Why Avery Johnson should be our next head coach...


- He had a tough jig in Dallas, it's not easy to work under a "hands on" guy like Mark Cuban...

- Even despite working under Cuban, he still managed to win well over 70% of his games, including a league best 66 wins last year

- He was a product of having a soft superstar (Dirk)

- We like to talk about how Flip doesn't have any playoff track record, and even though Avery hasn't gotten out of Rd 1 in the last two years, he did take that Mavs team to the Finals just 2 years ago (and probably should've won the damn thing if it wasn't for all those phantom foul calls)

- Avery's a former player, he's young, enthusiastic, and preaches defense, I don't think he would have nearly as hard of a time trying to gain the players respect as Flip had. He wouldn't put up with nonchalant play...

- He's won a ring as a player, he's a deciple of Pops, so the experience track record is there (from a player perspective)

- Simply put, he's the best available.



Another Guy I Would Consider

Mike Woodson (if he isn't retained in Atlanta)

I've always liked Avery Johnson, even when he was coaching the Mavs (who I despise). He seems like a tough guy, and even though he's a little person I still think the guys would respect him. He won a lot of games, but of course always fell short come playoff time...which was more his shitty teams fault.

I'm not going to be satisfied unless Flip is gone. I hated the hire 3 years ago and he has done nothing to make me like him as a coach. He lost for how many years straight in the first round, 6? Before finally making it to the WCF. Same thing here except he inherited a better team in a shitty conference. His teams never make it over the hump.

So anybody but Flip right now sounds good to me.

I have to wait and see what happens to the team first. If we completely blow it up (ie for young inexperienced players) I don't know if we'd want Avery just yet, although it would be fun to see him inspire a bunch of young, athletic guys to play some D and have everyone fly around the whole game.

If we only make some minor adjustments and still are considered championship contenders, then by all means, I say we do it.

I'm not interested in the Little General.

I think we're looking at Curry or Tom Izzo and that's about it.

I don't want Izzo, he can't control NBA egos, let his first job be for a team that has no pressure...

I don't want him either, for the record.

I think AJ would be the disciplinarian this team needs. Not calling him the greatest coach ever or anything of the sort, just saying he'd be the right change of pace for this group.

Bring in AJ, and bring Dirk with him. Sheed and Amir for Dirk. Along with the pick we'll eventually get from Minnesota. Make it happen.

While he's in some ways too much like Sheed in terms of not going down low enough, and he's not as good defensively, he doesn't cry as much, he's more consistent, and he's more willing to rebound.

alsomanypeoplewilltalkabouthowthatwouldneverhappen andtheywouldhateitanyway

Oh God, I'd rather have neither Sheed or Dirk than just have Dirk...

Whooops. I was so excited to nuke it, I ended up with a huge nuke. Someone fix it for me with the unity nuke sig, I'm too lazy.

Nevermind, I wasn't as lazy as I thought.

I'm not sure about Avery, it concerns me how mentally weak his Mavs team were when they had the talent to win it all... hey sound familiar? I'm more interested in a coach who DIDN'T have a great roster, and managed to do good things with it. Obviously not confrence finals good but could coach teams with heart.

Thus back to Mike Woodson? His little boys in Atlanta did one thing the Pistons couldn't - hold home court against Boston.

Mike Woodson is currently my fave NBA coach. If he becomes avail, we need to grab him. I'm not sure if Avery was the one to blame for the Mavs, but it has kind of tainted him.

Mike Woodson is currently my fave NBA coach. If he becomes avail, we need to grab him. I'm not sure if Avery was the one to blame for the Mavs, but it has kind of tainted him.

I know the players on this team respect Woodson, as I've mentioned before in other threads, I've seen the Pistons play the Hawks at the Palace 3 times in the last two seasons, and before and after each game, it's amazing how much they love on Woodson...

I've always liked him as well, and I don't really put much stock into his results in Atlanta, because he's NEVER had a point guard or any veteran leadership on that team, plus a moron for a GM and hardly any fan support...

Plus he's the closest thing to Larry Brown that we'd probably ever get from here on out...so it would make us feel a little more secure

in current situation woodson is in, hes doing an helluva job. that said, I dont think he comes back to detroit for a while

Everything I read seems to suggest that Michael Curry is a near lock (should of course Flip be fired). I don't know about you, I think he needs more polishing as an assistant...

Maybe I'm just being a bit reluctant because he was probably the most offensively challenged player in Pistons history, and obviously thats unfair to think he wouldn't make a great head coach...

I just don't really care for having any of Flip's assistants be the next in line, especially without interviewing some outsiders (Avery Johnson). I don't mind Curry staying as an assistant, and of course you keep Kokoskov because he's got his ultimate minority job security...

I would still take Mo Cheeks. I thought Mo would have been the better fit back when we hired Flip, since they both were available.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA060808.buckkerr.en.36e113f.html


Buck Harvey: From '01 to oh-no: Kerr's view

Web Posted: 06/08/2008 11:36 AM CDT

Buck Harvey
bharvey@express-news.net

He was walking out one night, out of the Alamodome locker room that was no longer his, when he stopped at the locker of Terry Porter. There, searching for a gesture to sum up his frustration, he couldn't come up with much.

Avery Johnson gave a soft but telling kick to the chair in front of Porter's locker, and he looked back for effect.

He couldn't accept a lesser standing, not with this team, not after what he had done for the Spurs. The same drive that would carve out a long career was now eating at him, with his ego and pride in the way. He would find himself again after leaving San Antonio. But then, seven years ago, he grated on nearly everyone.

Watching nearby was Steve Kerr. And that's one reason the Suns made the decision they made Saturday.

Johnson has no reason to complain. He will earn Mark Cuban's money for the next few years, and it's more than Porter will get in Phoenix for working. Johnson also will land another NBA head coaching job eventually, because those with a .735 winning percentage do.

The place that should have considered him right now: Detroit. Johnson's personality might have connected with a team of veterans.

But the Pistons are looking toward an assistant to replace Flip Saunders. The Knicks swept up Mike D'Antoni, and now the Bulls lean in an odd direction. Instead of Johnson, they are reportedly interested in Vinny Del Negro, Johnson's former backcourt partner in San Antonio, who has never coached.

Johnson looks like the next Bob Hill, another with impressive regular seasons who drew little interest. But Johnson knows he is not the same. When Johnson was Hill's point guard, Johnson had a few issues with his head coach. He once shared those with Gregg Popovich.

Popovich would take over. With the luck of a lottery, Popovich and Johnson would form a two-headed partnership that would lead to the '99 championship.

The alliance was powerful. Johnson sat in on personnel discussions, and he was a necessary voice. Only that next season, when the Spurs added Porter, did Johnson's power base begin to erode.

Johnson reacted badly, and the chair-kick was only a silly moment. More famous was the night in Cleveland in 2000 when Johnson took on Malik Rose and yelled from the shower about how this was still his team.

Then Kerr asked David Robinson for a favor: Would Dave do something to calm his friend?

Porter handled it all with a shrug. He didn't always agree with Popovich's system, but he compromised. He'd listen to detail, then react as he always had; as it was with Doc Rivers, Porter reacted with instinct.

By 2001 everything had changed. Johnson suffered an injury, and Popovich began to see the advantages in Porter's 3-point shooting and tough-guy persona. Porter started more games and played more minutes than Johnson did.

Those Spurs would win 58 games before falling in a familiar way. They were eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

If it wasn't a special group on the floor, it proved to be one later. Two of those Spurs are now NBA general managers, and one assistant and two other players went on to become NBA head coaches.

As they went their own ways, they also came across each other. Danny Ferry, for example, ended up with Mike Brown in Cleveland.

That's the way this business works. Relationships matter. And so these past few weeks, as Kerr interviewed a handful of candidates, the list included Del Negro, his assistant in Phoenix, and Mike Budenholzer, the longtime Spurs assistant. But not Johnson.

Still, Kerr wanted someone with experience as a head coach, and he wanted someone he knew he could work with. He kept coming back to what he had seen firsthand.

That's why this former Spurs guard opted for one former Spurs guard over another, and why something else was going on seven years ago in San Antonio.

A hiring process.

This thread may as well be locked. We're announcing Curry as the new head coach tomorrow at noon.

Nice work, Atticus, you beat me by a few minutes on the Curry thing (although it's been a done deal for a long time).

We'll let Wil keep dreaming of Avery and leave this open, though.

Man, my campaign didn't even have time to get off the ground. Now I know what Dennis Kusinich's committee must've felt like...