Suns hire Monty Williams

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

*Title of the thread has been edited

 

[JCSunsfan]

I remember when this happened and how he handled himself in a press conference where he talked about this horrific tragedy. The man has some qualities that suggest he will be quite successful here in PHX!

Driver in crash that killed Monty Williams' wife had meth in system
Updated Mar 25, 2016; Posted Mar 25, 2016

https://www.nola.com/pelicans/2016/03/driver_in_crash_that_killed_mo.html

As a person, Monty is top tier. I have no doubt about that. I am just completely unaware of what kind of head coach he will be. He has coached teams with Embiid and AD so that at least is encouraging.

 

[Sunstroke]

Great hiring.. Looking forward to next month's draft. Go Ja! You know you want him in a Sun's Uni!

 

[82CardsGrad]

As a person, Monty is top tier. I have no doubt about that. I am just completely unaware of what kind of head coach he will be. He has coached teams with Embiid and AD so that at least is encouraging.

The general consensus from those who are far more expert than you and me, all seem to agree that Williams was by far, the best possible solution for the Suns.
Regardless of what Sarver has done in the past, it's indisputable that in this instance, he got this one right. Of course, we all will have to wait and see if it translates into W's. But no question, in terms of a decision to best create the chance for success, Sarver got this one right.

 

[BC867]

But no question, in terms of a decision to best create the chance for success, Sarver got this one right.

Hopefully, Jones got this one right. He's the General Manager.

Sarver is the one who signs off on it. It would be the continuation of
a problem if Sarver named a GM, then didn't support his decisions.

 

[Cheesebeef]

As a person, Monty is top tier. I have no doubt about that. I am just completely unaware of what kind of head coach he will be. He has coached teams with Embiid and AD so that at least is encouraging.

oh yeah. I realized that he coaches Davis, but his experience with Embiid gives me even more hope that he'll know how to a) best utilize his talents and b) motivate his somewhat laid back butt to do the same.

 

[Hoop Head]

I like this not because I want it to come to pass - I hope MW is awesome and the team wins 40+. However, last year we were happy after the Igor hire (in general), and nearly giddy after game #1. We had our coach!
And then... poof.

By the way, in a poll from last offseason, posters wanting Williams as coach was at 2.9% (small sample size, of course)....

https://www.arizonasportsfans.com/forum/threads/choose-the-suns-next-head-coach.260243/

I made that poll last summer and I remember putting Monty as a choice because there were 1 or 2 posters that kept bringing him up but I don't recall his name ever being mentioned by the national or local media as a potential candidate. I tried to only list coaches that were rumored to be targeted by a legitimate source or coaches that were bring pushed by a few different posters.

I know Monty didn't get many votes but part of the reason for that had to do with it only being a couple of posters throwing his name in the hat since no one else was talking about him as a possibility. If you look up articles from analysts last summer I'd be surprised if Monty Williams is suggested by anyone for the Suns opening. If he was mentioned then I think he would have received more votes. I don't believe he would have led or come in second but he wouldn't have come in last amongst named coaches. I feel confident saying he would have received more support than Triano had he been rumored.

 

[1Sun]

I made that poll last summer and I remember putting Monty as a choice because there were 1 or 2 posters that kept bringing him up but I don't recall his name ever being mentioned by the national or local media as a potential candidate. I tried to only list coaches that were rumored to be targeted by a legitimate source or coaches that were bring pushed by a few different posters.

I know Monty didn't get many votes but part of the reason for that had to do with it only being a couple of posters throwing his name in the hat since no one else was talking about him as a possibility. If you look up articles from analysts last summer I'd be surprised if Monty Williams is suggested by anyone for the Suns opening. If he was mentioned then I think he would have received more votes. I don't believe he would have led or come in second but he wouldn't have come in last amongst named coaches. I feel confident saying he would have received more support than Triano had he been rumored.

I wanted Budenholzer, followed by Jeff Van Gundy, but Monty would have been my third choice among those.

 

[Mainstreet]

Woot was so nervous clicking thread but turned happy to find out its Williams!

Maybe he will know how to actually use ayton in post and on pick and rolls

Now anxious for the lotter just want one of the top 2 for zion or morant

Gj suns

This is really important at this stage of Ayton's development if he is turn into the player Suns fans envisioned. Hopefully the defense will come along as well.

 

[1Sun]

This is really important at this stage of Ayton's development if he is turn into the player Suns fans envisioned. Hopefully the defense will come along as well.

At this point, I would settle for the young players showing steady progress, rather than regression.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yahoo! Another assistant coach that will be fired after one year. Great job guys.

Say hi to your sixth?! coach, Devin.

Lol. Who were you hoping for? Pop? Kerr? He’s got head coaching experience.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Lol. Who were you hoping for? Pop? Kerr? He’s got head coaching experience.

right?! And people accuse US of being non-stop haters. Man, lecrec, Rome was built in a day!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

oh yeah. I realized that he coaches Davis, but his experience with Embiid gives me even more hope that he'll know how to a) best utilize his talents and b) motivate his somewhat laid back butt to do the same.

Man I hadn’t thought about the fact he coaches embiid too. Those are two guys Ayton could learn a thing or two about in terms of patterning his game.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but this is the first coach we've hired with actual head coach (in the NBA) experience since we elevated Gentry. I'm not sure if I should be happy or depressed about this.

 

[1Sun]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but this is the first coach we've hired with actual head coach (in the NBA) experience since we elevated Gentry. I'm not sure if I should be happy or depressed about this.

Both. Happy that we finally got it right. Depressed that it took so long to do so.

 

[GatorAZ]

Cautiously optimistic about this, nice to see some good news come out.

Pretty much

 

[JerkFace]

Curious to see the staff he puts together. Have the Suns ever had an assistant coach hired off their bench to be another teams head coach?

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

I made that poll last summer and I remember putting Monty as a choice because there were 1 or 2 posters that kept bringing him up but I don't recall his name ever being mentioned by the national or local media as a potential candidate. I tried to only list coaches that were rumored to be targeted by a legitimate source or coaches that were bring pushed by a few different posters.

I know Monty didn't get many votes but part of the reason for that had to do with it only being a couple of posters throwing his name in the hat since no one else was talking about him as a possibility. If you look up articles from analysts last summer I'd be surprised if Monty Williams is suggested by anyone for the Suns opening. If he was mentioned then I think he would have received more votes. I don't believe he would have led or come in second but he wouldn't have come in last amongst named coaches. I feel confident saying he would have received more support than Triano had he been rumored.

Fair enough.

 

[leclerc]

Yep. I realised I came across a bit harsh so I edited my post. I remember he was head coach in New Orleans so this time around the new coach has done it before.

I am cautiously optimistic. There are good signs:

1. He's got prior experience (more than one and done)
2. He apparently was our first choice
3. We signed him to a long contract
4. I guess players liked him as the head coach
5. It can't get any worse now, can it?

But I refuse to be taken on the emotional roller coaster straight away. Let's see how they do in the draft and any trades, in summer league and a few months into next season.

We have to turn the corner soon, right?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yep. I realised I came across a bit harsh so I edited my post. I remember he was head coach in New Orleans so this time around the new coach has done it before.

I am cautiously optimistic. There are good signs:

1. He's got prior experience (more than one and done)
2. He apparently was our first choice
3. We signed him to a long contract
4. I guess players liked him as the head coach
5. It can't get any worse now, can it?

But I refuse to be taken on the emotional roller coaster straight away. Let's see how they do in the draft and any trades, in summer league and a few months into next season.

We have to turn the corner soon, right?

Number 5 is wrong. It's always wrong. No matter how bad it is, it can always get worse. But I agree with your overall message.

 

[BC867]

When I thought we'd be at the mercy of the Lakers hiring Monty out from under
us, and we won out, I looked at it another way.

LeBron wanted Lue and, as we all know, LeBron is the defacto GM of the Lakers.

So, in effect, this was positive payback for Jones letting Tyson Chandler walk to
appease his buddy, LeBron.

If so, we came out ahead. If I'm giving Jones too much credit, we still came out
ahead.

We wound up with a coach with NBA Head Coach experience and a good reputation.

The Lakers wound up with a Center past his prime.

 

[leclerc]

I guess we owe the Lakers now so probably gift them Josh Jackson for a mediocre veteran and a bag of chips.

 

[JerkFace]

I made that poll last summer and I remember putting Monty as a choice because there were 1 or 2 posters that kept bringing him up but I don't recall his name ever being mentioned by the national or local media as a potential candidate. I tried to only list coaches that were rumored to be targeted by a legitimate source or coaches that were bring pushed by a few different posters.

I know Monty didn't get many votes but part of the reason for that had to do with it only being a couple of posters throwing his name in the hat since no one else was talking about him as a possibility. If you look up articles from analysts last summer I'd be surprised if Monty Williams is suggested by anyone for the Suns opening. If he was mentioned then I think he would have received more votes. I don't believe he would have led or come in second but he wouldn't have come in last amongst named coaches. I feel confident saying he would have received more support than Triano had he been rumored.

I was one of the people pushing for Monty last year. I think the reason why he wasn’t getting mentioned more in the media is that no one was sure if he was ready to get back into coaching after his wife’s death. It wasn’t until the summer before last season that he decided that he (and more importantly his kids) were ready for him to get back into coaching and took the job as Brown’s assistant. Having been back on the bench for a year I think nba executives were more comfortable with him being a potential head coaching candidate.