Hire Bobby Hurley & a Legit GM

[JustWinBaby]

I just started watching ASU last year when they went on their early season run. They fell off the early high when they got into conference but THEY PLAYED HARD every game for Bobby Hurley. The talent level was lacking thus they were very limited.

I do not know how well they will do this year but Bobby has a lot more talent and this team plays even harder than last years team. I didn't think that was possible.

I want a GM to get some legit talent added to the Suns and I want them to play hard. I do not know who would be my GM candidate but some have suggested the guy in Toronto. I am tired of these guys with no experience leading this franchise.

ASU may flop as the season progresses but I doubt it will be without giving maximum effort. That is all I am looking for from this Suns Team. I do not dislike Igor as a person I just do not think that he is the answer now or in the future.

I would wait until the end of the year to do this, I doubt that we could find a better tank commander than Igor anywhere.

Oh, I would not allow James Jones or any one else to make any trades. I would actually get rid of the GM position until I was able to land a legit GM with experience.

I don't know how they will do but I am anxious to watch ASU tomorrow night against Nevada. I am far more interested in them than the Phoenix Suns at this point. I didn't think I would ever say that.

 

[Phrazbit]

We desperately need a legit GM, but I don't see why anyone but ASU homers would want Bobby Hurley.

It's hard to justify jumping from the college ranks when you've yet to win a meaningful game.

The seeming rapidity of the players tuning out Koko is alarming. I still like what I hear and see out of him... but I wonder if young American athletes just don't give a crap about a guy with a sometimes difficult to understand accent telling them what to do.

 

[82CardsGrad]

We desperately need a legit GM, but I don't see why anyone but ASU homers would want Bobby Hurley.

It's hard to justify jumping from the college ranks when you've yet to win a meaningful game.

The seeming rapidity of the players tuning out Koko is alarming. I still like what I hear and see out of him... but I wonder if young American athletes just don't give a crap about a guy with a sometimes difficult to understand accent telling them what to do.

Even with a legit GM (McDonough was very close and more than good enough), it won’t matter because of Sarver. He is the root of all problems. He’s a meddling fool.

 

[TJ]

Bobby Hurley's team finished 9th in the lowly Pac-12 last season. Overall, he has little measurable success as a college head coach.

Igor is bad, but you want to get a better head coach after he's gone, not take a step back.

 

[Ronin]

I nominate Fred Hoiberg!

j/k


:hidesunderdesk:

 

[1Sun]

I nominate Fred Hoiberg!

j/k


:hidesunderdesk:

Sadly, he would be an improvement over Igor Kokoskov.

 

[Finito]

No more rookie NBA coaches

 

[AzStevenCal]

No more rookie NBA coaches

So, no first time Popovich? I think we need to hire better but ruling out all rookie head coaches might not be the way to go. It's not just the bad coaches that got their start somewhere, it's the good ones too.

 

[Hoop Head]

So, no first time Popovich? I think we need to hire better but ruling out all rookie head coaches might not be the way to go. It's not just the bad coaches that got their start somewhere, it's the good ones too.

You really think our front office will identify the next Popovich? Until we get better decision makers in the front office I can see going with a "No Rookie Head Coaches" mandate. They can't spot what makes someone a good coach or bad so they need something real to gauge whether they would work here or not.

 

[AzStevenCal]

You really think our front office will identify the next Popovich? Until we get better decision makers in the front office I can see going with a "No Rookie Head Coaches" mandate. They can't spot what makes someone a good coach or bad so they need something real to gauge whether they would work here or not.

Do you really think our front office will identify a good veteran coach? Keep in mind, that hiring pool consists almost entirely of coaches who have been fired elsewhere. I'm not advocating for us to hire an inexperienced Head Coach. I just don't like artificial constraints and I believe without a freaking doubt that had we been hiring experienced coaches and failing, some posters would be insisting we should never hire another retread.

 

[Raindog]

Because of Sarver, no good front office people will come here... and with no good front office people, no good coaches or good players, will come either. At least not any that are established and have their choice of jobs.

 

[Hoop Head]

Do you really think our front office will identify a good veteran coach? Keep in mind, that hiring pool consists almost entirely of coaches who have been fired elsewhere. I'm not advocating for us to hire an inexperienced Head Coach. I just don't like artificial constraints and I believe without a freaking doubt that had we been hiring experienced coaches and failing, some posters would be insisting we should never hire another retread.

I'm sure some would say that but just because that's being repeated by many people here doesn't make it true. What I do believe to be true is that until we get a better GM in here, I'm not a fan of going with another unproven head coach again. If we brought someone else in to make the hiring decisions then I would be open to it, depending on who that is. So long as what constitutes our front office is in place, I don't see an issue with restricting their choices to people who have been NBA head coaches before. I wouldn't rule out everyone who lacks head coaching experience in the NBA but they would need to have been a head coach in the NBA or with a real NCAA tournament team to be considered.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Keep Hurley at ASU. No need to ruin his career by going to the Suns.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I'm sure some would say that but just because that's being repeated by many people here doesn't make it true. What I do believe to be true is that until we get a better GM in here, I'm not a fan of going with another unproven head coach again. If we brought someone else in to make the hiring decisions then I would be open to it, depending on who that is. So long as what constitutes our front office is in place, I don't see an issue with restricting their choices to people who have been NBA head coaches before. I wouldn't rule out everyone who lacks head coaching experience in the NBA but they would need to have been a head coach in the NBA or with a real NCAA tournament team to be considered.

I'm not either but I've been around long enough to know that retread coaches aren't always the solution either. And a lot of first time coaches have turned out well. The point is, when the time comes, I want us to hire the best candidate and to me, that typically means experienced. But not always.

 

[JustWinBaby]

We desperately need a legit GM, but I don't see why anyone but ASU homers would want Bobby Hurley.

It's hard to justify jumping from the college ranks when you've yet to win a meaningful game.

The seeming rapidity of the players tuning out Koko is alarming. I still like what I hear and see out of him... but I wonder if young American athletes just don't give a crap about a guy with a sometimes difficult to understand accent telling them what to do.

I don't disagree that Hurley probably is not the answer. However I want a team that plays hard not just on occasion but every night. ASU plays hard every night.

I only see one player on this team that does that night in night out, Holmes. Give me 15 players like him and I will be happy.

I remember a lot of negatives on Jason Kidd when he was here but French Fries aside he played his arse off for this franchise, every night, not just once in a while.

Damn it is hard being a Suns fan these days.

 

[Superbone]

So, no first time Popovich? I think we need to hire better but ruling out all rookie head coaches might not be the way to go. It's not just the bad coaches that got their start somewhere, it's the good ones too.

Nick Nurse for example is looking really good for the Raptors.

 

[Western Font]

Nurse was already in Toronto, though, and was their offensive coordinator for lack of a better term. I guess we were hoping Koko’s would be a similar transition but across franchises. Nurse also picked up a pretty good veteran player, too.

We’ll see. Not looking good, but we’ll see.

 

[BC867]

So, no first time Popovich? I think we need to hire better but ruling out all rookie head coaches might not be the way to go. It's not just the bad coaches that got their start somewhere, it's the good ones too.

One exception does not set the rule.

How many Head Coaches has Sarver fired? No, no more "first time" ones. Because he tried and it didn't work.

And why? Because they didn't have the credentials to lay the law down while they were being pursued, "Step back and let me do my job." And then call him on it when he violated that verbal agreement.

If we're stuck with Sarver, we need a GM and Head Coach with the credentials to stand up to him.

Sadly, he won't hire people like that.

 

[AzStevenCal]

One exception does not set the rule.

How many Head Coaches has Sarver fired? No, no more "first time" ones. Because he tried and it didn't work.

And why? Because they didn't have the credentials to lay the law down while they were being pursued, "Step back and let me do my job." And then call him on it when he violated that verbal agreement.

If we're stuck with Sarver, we need a GM and Head Coach with the credentials to stand up to him.

Sadly, he won't hire people like that.

How is he the exception though? Every coach, good or bad, was initially a first time coach. I'd prefer experience but playing professional ball, head coach at another level, assistant coach on multiple NBA teams - all of those things are "experience". It's still about hiring the right person. None of us are confident Sarver can or will do that but restricting the hiring pool doesn't seem like the solution to me.

 

[BC867]

How is he the exception though? Every coach, good or bad, was initially a first time coach. I'd prefer experience but playing professional ball, head coach at another level, assistant coach on multiple NBA teams - all of those things are "experience". It's still about hiring the right person. None of us are confident Sarver can or will do that but restricting the hiring pool doesn't seem like the solution to me.

My thought is that having experience playing professional ball or assistant coach on multiple NBA teams is not the same as having developed the confidence and sixth sense that Head Coach experience provides. All of ours have been learning on the job under Sarver.

Of course all teams sometimes go with that type of coach (often with a former Head Coach on his staff, perhaps being older and passing on his experience) . . . but the Suns have had too many consecutive General Managers and Head Coaches who have never been on the hot seat before. The figurehead. The buck stops here.

It is ironic that it falls under the category that I have been attributing to the roster -- lack of balance. It has been argued that Sarver is not cheap, he just doesn't know how to spend money wisely.

OK, I'll hang this on him -- lack of balance. Whether it comes to his staff or roster.

As I posted in response to your citing Pop in analyzing Igor, I believe we should change our hopes of all (or nothing). We should have systematically been building a balanced Front Office, coaching staff and roster during Sarver's tenure. That has obviously not happened. Sarver himself is a victim of his own lack of respect for experience in decision making. His lack of confidence in the people he hires, including himself thinking he is a GM because he owns the team.

Jerry went from Marketing man to GM to owner. Sarver came in trying to go from banker to sports owner to GM. And, as we've seen, it hasn't worked. The definitive answer lies in the results. If Sarver were doing it right, we wouldn't be talking about it.