Magic name their new coach...

[Joe Bagadonuts]

horny is sloan's apprentice? he was never an assistant under jerry, so are we saying that just because he played here? by that logic greg ostertag is a sloan apprentice too. and for that matter so is vaughn.

vaughn has paid his dues a lot longer. horny was always a long shot for this job, the type of guy who gets added to a leaked list so that it looks like orlando is leaving no stone unturned.

When I first read the comment I thought the poster meant that Corbin was the Sloan apprentice, so they were comparing our new coach with the Magic's new coach. I agree that Hornacek can hardly be called a Sloan apprentice.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

It also bears mentioning that Vaughn was a rare student/athlete who got a real degree that wasn't in phys ed or basket weaving and was an Academic All-American.

He also managed to play in the NBA for over 10 years without any actual talent - so he must have something going on upstairs.

I love how not having talent becomes a compliment at times like these.

 

[candrew]

I love how comments completely devoid of substance passes as posts at times like these.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

Me too.

 

[Stifle Tower]

I love how not having talent becomes a compliment at times like these.

It's a compliment in the sense that less-talented players have to scratch and claw and use their BBIQ just to survive in the league. Many of the top coaches - in any sport - were not necessarily the best players during their careers.

Phil Jackson had a career average of 7/4 over 12 yrs.
Don Nelson had a pretty decent 14 yr career, mostly with the Celtics, averaging 10 pts on 48% shooting (career high of 15).
Pat Riley played 10 years and averaged 7 pts/per as a career back-up.
Larry Brown played five years in the ABA, averaging 11/7.
Popovich played basketball at the Air Force Academy. Good enough to be invited to the US Olympic team trials, but never played professionally and went directly into coaching.

The best players amongst the all-time winningest coaches were :

2) Jerry Sloan: defensive demon, 14/7/3 average over 11 years.

And...
1) Lenny Wilkins: HOF as a player AND coach. Career avgs of 17/7/5 and a 9-time all-star. He was actually a player/coach for Seattle at one point. Never won a championship as a player, but did get one in 1979 as a coach.

So out of the top 7 NBA coaches (well, I guess I'd have to look up guys like Auerbach, Heinsohn, Fitch, etc. which I'm not going to). But out of the seven I listed, five had non-distinguished or no pro careers. One was a quality starter for a pretty good team. But only one was a HOF'er.

 

[Joe Bagadonuts]

It's a compliment in the sense that less-talented players have to scratch and claw and use their BBIQ just to survive in the league. Many of the top coaches - in any sport - were not necessarily the best players during their careers.

Phil Jackson had a career average of 7/4 over 12 yrs.
Don Nelson had a pretty decent 14 yr career, mostly with the Celtics, averaging 10 pts on 48% shooting (career high of 15).
Pat Riley played 10 years and averaged 7 pts/per as a career back-up.
Larry Brown played five years in the ABA, averaging 11/7.
Popovich played basketball at the Air Force Academy. Good enough to be invited to the US Olympic team trials, but never played professionally and went directly into coaching.

The best players amongst the all-time winningest coaches were :

2) Jerry Sloan: defensive demon, 14/7/3 average over 11 years.

And...
1) Lenny Wilkins: HOF as a player AND coach. Career avgs of 17/7/5 and a 9-time all-star. He was actually a player/coach for Seattle at one point. Never won a championship as a player, but did get one in 1979 as a coach.

So out of the top 7 NBA coaches (well, I guess I'd have to look up guys like Auerbach, Heinsohn, Fitch, etc. which I'm not going to). But out of the seven I listed, five had non-distinguished or no pro careers. One was a quality starter for a pretty good team. But only one was a HOF'er.

Thanks for doing a much better job than me of explaining why I love it.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Another thought is that this may be a very short-term coaching stint. Does anyone really want to step into that mess? Howard is unhappy. He already got one coach fired. And the chances are he'll be on the team through December.

I think the Magic have been unhappy with the trade offers thus far and are hoping to get a decent package from New Jersey once Lopez is trade-eligible. Lopez, Brooks and picks may be the best Orlando can get, since Howard won't re-sign with any teams other than LA Lakers or Nets.

Dwight's been a major %^&$^@, but I can understand his reluctance to sign. Why limit yourself? He has a chance to either go to a contender or do a Lebron/Wade next summer with CP3. I could see those two perhaps going to Dallas. Or maybe Dwight ends up with the Clippers somehow. A big-3 of Griffin, Howard and CP3 would be pretty scary.

 

[theNBAnerd]

good point motown... vaughn is either going to have to coach a disgruntled superstar who doesn't want to be there or a team in full-on rebuilding mode with a pile of future assets but no current identity. not a job i'd want, but since there are only 30 head coaching gigs out there, i suppose you gotta take what you can get.