Quality Coaching

For as many teams as there are in the NBA, there is a separate and distinct head coach. Each one of these coaches does something different for his team, and has different skills and strategies that they bring to the table. But my question is: What makes a highly successful coach? As a GM, you will need to hire a coach and coaching staff that fits your players and the goals of your franchise. If you hire a complete bungler, then everyone is going to know it. Do you bank on past reputation, or do you hire new blood? Discipline, or pace of play? Player relations, or media savvy? Let us look at a few qualities of successful head coaches.

1. Past Success

This may seem like a no brainer, but in the NBA, a lot of the coaches who are available every offseason have coached in professional basketball, or at least college basketball, before. So it makes sense to look at the successes that the candidates have had in their past jobs. Of course, past success can be a pitfall, especially when recruiting coaches from the college ranks to coach in the NBA. In six seasons with the Knicks and Celtics, Rick Pitino managed to garner a record of 192-220, a less than stellar record. You all may have heard of Rick Pitino before, as he has won 589 games, while losing only 214 times. (Record as of Feb 1, 2011)

Something that is not talked about enough is the talent that a head coach gets to start out his tenure. I think Rick Carlisle is an excellent example of this point (I love a good Rick. No better way to get out of bed in the morning that to talk about a Rick) Carlisle is in his 9^th season as an NBA head coach, and he has averaged 48 wins per year in his previous 8 seasons with the Pistons, Pacers, and Mavs. Now, Rick Carlisle is an excellent head coach. He is smart, he plays to his strengths, and he seems to get the most out of the players that he has. BUT, I think he has benefitted tremendously from the rosters that he has inherited. He has the Detroit Pistons as they were rounding into championship form, he coached the Pacers when they were at the peak of their powers in 2003-2006, and he now holds the tiller of a Mavericks team that won 50 games a year even before he got there. So, past success can absolutely depend on more than just coaching ability.

2. Discipline

I think having strong discipline and running a tight ship are things better served for a young team, so you must be careful if you have this kind of coach. One team in the NBA this year that has a strong willed and controlling coach is the New Jersey Nets. Now, this may be a poor example because the Nets are so bad, but that is not Avery Johnson’s fault. He is a nit-picker, and a screamer. He controls his teams and keeps them going in the direction that he thinks is best. For the Nets, a young team who does not have an enormous amount of talent, they need a controlled system because they lack elite playmakers. However, there are pitfalls to a disciplinarian coach as well. Players may start to tune them out if they are losing too much, or if the coach is in town for too long (Avery Johnson with the Mavericks)

3. Master Manipulator

I think we all know who I am going to talk about right now…the Zen-orino, the Zen-kabob, the Zen master himself, Phil Jackson. Phil, a former NBA player himself, has developed player motivation into an art form. In contrast to a disciplinarian, a Master Manipulator is best used on a veteran team that already knows how to play, they just sometimes need to be inspired to give the effort necessary to win. The current Lakers and Phil Jackson could not illustrate this point better. As of February 1^st, the Lakers are.500 against teams with a winning record this season. They look soft on defense, and they lollygag their way through games. Phil Jackson is the remedy for what ails them. He always finds a way to poke, prod, or jab players back into playing hard and playing to win. He has done it numerous times with Kobe, motivated Pau Gasol into being a beast once in a while, and even took the job of turning Ron Artest into a human being (although some things are impossible, even for the master). If anyone can convince the Lakers that they need to play hard, and play as a team, it is Phil Jackson, The Master Manipulator.

4. Strategist

Let’s look to the other best team in the West, the San Antonio Spurs, to find a coach who has the X’s and O’s down to a science. Greg Popovich knows what is important in life, the playoffs. He also knows how to get his offense to run like a smoothly oiled machine. Unlike the Lakers, the Spurs know that they need to bring it for the important games, and half of the unimportant games, and they do so. But effort without direction is pointless. Greg Popovich is a master at giving effort a place to put itself. His offense this season is scoring, his defense is defending, and all of his players understand their place within both pieces. He is a genius, and he needs to grow his beard back!

Like all of my articles, I am sure that I left a few things out that make a good coach, like not being a jerk to your players, or having a voice that commands attention. Another good quality is not being Stan Van Gundy, so that people won’t make fun of your turtlenecks…but that is good for the NBA. Thanks for reading.

Player Salaries

I hope everyone had a fantastic week this last week. I am excited to get back on the blogosphere pony, even though mine only has one trick.

This week, I thought that I might play with NBA salaries a little bit. Hoopshype.com has a beautiful list of player and team salaries and I thought that I might just dig into them a little bit. As a GM, what players are really getting you a lot of bang for your buck, and who really is not worth the money they are making? A General Manager has got to weigh a player’s salary versus their potential value on the court. Here is a list of a few players who I think are really giving a lot of value to their team for the money they make. (Contract particulars listed in parenthesis.)

1. Amare Stoudemire, New York Knicks (5yrs, $ 99.7 M)

What? Stoudemire is one of the highest paid players in the game! How could he be a cost efficient contract? Well, Stoudemire is worth way more to the Knicks as a person and a personality than he is as a player, and he is a very valuable player. He has embraced the Big Apple and, for now, New York loves him back. Stoudemire is bringing 26 points and over 8 rebounds to the table every game. He is exciting to watch, and he plays hard every night. Amare is worth the exorbitant contract, and I can only hope that the Knicks can find more skill to help him, whether that be Carmelo Anthony, or whatever free agent rim-protector they can find this coming offseason.

2. Brandon Bass, Orlando Magic (3 yrs, $12 M, Player option 3^rd yr)

The Orlando Magic have found a gem in Brandon Bass. He has been one of the underused power forwards in the league for several years, since he was stuck behind some German guy on the Mavericks. With the Magic, Bass has finally carved out a starting position. He is a power player who can hit a jumpshot out to 18 feet, hits the offensive glass hard, and can score in the post as well. I think he helps Dwight Howard out by taking some of the post focus off of him. The Magic can dump the ball into Bass instead of Howard, or vice versa.

3. Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets (3 yrs, $5.6 M)

The 2^nd year players out of North Carolina is steadily improving under the tutelage of George Karl and Chauncey Billups. His speed and finishing ability are stellar, and his jump shot and decision making have taken steps forward this year. He does not get enough burn to put up huge numbers, but in his rookie year, the Nuggets were +58 while he was on the floor. Lawson and JR Smith really come in and turn up the tempo for this team, in a good way. Lawson will be a quality point guard, and he is going to be making a lot more money when his rookie scale contract is up.

4. Chase Budinger, Houston Rockets (3 yrs, $2.6 M)

This fiery haired young man has proven to be a valuable 6^th man off the bench for the Houston Rockets. He comes in and provides 3 point shooting and an ability to finish above the rim. He still has a problem with aggression from time to time, but he has definitely found his role as a scorer off the bench.

5. Deandre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers (1 yr, $854,389)

Now, this young man is about to become way more expensive. With Chris Kaman being sidelined for the better part of eternity, Deandre Jordan has become the starting center for the Clips. He has matured an enormous amount since being drafted out of Texas A&M two years ago. His shot blocking, rebounding, and finishing ability, along with his enormous size, make him a valuable commodity. On a related note, he is also really good buddies with Blake Griffin aka the Future of the Clippers. If Donald Sterling can show some brains once in his life, he will lock up Deandre long term.

People who are not worth the Money!

1. Troy Murphy, New Jersey Nets (1yr, $11.9 M)

Troy would not really be worth this much money even if he were playing. Somehow, the Nets have decided that their 12 million dollars would be better served sitting on the bench. He is making way too much money to serve as a big-nosed cheerleader for this team, but something is hindering that, whatever it may be.

2. Marco Jaric, Memphis Grizzlies/Montepaschi Siena (1 yr, $7.6M)

The Grizzlies and Marco parted ways after the 2009-2010 season, but he is still under contract for this year. My biggest problem with this scenario: Seriously, why would anyone give the career 2^nd-stringer 7 million dollars a year for any reason? He has started in a few different players, but always ended up cast away because of lack of ability. Enormous waste of money for the Grizzles. They could be paying Rudy Gay 20 million dollars this year instead of 13!

3. Brandon Haywood, Dallas Mavericks (6yrs, 52.2M 6^th yr team option)

Wow. 3.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 17.9 mpg. Wow. 52 million bucks is a lot to pay a man to average less than 20 minutes a game. Brendan Haywood also sports a free throw percentage of exactly 33.3%. Wow. He cannot get minutes on a team that plays mostly zone, and so needs large, 7 footers to guard the paint. Wow. I am going to go ahead and guess that the Mavs don’t pick up that 10 million dollar option for1015-2016. But anything is possible!

So, my fellow GM’s and aspiring sports owners, here is the lesson of the day: If you have money, give it to people who can help your team, give it to players who can have more than one good year in a row, and don’t give it to people who you aren’t going to get their butts off of the bench!