Paul Silas news

SUNSBG

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New Orleans Hornets: Paul Silas' days in New Orleans appear to be numbered. The latest had him calling George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge "crazy-ass owners." When asked whether that was on the record, Silas replied, "they're going to hear it from me anyway." If Silas, whose contract expires this summer, does leave New Orleans, there will be plenty of interest. The Raptors, Cavs and Clippers will likely have vacancies. And don't forget Charlotte's new team. Rumors have been swirling for months that Silas will join owner Robert Johnson with the NBA's newest expansion team.
 

ThatsAmare

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We've got to get that guy back in Phoenix. The Suns were nuts to let him go in the first place. he would make a nice replacement for the hopefully soon-to-be-leaving Frank Johnson.
 

SirStefan32

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I thought about that too, but there is no way Colangelo would hire him. Silas is a real coach, and Jerry only hires wanna-be coaches.

Stefan
 

Chaplin

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Originally posted by SirStefan32
I thought about that too, but there is no way Colangelo would hire him. Silas is a real coach, and Jerry only hires wanna-be coaches.

Stefan

So you thought Cotton and Westy were "wanna-bes"? I question the C's hiring process, but not to that extent.
 

SirStefan32

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Ok, There was one exception- Paul was a real coach.
As far as Cotton goes, I don't question his knowledge of the game, but I have to say that he is not a real coach either. That's just my oppinion, but I think he is no better than Ainge, Skiles, and Johnson when it comes to coaching.

Stefan
 

Chaplin

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Originally posted by SirStefan32
Ok, There was one exception- Paul was a real coach.
As far as Cotton goes, I don't question his knowledge of the game, but I have to say that he is not a real coach either. That's just my oppinion, but I think he is no better than Ainge, Skiles, and Johnson when it comes to coaching.

Stefan

I don't know if I agree with that--he pretty much made KJ into the player we all love now.
 

elindholm

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Westphal was a real coach? I don't agree with that. He had, what, a few years' experience with some division III school or something?

Of course Fitzsimmons is/was a real coach. Any former winner of the NBA's Coach of the Year award qualifies, even if you don't think the coach is any good.
 

Chaplin

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Originally posted by elindholm
Westphal was a real coach? I don't agree with that. He had, what, a few years' experience with some division III school or something?


For two years or so he was able to keep a leash on Charles Barkley and got us to the NBA Finals. Yes, Barkley and KJ were the main components of that, but nobody can say that Westy had no effect on our run for those 3 pretty good years.
 

sunsfn

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Cotton Fitzsimmons was an excellent coach, but later in his career when he took over for Danny Ainge, he could not handle the younger players and got real disgusted with them.........
(sounds like a lot of coaches today right?...)

Paul Westphal was an excellent coach as far as getting along with the players and letting them play the game. They played hard for him, but he did not have a defensive game plan at all and his discipline was not the greatest and that is what got him fired. (something like Danny Ainge)




:) :)
 

elindholm

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but nobody can say that Westy had no effect on our run for those 3 pretty good years.

Apparently I misunderstood the topic. I thought by "wanna-be coach" we meant people with no relevant coaching experience. Yes, of course Westphal did some things well. So did Ainge, so did Skiles, and so has Johnson. But none of them, when hired, were "real coaches" in the sense that I understood to apply to this discussion.
 

Chaplin

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Aah. I thought it had to do with the quality of our coaches. Sure, Westphal probably didn't have the major experience, but he was a better coach than Skiles or Ainge when he took the reins.
 

elindholm

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That would be an interesting poll question: of the Suns' four recent guard-coaches, which is/was the best? I think I would reluctantly vote for Ainge. I always felt that Westphal let the players run the team. That was fine in '92-'93 when Barkley brought all of his enthusiasm, but as soon as the honeymoon wore off, the team (in my opinion) underachieved. I don't have any particular reason for thinking that Ainge was better, of course....
 

Chaplin

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Originally posted by elindholm
I don't have any particular reason for thinking that Ainge was better, of course....

Just the lesser of 4 evils I guess... :D
 

SirStefan32

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1. Paul Westphal

2. Danny Ainge

3. Frank Johnson

4. Scott Skiles

You know your coaches suck when Danny Ainge might be the best.
Anybody remembers Kidd/ Nash/ Johnson on 1, 2 and 3? Talk about small ball.

Another interesting question- who do you think is going to be next?
 

elindholm

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Another interesting question- who do you think is going to be next?

Heh! Interesting question indeed.

I'd have to say Eddie Johnson or Dan Majerle. They're both a little tall to be Suns coaches, but at least they are former guards, which, as we know, is the essential qualification. (The other essential qualification, of course, is an utter lack of qualifications.)

I don't think Kevin Johnson will ever be a coach -- he just doesn't seem to have the same love for the game, and I think he's happy to have left it behind.
 

fordronken

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Sometimes you get lucky, though. I can picture Frank Johnson turning into a Doug Collins equivalent. He'll get us and our young team into the second round in a couple years, but repeated failures to jump to the next level will get him fired, then some assistant could step in and become a Phil Jackson type coach, leading us to multiple championships. Then, of course, Colangelo would drive him off, wanting to force the rebuilding process, and we would be stuck with lottery teams for like seven years while Amare Stoudemire becomes partial owner and general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers(only because he couldn't buy the Orlando Magic).
 

SirStefan32

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I think Eddie Johnson would make a very good coach. I love listening to him call games. I think he has a very good knowledge of the game. Last year, I was hoping he would take over once Skiles was fired.
 

elindholm

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I think Eddie Johnson would make a very good coach. I love listening to him call games. I think he has a very good knowledge of the game.

That may be, but the reality is that, in terms of hiring practices, Eddie Johnson would be more of the same by definition. The lineage of Westphal-Ainge-Skiles-Johnson have all been players who "have a very good knowledge of the game." Ainge has shown that he is (in my opinion) a good broadcaster. But a good, knowledgable broadcaster will not necessarily make a good coach.

In fact, Eddie Johnson has no qualifications at all to be an NBA head coach -- even if, by chance, he might end up being pretty good at it. Anyone who wants to criticize the last several Suns coaching hires can't accept EJ as a viable successor.
 

slinslin

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EJ is hosting a camp to improve your shooting skills that's probably his only qualification to coach.

On the other hand there will be some good coaches out there...

Jeff van Gundy, Mike Fratello, Paul Silas, Mike Dunleavy, Lenny Wilkins (if you consider him good) and probaly some more.

But didn't the Suns give Frank Johnson a multi-year extension?? :(
 

elindholm

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Frank Johnson's not going anywhere. When have the Suns ever hired an established coach who didn't already have a history with the organization? Never, or at least not since John MacLeod (does he qualify?). I suppose Silas would be a remote possibility, but someone will snap him up for the start of next season, and Johnson is surely safe until then. But we will never see a Van Gundy or Dunleavy coach for the Suns, at least not as long as the Colangelos are in charge.
 
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Why doesn't FJ attend a coaches camp this Summer? You know, where you learn valuable things like: How to set up plays for your big men, how to cope with the zone, etc..

BTW, I thought there was supposed to be this contigent of experienced assistant coaches on the Suns roster. Why has this failed to materialize?
 
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