NBA's next superstar coach...?

Nice article on Stevens.  A little more in depth then some we've seen on this topic. Well done by Jackie Mac.

Starts out as if it's about the Cavs, but uses last year's playoff series to set up the direction of the piece.

Here's the link...

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15356168/brad-stevens-next-superstar-head-coach

NYCelt,

Wow. What a great article. Brad's head must be pulsing right now.


bob


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Stevens came in sixth in Coach of the Year voting. I would've bumped him up a spot to fifth above Dwayne Casey, but he's definitely getting recognition for the fine job he's doing.

All these awards are beginning to become kind of ridiculous. Steve Kerr is a terrific coach, I do not dispute that, however, we was not on the bench for almost half a season. How can he be coach of the year?

Jamal Crawford won sixth player award, for the third time, yet his stats were right in line with Evan Turner's.
I think that they should spread these awards around. I just read today that Crawford got that award on his reputation more than his skill.

Spread the wealth, give the awards to those who have worked so hard to improve their team and has had success well beyond what was expected of them. I am not saying Turner or Stevens deserved the award, but there were plenty ahead of them who were well deserving. Give everyone a shot at some glory, especially if they have worked hard to have a big impact on their team

Rosalie

RosalieTCeltics wrote:All these awards are beginning to become kind of ridiculous.  Steve Kerr is a terrific coach, I do not dispute that, however, we was not on the bench for almost half a season. How can he be coach of the year?  

Jamal Crawford won sixth player award, for the third time, yet his stats were right in line with Evan Turner's.
I think that they should spread these awards around.  I just read today that Crawford got that award on his reputation more than his skill.  

Spread the wealth, give the awards to those who have worked so hard to improve their team and has had success well beyond what was expected of them.  I am not saying Turner or Stevens deserved the award, but there were plenty ahead of them who were well deserving.  Give everyone a shot at some glory, especially if they have worked hard to have a big impact on their team

Rosalie

I agree Rosalie. It would seem Luke Walton should at least share the award!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Steve Kerr is a terrific coach, I do not dispute that, however, we was not on the bench for almost half a season. How can he be coach of the year?

Rosalie,

Just to make the case for Steve Kerr, there's a lot more to what a coach does than being on the bench. One of the most important things a quality coach does is create a culture for the team, which includes basic basketball stuff like the offensive and defensive schemes that a team uses, to stuff the public doesn't see like practice schedules and routines (the Warriors do some things much differently than other teams), to intangibles like the attitude and chemistry that a team develops. Even when Kerr wasn't on the bench during games, he was at practices and sometimes in the locker room before and after games and at halftime. Early on, when he wasn't well enough to be there, he was still in daily communication with the coaching staff and directing the team.

Despite Luke Walton being the coaching face during games the first half of the season, it was still Kerr's team, and everything he did as a head coach helped create a team that won more games than any other team in league history, and he molded a team that could achieve that level of success even when he wasn't able to sit on the bench during games.

I think I personally would've voted for Terry Stotts of Portland, but I do see the argument for Kerr. Most pundits and league GMs picked the Warriors to take a step back after winning the title, and they instead took a huge leap forward.

Anyway, I hope that provides some context to Kerr being chosen for the award.

NYCelt wrote:I agree Rosalie. It would seem Luke Walton should at least share the award!

Considering that Kerr typically deflects credit from himself, by the time he's done with his acceptance speech, he'll probably mention everyone from Walton and Ron Adams down to the security guard. Walton's getting plenty of shine from the job he's done.

Outside wrote:

NYCelt wrote:I agree Rosalie. It would seem Luke Walton should at least share the award!

Considering that Kerr typically deflects credit from himself, by the time he's done with his acceptance speech, he'll probably mention everyone from Walton and Ron Adams down to the security guard. Walton's getting plenty of shine from the job he's done.

Outside,

Wouldn't surprise me if Walton is the head guy somewhere soon.

Regards

I still feel that Kerr is terrific, but when the players are on the floor, it is the guy siting on the bench Orr pacing the sidelines who will get the blame for a lousy coaching job or should get some of the praise. I know that Kerr had his hands in the mix all year, and as I said, I do not doubt his ability. Just my opinion. I don't know who I would have picked, I think there wer many guys who could have won, but, hey, they won 73 games. So I gues they had to acknowledge that