Hello, Bobcat nation, I come in peace.
This recent hoopla about Jerry Sloan being a potential hire for the Bobcats organization has intrigued my interest in this team, as well as what could be best for their future.
First off, as a longtime Jazzfan, lemme tell you a bit about Sloan:
- Though he is old, Sloan will always have that "fire" to him. Towards the end of his tenure with the Jazz, sometimes his fatigue was partially noticeable. Still, after a 2 year absence, I would expect him to be as energized as ever
-When it comes to maximizing talent, effort out of nobodies (no offense, but this seems to represent much of the current Bobcats lineup), you could not find a better coach than Sloan; heres a video that will hopefully demonstrate my point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4UXsFXZtIQ&feature=plcp
Quote:
Following the departures of John Stockton and Karl Malone, experts were lining up to pick the Jazz as the worst team in the league:
-ESPN's Marc Stein ranked the Jazz dead-last and wrote: "Poor Sloan and the Jazz faithful are in for a culture shock."
-ESPN contributor Frank Hughes wrote the Jazz "could be the worst team in NBA history." He continued "I don't mean like [LA] Clippers bad. I mean like 9-win Philadelphia 76ers bad."
-ESPN's Chad Ford wrote even the aquistion of Keon Clark (who played all of 2 games for Utah) "won't be enough to keep Utah from having the worst record in the league."
Fortunately for the Jazz, they still had longtime coaches Jerry Sloan and Phil Johnson - and with a cast comprised largely of no-name players, shocked the NBA by winning 42-games, finishing just 1-win shy of making the playoffs.
I'd say this season was a shining example of who Jerry Sloan as a coach really was, and probably his single best season of coaching in his entire career. Honestly guys, this team was terrible on paper. However, to this day, it was also one of the most exciting Jazz teams I have ever watched play. When I look at this Bobcats team, it really reminds me of the 2004 Jazz team, and players like Walker, and especially Henderson, are perfect "Sloan" players. I honesty think that Sloan could take a team with Robinson, Walker, and Henderson, and push them to successes that they otherwise would not see with any other coach in the NBA
Still, the elephant in the room is Sloan's age. At 70 years of age, he still has 3 good seasons left (IMO). A wise manoeuvre would be to hire SLoan as the HC, and using Snyder as an assistant that takes over once Sloan retires. If this int feasible, I would still suggest Sloan as the ideal hire. Coaches like Snyder come and go, but a coach like Sloan is really once-in-a-generation type deal. Even if its only for three seasons, the knowledge that Jerry could install into this organization from top to bottom could potentially be irreplaceable.
I hope the Bobcats hire him. The fact that he's pursuing a coaching position in one of the worst teams of all-time is what will always separate Sloan from coaches like Poppovich, Jackson, and Riley, even if they're sometimes considered (by some) as smarter.
