Hearing rumors of Self to the NBA this summer.....

[WTSooner]

Might help us with some recruits if it happens early enough.

 

[sperry]

Might help us with some recruits if it happens early enough.

Seems like an odd time to leave. He should have one of his best teams ever next season.

 

[Smash Williams]

Which NBA team would hire Self? The only vacancies are in Houston, New York, Sacramento, and possibly Indiana.

Phil isn't hiring someone with whom he doesn't already have a connection.

The Kings are getting interest from established NBA coaches, but their front office is nuts, so who knows?

I don't see Morey or Bird hiring Self, but neither scenario would be as bizarre as OKC hiring Donovan last year, so I guess I shouldn't rule those out.

 

[sperry]

Which NBA team would hire Self? The only vacancies are in Houston, New York, Sacramento, and possibly Indiana.

Phil isn't hiring someone with whom he doesn't already have a connection.

The Kings are getting interest from established NBA coaches, but their front office is nuts, so who knows?

I don't see Morey or Bird hiring Self, but neither scenario would be as bizarre as OKC hiring Donovan last year, so I guess I shouldn't rule those out.

Why was OKC hiring Donovan bizarre? There was a long connection between him and management. He's long been regarded as a guy who will make a good NBA coach.


Self will get a job if he wants one.

 

[Smash Williams]

Why was OKC hiring Donovan bizarre? There was a long connection between him and management. He's long been regarded as a guy who will make a good NBA coach.


Self will get a job if he wants one.

I understand how it happened. Presti and Donovan were friends.

With Durant's impending free agency, and thus the possibility of only having one shot at a title run before he leaves, the most logical move would have been to hire someone that is ready to step in and immediately maximizes your odds of winning a title immediately and/or of retaining Durant long-term.

If you're going to hire a guy with zero NBA-related experience (as a coach, player, executive, etc.) in the last 25 years or so, you must have a reasonable expectation of an adjustment period. Any coach under those circumstances needs time to figure out the league. I find it hard to believe that guy gives you a better chance than anyone else of winning a title in his first year or of re-signing Durant.

Donovan could be a terrific NBA coach in two or three years, but if the team's best players at that point are Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters, then it won't matter.

 

[sperry]

I understand how it happened. Presti and Donovan were friends.

With Durant's impending free agency, and thus the possibility of only having one shot at a title run before he leaves, the most logical move would have been to hire someone that is ready to step in and immediately maximizes your odds of winning a title immediately and/or of retaining Durant long-term.

If you're going to hire a guy with zero NBA-related experience (as a coach, player, executive, etc.) in the last 25 years or so, you must have a reasonable expectation of an adjustment period. Any coach under those circumstances needs time to figure out the league. I find it hard to believe that guy gives you a better chance than anyone else of winning a title in his first year or of re-signing Durant.

Donovan could be a terrific NBA coach in two or three years, but if the team's best players at that point are Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters, then it won't matter.

Durant was consulted in the process, and was on board. There is no way in hell they made that move if not.

 

[mardaddy51]

Even if KD and Westbrook leave, you really think OKC won't bring in talented guys??? Think of all the money they would have to spend!!

 

[boksooner]

ESPN is reporting that Houston is interested in Self, Smart and Kenny Smith. Self would be the best of those options, for sure.

 

[AdaSooner]

ESPN is reporting that Houston is interested in Self, Smart and Kenny Smith. Self would be the best of those options, for sure.

What? Self over Smith? Kenny Smith is the greatest player, studio coach and game time analyst in history. If you don't believe me, just ask him. :ez-laugh:

Seriously, I like Kenny. He is just over-the-top with patting himself on the back sometimes.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I understand how it happened. Presti and Donovan were friends.

With Durant's impending free agency, and thus the possibility of only having one shot at a title run before he leaves, the most logical move would have been to hire someone that is ready to step in and immediately maximizes your odds of winning a title immediately and/or of retaining Durant long-term.

If you're going to hire a guy with zero NBA-related experience (as a coach, player, executive, etc.) in the last 25 years or so, you must have a reasonable expectation of an adjustment period. Any coach under those circumstances needs time to figure out the league. I find it hard to believe that guy gives you a better chance than anyone else of winning a title in his first year or of re-signing Durant.

Donovan could be a terrific NBA coach in two or three years, but if the team's best players at that point are Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters, then it won't matter.

i agree to a point, BUT presti did put a great staff together for Donovan

 

[Smash Williams]

Durant was consulted in the process, and was on board. There is no way in hell they made that move if not.

There is a huge difference between being consulted on someone else's idea for a move and being okay with it versus pushing for that move.

Durant was on board with Harden being traded. Durant was on board with Brooks being fired. That doesn't make either decision one that Durant explicitly desired. He's put a lot of trust into the OKC front office and doesn't appear to have the same thirst for decision-making power that some superstars do.

I'm not saying that Durant would leave OKC because he doesn't like Donovan, but with only one year for Donovan to acclimate himself to the league and to develop a relationship with Durant, I didn't see it as being a hire that would help tip the scales in OKC's favor.

Even if KD and Westbrook leave, you really think OKC won't bring in talented guys??? Think of all the money they would have to spend!!

Who do you think OKC is signing if KD and Westbrook leave? Look at OKC's struggles attracting high-level role players to a championship contender (i.e. Battier, Gasol).

If KD and Westbrook leave, what selling points does OKC have over other bidders? Most of the league is going to have a ton of cap space the next two summers, so money isn't a selling point unless you're willing to severely overpay role players. Harrison Barnes is going to get offers north of $20 mil per year; he'll have so many suitors (including GS, who has matching rights)with major cap space that OKC wouldn't have a shot at Barnes. Same goes for Nic Batum. At best, OKC would be able to get into bidding wars over players below the tier of those premium role players. Kent Bazemore will probably get offers of $12-15 mil per year.

i agree to a point, BUT presti did put a great staff together for Donovan

Did he? So much of coaching is behind the scenes stuff that the public doesn't see, so it makes it hard to evaluate, but given the on-court product, I don't see how it's been a great staff.

I'm not saying OKC's staff is bad, but would you say that OKC is a better coached team now than they were under Brooks? In the two seasons after the Harden trade, OKC won 60 and 59 games. Is the roster now significantly worse than it was two years ago, when Brooks went 59-23 despite Westbrook missing 36 games?

 

[Smash Williams]

ESPN is reporting that Houston is interested in Self, Smart and Kenny Smith. Self would be the best of those options, for sure.

I probably don't disagree (I mean, Kenny Smith...WTF?), but that's a tough situation for a college coach with no playing experience.

I think it'll be hard for any coach to deal with Harden's ego and to get him to buy in, but it'd be an even steeper climb for a guy like Self. Both he and whichever team hires him would be better off with a situation similar to what Stevens stepped into in Boston: a young, rebuilding team without immediate expectations. It doesn't have to be a complete rebuild; Indiana is a competitive team with young talent that's locked up for multiple years, and I can't imagine George is as much of a headache as Harden.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

T
Did he? So much of coaching is behind the scenes stuff that the public doesn't see, so it makes it hard to evaluate, but given the on-court product, I don't see how it's been a great staff.

I'm not saying OKC's staff is bad, but would you say that OKC is a better coached team now than they were under Brooks? In the two seasons after the Harden trade, OKC won 60 and 59 games. Is the roster now significantly worse than it was two years ago, when Brooks went 59-23 despite Westbrook missing 36 games?

Well maybe experienced staff would have been a better phrase

But I don't think OKC is any worse off than they were with Brooks. I think Westbrook has grown exponentially. I always thought that with Brooks, OKC would go as far as KD and Westbrook would take them. With Donovan, I atleast see more ball movement and trying to get a system going. OKC will still go as far as KD and Westbrook take them but I definitely see improvements on the offensive side of the ball. Defense is not good. But I don't think it is necessarily coaching. I think it is personnel. Losing perkins, KD and WEstbrook just being lazy,etc.

 

[bgrch1350]

ESPN is reporting that Houston is interested in Self, Smart and Kenny Smith. Self would be the best of those options, for sure.

I totally disagree with that. Smith won 2 championships with the rockets and knows how the NBA works.

 

[MercedeSooner]

If I'm a college coach the last thing I want if I make the jump to an NBA team is James Harden.