as well. I mean why are all of these color commentators getting interest for coaching and GM jobs? I don’t remember Matt Guokas getting this kind of love, and that guy was the man!
6. Jeff Van Gundy – Another color guy (sense a theme here) who is a former coach of the Knicks and Rockets, Van Gundy sounds great in the booth but is nothing more than an arm-chair coach. Jeff, if all of your “perfect advice” on situations worked so well than why is it your team filled with superstars have seasons filled with disappointment. Sorry for going all Jim Rome there, but it’s the truth.
5. Tom Thibodeau – Finally a coach! Thibodeau has been an NBA assistant for 18 years, most recently as the Associate Coach of the Celtics (side note: what the hell is the point of an Associate Coach compared to that of a normal assistant? What Tom gets to take over automatically if Doc gets thrown out? Or Tom gets to run practice when Doc goes to watch his son play at Georgetown while he loses me money on my NCAA pool? Sweet gig…) But back to Tom, it’s a bit alarming that he’s been an assistant for so long without a shot at a head job. To quote Human Giant, “IF it was going to happen to YOU, it would have happened BY NOW,” or in other words, the Jim Boylan principal.
4. Michael Curry – The Pistons assistant was an underrated NBA player who played great defense and was a floor general. He was also the leader of the Players Union, making him a respected figure in NBA circles. He’s only been a coach for a little while, but I would rather take a shot on a guy like Curry who has upside, than Thibodeau. Curry might not be the “sexiest hire” like the next three I will unveil, (and wait til you see the sexy photo of contestant number 3!) but he might be a good one.
3. Avery Johnson – Now obviously this is based on another first round exit from the Mavericks (which is entirely feasible), but Avery has shown he can coach. He’s criticized often for “over coaching” but a young (and dumb) Bulls team could use a guy who isn’t afraid to lead a team without constantly screaming at them. Avery is an unlikely hire, but you never know.
2. Paul Westphal – Westphal’s career is best described as “up-and-down” but I would like a guy like him to run the Bulls. Paul’s 1993 Suns team came very close to beating the Bulls, and he has a lot of experience dealing with all sorts of players with all sorts of issues. I mean the guy had to deal with Charles Barkley, the great womanizer that is Dan Majerle, the underage girl seeking Kevin Johnson, the human hamburger machine Oliver Miller and the coke head Richard Dumas and led them to the league’s best record. He’s got me sold.
1. Rick Carlisle – I’ve always liked the way Carlisle’s teams have played, and feel he ran into a lot of bad luck in Indiana. The former Pistons coach led them to back-to-back 50-32 seasons and has to be credited for bringing them back to relevance before he was fired in favor of Larry Brown. After joining the Pacers, Carlisle dealt with the Artest saga, tons of injuries and a total wimp of a star player (Jermaine O’Neal) and still rallied the Pacers to a six seed. Then he was once again forced to deal with an underachieving bunch of lunatics that didn’t suit him at all. I think for Carlisle’s track record he has to be priority number one.
Honorable mention:
Mike Breen – Candidate # 876 – Hell, the guy is on an announcing crew with two guys on this list, the had to have shown him a couple of useful inbounds plays or something.
Scottie Pippen – Candidate #15 – Ex-Bull, has wanted to get into coaching and is good with farming subsidies, but sucks at tipping.
Mike Fratello – Candidate #11 – "The Czar" has been decimated by MJ so many times that the United Center opening video of a Bulls stampede is his regular nightmare.
Tim Donaghy – Candidate #445 – Has good connections, knows how to win a game (for someone).
Isiah Thomas – Candidate #4,683,385,395 – He is good with women…. And managing teams… and handling the media….
To see Scott Phillips' ideal candidate click here
1 comment:
Of course, my #1 one choice would be Don Nelson, but Westphal is a nice alternative. Isn't he coaching in the WNBA now or something?
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