If not Larry Brown next season, then who?
Now let me start off by saying I'm not playing chicken little here, nor am I ill-content with our current position. I'm very grateful to Larry Brown for what he has built here, and hope he continues to build upon this success next season and beyond.
But reports are reports, and whether or not they have much merit, if Larry Brown is not at the helm next year -- who would you want to see in?
A beat writer for the Warriors compiled a pretty good list of likely candidates for coaching vacancies here: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakam...thing-my-list/
—LIST OF HEAD-COACHING CANDIDATES/
-Jeff Van Gundy, former Houston and NY Knicks coach, current TV analyst;
-Jeff Bzdelik, former Denver Nuggets coach, currently at Colorado;
-Tom Thibodeau, Boston Celtics assistant, defensive specialist;
-Avery Johnson, former Dallas coach, current TV analyst;
-Jim Boylen, former long-time NBA assistant, currently at University of Utah.
-Brian Shaw, assistant with Lakers, Oakland native;
-Mike Budenholzer, long-time San Antonio Spurs assistant;
-Keith Smart, Warriors’ No. 1 assistant;
-Mark Jackson, long-time NBA player, currently TV analyst;
-Maurice Cheeks, former Portland and Philadelphia coach, currently assistant in Oklahoma City;
-Doug Collins, former coach for multiple teams, currently TV analyst;
-Dwane Casey, former Minnesota coach, currently assistant in Dallas;
-Byron Scott, former NJ coach, just fired as New Orleans coach;
-Paul Silas, former Charlotte Hornets coach;
-Bill Laimbeer, long-time former player, WNBA coach, currently assistant in Minnesota;
-Mario Elie, long-time former player, former Warriors assistant, currently assistant in Sacramento in Dallas;
-Sam Cassel, long-time former player, currently assistant in Washington.
If Larry Brown is not here next year, I think we have to take a new turn -- meaning we don't replace long-standing experience with experience. No one on that list is Larry Brown, so we shouldn't bring in someone with 5+ years decent-to-mediocore head coaching experience. Why try to replace Larry Brown with someone who is just in his shadow? That would knock Van Gundy, Collins, Cheeks, Scott and Silas (although I lobbied hard for Silas over Sam Vincent years back) off the list.
Personally, I'm intrigued with the picks of Mark Jackson, Tom Thibodeau, and Avery Johnson.
Avery Johnson took a Don Nelson-built team and made them even better. I think he could have the same effect with Larry's guys. With the fundamentals down and in place now, Avery could take this team to the next level. That said, I think Avery Johnson is a 2-3 year solution at best. Motivational/"Players" coaches have short shelf-lives.
While I'd prefer to see a younger, more energetic coach step in, Tom Thibodeau would be the exception. He would solidify if not strengthen our already strong defense, and probably add another layer of toughness to our squad. Hes the oldest of my three picks, but hes been trying get a head coaching job for a while now and I believe he would bring plenty of enthusiasm to the position.
Mark Jackson is the wild card, as he has no level of coaching experience. It seems to be all or nothing with him, because hes been mentioned as a leading candidate for a few head coaching jobs, but does not seem to be content with taking an assistant's position anywhere. Still, Jackson has always been disciplined and knowledgable at the game, and few would dispute he has what it takes to be a great NBA coach.... its just a matter of when and if it should be with us.
Tough to make a call here... I'll still take Larry over any of these guys. What do you all think?
