Now that's speculation

Alan Hahn grabs a handful of superior "goo" and throws it at the wall. There's a far more interesting Avery Johnson tidbit at the bottom.

about 1 year ago hscs Comment 14 comments 0 recs |

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The problem with his speculation

is that there’s virtually no risk to D’Antoni if he just plain quits.

He’s sure to get a job offer, and that offer will almost certainly eclipse the $8.5 mil remaining on his Suns deal. All he has to do is put himself on the market…that would obviate the whole Raptor’s/permission conundrum.

Dum spiro spero! (While there is life, there’s hope!)--Leon Trotsky

by alec on May 9, 2008 11:10 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

By not quitting

he also turns the screws on Sarver and Kerr. The Suns will need a new coach too. Not that they haven’t already selected Kevin O’Neill.

by NBA Observer on May 9, 2008 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I read that too.

Gross.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 9, 2008 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In other words,

it’s not that he’s a coward, like Barkely said; it’s actually more that he’s just a vindictive asshole.

Maybe I should think twice about this guy.

OK. I have. And I kind of like that about him. It might come in handy in a game some time…and it provides a good balance for John Dudley Do-right Paxson.

Dum spiro spero! (While there is life, there’s hope!)--Leon Trotsky

by alec on May 9, 2008 2:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the gross comment was regarding Kevin O'Neill: NBA head coach.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 9, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You read about Kevin O'Neill? Where?

I haven’t heard that anywhere.

by rb22 on May 9, 2008 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

don't remember, but the name was so off-radar

that I don’t think I imagined it (otherwise I’d say that was possible, heh)

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 9, 2008 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not too far off if you think about it

O’Neill was an assistant coach at Arizona when Kerr was a player there. He was Arizona head coach this year, but now out of a job with Lute taking over again. He has head coaching experience with Toronto and was an assistant for Carlisle and Jeff Van Gundy, so he’s been under some defensive minded guys.

This is definitely a guy that Kerr is very familiar with, and you know Kerr has balls and isn’t afraid to do something outside the box…

by rb22 on May 9, 2008 4:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

right, but

his tenure at Toronto was pretty awful.

I’d prefer that Pax keep his balls from dropping, if ‘outside the box’ means look at coaches who have failed.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 9, 2008 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hard to judge

He was only there 1 year (2003-04), and he had a bad team. That team would have sucked no matter who the coach was.

Here’s a list of the Raptors coach and records:

02-03 Lenny Wilkens 24-58
03-04 Kevin O’Neill 33-49
04-05 Sam Mitchell 33-39
05-06 Sam Mitchell 27-55

This was O’Neill’s only NBA head coaching gig, and it seems more like an “incomplete” than a “fail.”

The fact that he obviously knows Kerr very well with the Arizona ties, and the fact that he’s assisted under Carlisle and JVG, make this seem somewhat credible.

I am by no means saying O’Neill is a great coach or even necessarily a good one. I’m just saying that you can’t say he failed in Toronto, and there are reasons to think him being Kerr’s guy makes some sense.

by rb22 on May 9, 2008 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

right, but

if you inherit a team that bad with assumed low expectations, and get canned after one season? I remember reading a lot of personality clashing, and a lot of minutes for Michael Curry.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on May 9, 2008 6:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm don't mean to stick up for him as a coach

I just mean to make the point that he very well could be Kerr’s guy.

Plus, the GM’s were shuffling at that time for Toronto. Grunwald was fired and O’Neill was fired right afterwards. I read that he questioned the organization’s dedication to winning, and it didn’t go over so well.

I have also read that he swears alot and can be considered to be a little abrasive by some. Seems like the same things can be said for alot of other coaches who are said to be “defensive minded” ie. JVG, Carlisle, Skiles, Avery, Larry Brown, Popovich, etc.

by rb22 on May 9, 2008 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The conversation was good

but the Kevin O’Neill name is just an idea. I have no information whatsoever to suggest O’Neill has any inside track on the Suns job. The only thing I know is that Sean Elliot and Steve Kerr both advocated for hiring him at Arizona. Elliot and Kerr are shareholders in the Sarver group that bought the Suns.

The only thing Sarver likes more than the Suns is the Arizona Wildcats. If Lute likes the coaching candidate it’s almost certain that Sarver will like him too. However, O’Neill’s reassignment from Arizona apparently wasn’t as smooth as D’Antoni’s expected departure from the Suns.

by NBA Observer on May 9, 2008 6:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs