Philoscifi

Reading this article about the recent coach firing spree in the NBA got me asking, “When is it time for a coaching change?”

It all depends on the personality of the head honcho. Results matters are all that matter in the end, so coaches don’t get credit for doing the best they can with bad teams – even though they weren’t the ones who put them together! If the GM drafted or signed bad players, he should really take responsibility, not the coach. Ah, it’s too much to expect the GM to fire himself now, isn’t it?

If you are the GM, you have to make a decision – are you going to build around your players or your coach? If you choose the players, then you need to get a coach that complements them. There’s no sense in hiring a defense-first coach if your players are allergic to it. You are not going to change some of these players; deal with it. If you choose the coach, then get him players that fit his philosophy. Otherwise, you are just setting him up to fail. Really, if you have a good coach, you should probably back him. Consider the case of Jerry Sloan who has been with the Jazz for 20 years. Players are whimsical, and they have relatively short careers. A great, long serving coach provides a solid anchor to build around.

If a GM shows little patience with his coach, the players will just do whatever they want. It’s harder to trade bad players than to fire the coach, and the players know it. Power without responsibility is a recipe for disaster.

Speaking of disasters, the whole Stephon Marbury mess should be a textbook example of how not to handle a bad employee. He’s abused the Knicks for years, and now rather than just banishing him immediately, they let him linger and continue to poison the organization just because they don’t want to pay him all of his $21 million this season? Just cut your losses and move on.

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