You really should read 7 seconds or less. The idea that you can "get in players heads" is a myth in basketball. One thing reading that book did is realize that the coach makes a lot less of an impact than people think.
Good point, these guys have guaranteed contracts. They'll get their money either way. And if they have skills someone else will pick them up even if they are uncoachable(steven jackson artest, AI, etc). Try that on your job(blowing off the boss) and its probably not the same. Add to that the most grueling season in pro sports, running 5 miles a game, banging, wrestling in the post, 4 games in 5 nights. Its no wonder coaches lose their players attention. Bring in a new coach every 5 years(NBA players typical attention span for a coach), and it takes 2 more years to install the new coachs philosophy. If your coach is a hardass like sloan, there wont be many free agents that want to play there. All this with the players knowing that the value of their next contract depends largely on how many shots they make(passers like nash are mid pay scale, defenders make even less). And then you have to get them to share the ball to win, great. Being a coach in the NBA has got to be right up there with a prison psychiatrist, damn near hopeless. Phil Jacksons success may partly depend on his ability to brainwash his players into playing together.
