"This ought to get the cobwebs out of the early morning heads.
Marc Iavaroni’s coming.
Seriously, he is. To Toronto. Like, tomorrow. And he was with the Raptors last week in Philly but went unnoticed.
The deal is he’s on some “coach and idea sharing” mission or some such; unemployed coaches come and hang around teams for a few days, offer their insight.
This, of course, is the first time the Raptors have ever done anything like this and of all the unemployed coaches to pick in all the world, they had to get Iavaroni, former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, former long-time assistant in Phoenix – where that Colangelo guy held sway – and the apple of the eye of a lot of Raptors fans.
Now, before any of you get too worked up, he’s here to be an observer, won’t be on the bench or anything this year and is not – I repeat IS NOT – going to be the next head coach of the Raptors.
But when he and Jay Triano break bread some day, and they surely will, I can imagine it’s going to be like some quasi job interview.
Can you envision Jay with Iavaroni as his lead assistant? I can. And I’m pretty sure there are people in the organization who can. "
Much ado about nothing?
Last edited by RaininThrees : 03-16-2009 at 09:12 AM.
"This ought to get the cobwebs out of the early morning heads.
Marc Iavaroni’s coming.
Seriously, he is. To Toronto. Like, tomorrow. And he was with the Raptors last week in Philly but went unnoticed.
The deal is he’s on some “coach and idea sharing” mission or some such; unemployed coaches come and hang around teams for a few days, offer their insight.
This, of course, is the first time the Raptors have ever done anything like this and of all the unemployed coaches to pick in all the world, they had to get Iavaroni, former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, former long-time assistant in Phoenix – where that Colangelo guy held sway – and the apple of the eye of a lot of Raptors fans.
Now, before any of you get too worked up, he’s here to be an observer, won’t be on the bench or anything this year and is not – I repeat IS NOT – going to be the next head coach of the Raptors.
But when he and Jay Triano break bread some day, and they surely will, I can imagine it’s going to be like some quasi job interview.
Can you envision Jay with Iavaroni as his lead assistant? I can. And I’m pretty sure there are people in the organization who can. "
Much ado about nothing?
Perhaps he does come on as an assistant and gets promoted after a couple of years. Need to upgrade the roster though before any new major coaching change is made IMO for there to be any point in the change. It's foolish to think that one coaching change with no real roster improvements will do much.
Ivaroni would be a disaster. Fingers crossed that we can actually land a respectible coach. Eddy Jordan anyone?
I like the idea of the Raps having the Princeton offense although there would have to be some changes as far as the perimeter. Need some more ball handlers and shot creators to fully take advantage of the system. However, it does promote the off the ball movement that the Raptor's severely lack.
Especially with Calderon at the point, I think that Jordan's offense would work pretty well . In the event that Bosh gets traded, Bargnani would fit well in the system IMO.
Keeping Triano is unlikely enough to have happen, but add to the fact Iavoroni as his assistant? Not likely.
I dunno, I think head coach Triano is likelier than you might think... so long as the Raps are paying Mitchell's salary next year, I can't see them bringing in a "big name". Plus, how much better would any other coach have been able to do with this group?
Anyways, in my mind, "coaching" in the NBA has a lot more to do with the players on your team than anything else. See: Doc Rivers... Record in Boston Pre-Big 3: 102-144. Post Big 3: 116-33.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this incredibly questionable. Fired NBA coach whom Colangelo was very interested in bringing over before Mitchell's COY award handcuffed him, and he joins the team mid-season amidst all the questions as to who the coach of this team is next year?
How must Triano feel about this? And the players aren't dumb, they can see the writing on the wall. How confused and uncomfortable must they be with it?
I've been hesitant to jump on the hate-Colangelo train, but this is just sh*tty GMing. I don't see why in such a lost season with the kind of negative cloud that's already hanging over the team, you'd bring a former head coaching candidate into the fold to complicate things even more.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this incredibly questionable. Fired NBA coach whom Colangelo was very interested in bringing over before Mitchell's COY award handcuffed him, and he joins the team mid-season amidst all the questions as to who the coach of this team is next year?
How must Triano feel about this? And the players aren't dumb, they can see the writing on the wall. How confused and uncomfortable must they be with it?
I've been hesitant to jump on the hate-Colangelo train, but this is just sh*tty GMing. I don't see why in such a lost season with the kind of negative cloud that's already hanging over the team, you'd bring a former head coaching candidate into the fold to complicate things even more.
He's just an advisor. He won't be with the team. Maybe next season but I'm not sure. I really hope we can pick up Eddie Jordan as our next head coach. He brings the defensive philosophy we lack, player management and mental toughness (AEB Wash in those injury plagued seasons staying afloat).
Iavaroni was a bust in his first head coaching position at this level. He was not ready and will not be for a few more years. I don't see any issues with him being around. Colangelo does like him and thinks he needs more seasoning. He may earn himself another opportunity at some point, but nothing is imminent.
I dunno, I think head coach Triano is likelier than you might think... so long as the Raps are paying Mitchell's salary next year, I can't see them bringing in a "big name". Plus, how much better would any other coach have been able to do with this group?
Anyways, in my mind, "coaching" in the NBA has a lot more to do with the players on your team than anything else. See: Doc Rivers... Record in Boston Pre-Big 3: 102-144. Post Big 3: 116-33.
I don't agree. A great coach can make those pre big 3 teams much better then Rivers did, and a mediocre coach (Mike Brown, Rivers) can 'coach' great players to great records.
Iavaroni as an Assistant on the Raps?
