5 Things Philadelphia 76ers Management Must Do If This Season Looks Lost
It would be tough to find a fan that wants to admit it, but could the Philadelphia 76ers season be close to lost?
As of right now, it’s still alive and kicking, but a 17-23 start has them starting near the bottom and looking to fight their way up.
Having a bad year and struggling to make the playoffs doesn’t mean that management can just give up and quit their jobs, though. Their main focus needs to be on what steps they need to take to turn the Sixers into a better team for the future.
Being an owner or general manager certainly can’t be easy. You’re pretty much in charge of decisions that will affect a team that thousands, maybe even millions, of people love and care about. On top of that, those fans dictate how much money goes into management’s pockets.
Not an easy job at all.
That doesn’t mean that we as fans should give them any breaks, however. The best way to show that we care is by being diligent in making sure that we give them our best ideas.
How was that for a pep talk?
Okay, so maybe my inspirational speeches are not that great. Before I dig myself a bigger hole, let’s get back to talking about Philadelphia and what their next moves should be.
Here are five things that Philly’s management must do if this season looks lost.
All statistics in this article are accurate as of games played through Jan 18.
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DeMarcus Cousins’ agent meets with Kings management
Cousins agent doesn’t make a request for him to be traded by the Kings
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Magic rips Lakers management
On Wednesday, Magic Johnson took to twitter to voice his opinion over the Los Angeles Lakers coaching drama. His opinion, it turns out, is the same as just about everybody else — he isn’t pleased with the Lakers recent decisions. The Lakers publicly humiliated Phil Jackson, by offering him the job and then hiring Mike D’Antoni. [...]
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Why Lakers Need Phil Jackson’s Leadership and System, Not His Game Management
The Los Angeles Lakers and Phil Jackson are on the cusp of reaching an agreement, but there are some stipulations regarding Jackson limiting the number of road games he would travel to. The Lakers would be well-advised to take that deal, as they need Jackson’s big-picture management more than his in-game management.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports:
When Phil Jackson met with Los Angeles Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak on Saturday, he asked for travel restrictions, a salary in line with what he previously earned with the Lakers and significantly more say over basketball decisions, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The travel restrictions would limit the number of road games Jackson would have to attend, a source told ESPN.
Two things to focus on here are “significantly more say in basketball decisions” and “travel restrictions.”
The first is far more meaningful than the second. The Lakers are a veteran team, particularly among the starters. The young fella among the starting five, Dwight Howard, is “only” in his eighth year in the NBA. Missing Jackson’s in-game management for a few games on the road is not a huge deal, especially if the first criterion is met.
The real issue here is whether Jackson will be allowed to run the team the way he wants to run it and add the personnel he wants to when he’s absent.
The Lakers don’t need a full-fledged head coach to manage games. Bernie Bickerstaff did a fine job in the first game since Mike Brown was fired, and will continue to do so.
What the Lakers really need is a cogent, less discombobulated offense, a figure as head coach whom the players have genuine respect for and someone who has shown that he understands how to adjust his system to the players he has.
Jackson meets all of those criteria more than any person in the league. Nothing commands respect like 11 championship rings.
Jackson has also shown flexibility in adapting his system to his roster. Technically, he won with two teams, but in many ways he won with four.
When Jackson won his first three rings with the Bulls, he had Horace Grant, a bona fide post scorer to complement Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. During his second “threepeat” in Chicago, Grant was replaced with Dennis Rodman, a great defensive player and rebounder who offered almost nothing in scoring.
In Los Angeles, Jackson’s first three rings centered around the most dominant big man in the game in Shaquille O’Neal. During his second two, he had another dominant big man in Pau Gasol, but one who scored in very different ways.
What’s interesting about Jackson is that, while it’s true he’s been blessed to have so many great players to coach, he’s been able to adjust the system to fit the players rather than try and shoehorn players into his system.
The Lakers have the players. That’s not an issue.
What the Lakers need now is a system that utilizes their players the best, not one that tries to reinvent their Hall of Fame careers. Jackson is the perfect man for the job and that is something that doesn’t require extensive travel, but it does require that he has the control of the team he wants.
So who would coach the Lakers while they’re on the road? One possibility would be Bickerstaff. Another would Scottie Pippen (cue record scratch). That’s right, Scottie Pippen. According to Mitch Lawrence of the Los Angeles Daily News ”Jackson is looking at adding Scottie Pippen, his former Chicago Bulls star, to his staff.”
Combine that nugget with this blurb from Broussard‘s piece:
Should Jackson return to the Lakers, league sources feel he would be interested in bringing along an assistant coach or associate head coach whom he could groom to be his successor. Jackson feels like he owes much of his success to his longtime consultant Tex Winter, the architect of the Triangle offense, and he would like to pay it forward to another young coach.
Add that with this recent ESPN report that Pippen wants to be a head coach and you have enough dots to draw a straight line.
It’s not all that silly if you think about it. Pippen was always a player who showed a high basketball IQ, he knows the triangle and has the relationship with Jackson.
Most importantly, he doesn’t have any coaching experience, which, if Jackson is looking to mentor someone, is a plus. He doesn’t have to worry about conflicting ideologies. Pippen is a clean slate.
If Jackson can run the practices, impose his system and have his protege to coach the team in the few road games where he doesn’t visit, it could be the best of both worlds for the Lakers, as they’d have the coach for now and the coach of the future to run Jackson’s system once Jackson inevitably grows bored again.
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How Much Time Should Brooklyn Nets Management Give Avery Johnson?
The Brooklyn Nets look like they’ll be a team on the rise this upcoming season, but head coach Avery Johnson will be on the hot seat right from the beginning. If his team doesn’t begin the season stringing together a few wins, how long will management give him before he gets the boot?
He may have already put himself in a pretty bad position. Earlier this month, Johnson was quoted as saying that the Nets are “not a championship team.”
Here’s the full quote from Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News:
Deron (Williams) was a big key to the whole puzzle. To be able to acquire some other talent through free agency or trades or re-signing some of our own guys, it’s pretty exciting for us. We’re not there yet. We’re not a championship team. We got a lot of work to do. But at the same time, we have a much better talent pool than we’ve had the last two years.
Who knows, maybe Johnson was just trying to temper expectations. Still, Johnson essentially disrespected the hard work that general manager Billy King put into the team this offseason.
He worked hard to re-sign guys like Williams, Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace, while also acquiring Joe Johnson, signing Brook Lopez to an extension and beefing up the bench depth.
This team was built to win a championship within the next three seasons, as per owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s request, and going against that goal was probably not a smart move.
This comment won’t be what potentially gets Johnson fired, however.
In the past two seasons with the Nets, Johnson has been at the helm of two underperforming teams. In 2010-2011, Johnson’s Nets went an underwhelming 24-58. This past season, the Nets went 22-44.
While there was a clear improvement between the two seasons (they almost matched their 2010-2011 win total in 16 games less), Brooklyn was still 22 games under .500.
This season, expectations are high—and rightfully so.
Nets fans and management haven’t had this much to be excited for since the Jason Kidd-led Nets made it to the NBA Finals. Ever since then, the Nets have been a franchise mired in irrelevance and underperformance.
Now, new faces and increased depth on the bench give the Nets a legitimate shot at contending in the Eastern Conference.
This season’s performance won’t be put solely on the shoulders of the players, though. Johnson’s previous weak records with the Nets leave much to be desired. Sure, the talent level was not on par with what he has at his disposal now. Even so, if he can’t rally his players together, there’s going to be a big issue down in Brooklyn.
Just look at the New York Knicks last season. The team had all the individual talent in the world, but Mike D’Antoni was unable to get it done as head coach. Enter Mike Woodson, and you’ve got yourself a team that began playing much closer to its full potential.
One thing going for Johnson is the level of success that he had with the Dallas Mavericks. In a little over three seasons in Dallas, Johnson led the Mavericks to a record of 194-170. In 2005-2006, the Mavericks were the Western Conference champions and finished 19 games over .500.
But, that was then. Johnson’s job could very well be on the hot seat this season. With the right pieces in place, there’s not much time for Johnson to turn this team into a contender.
With the Barclay’s Center ready to be played in, and the team ready to move into its new home in Brooklyn, management wants to put a winning product on the floor quickly.
Personally, I give him until the quarter-mark of the season. If the Nets are any less than three games over .500, expect a change to be made. At the very least, expect management to make it known that Johnson may not have a job much longer unless he shapes his team up.
No matter the outcome of the early portion of this season, the Nets will be one of the most talked about teams in the league. Much of the blame will be put on Johnson if the Nets don’t succeed right away, though, and he may not ever be given the chance to redeem himself in Brooklyn.
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New management has Indiana Pacers moving forward
As Donnie Walsh and Kevin Pritchard take over for Larry Bird and David Morway, the Indiana Pacers have only improved this offseason.
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Jeremy Lin: Claims That PG Deceived New York Knicks’ Management Are Absurd
Jeremy Lin did not deceive James Dolan and the New York Knicks.
By now, you of course know the story. Jeremy Lin, international sensation and restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets.
Not just any offer sheet, however, a back-loaded one with the third-year being worth an astounding $14.8 million. Dolan and the Knicks, who already have Tyson Chandler, A’mare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony‘s big contracts on the books, just couldn’t bite the bullet.
And Dolan isn’t happy about it (via New York Daily News):
The decision was both financial and emotional since Garden chairman James Dolan was upset over Lin restructuring his deal with Houston last week to include a third year salary of $14.9 million. Dolan, according to sources, felt he was deceived by the 23-year-old Lin.
Deceived? Huh?
I understand Lin’s originally reported contract was worth just $9.8 million in the third year and then it all of sudden shot up to $14.9 million, but that’s hardly an act of deceit.
It’s more an act of business.
After that first contract was reported, ESPN came out with this doosie of a quote:
“They will match any offer on Lin up to $1 billion,” a source told ESPN.com’s Stein last week.
So now, put yourself in Jeremy Lin’s shoes. You are set to a sign a lucrative contract that will give you $9.8 million in the third year, but the management that must match whatever contract you sign comes out and essentially makes it known they will pay whatever necessary to bring you back.
Considering the Rockets were clearly willing to pay more, why not go back to Houston and sign for money?
Lin’s from Harvard—he’s a smart dude. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how much he is worth not only on the court, but also off of it.
The more money he makes in the NBA, the less he’s going to have to use that Harvard degree to find work in the “real world.”
Besides, it’s not like James Dolan and the Knicks are usually shy about going into the luxury tax. I’m sure when Lin went for more money, he was thinking, “yes, now the Knicks will never sign me. I’m totally screwing them over!”
He’s a kid. He wanted more money. Is it a little greedy? Maybe. But did he have any ill intentions? Certainly not.
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Brooklyn Nets: Failed Hopes, Dwight Howard, and a Legacy of Poor Management
Two years ago the New Jersey Nets appeared to be one of the brightest franchises in all of professional sports.
They added a high-profile Russian owner in Mikhail Prokhorov and they had a celebrity minority stock holder in Jay-Z.
The franchise had just chosen big man Derrick Favors out of Georgia Tech who was getting comparisons to a young Dwight Howard and sold the hopes of landing Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or Carlos Boozer in the free agency frenzy of 2010.
Unfortunately the Nets were not able to swing a deal for any of the marquee free agents. Left with millions in their pocket, Nets management decided to throw $57 million in guaranteed money to Travis Outlaw, Johan Petro, and Anthony Morrow.
This would not have looked as bad if it were not for Outlaw’s behemoth five year, $35 million contract. Outlaw was so useless in New Jersey that the Nets decided to use their amnesty clause on him just one year later. Outlaw came off their books, but they still have to pay him $16 million over the next four years as part of the amnesty provision.
Even though they struck out in free agency during the 2010 offseason, they had another door emerge in February 2011. The Nets agreed to trade Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and cash considerations to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Deron Williams.
The move signaled a changing of the guard in New Jersey where the team finally had a franchise player to build around. The problem, however; was that the Nets acquired Williams without an extension agreement.
So the team had two years to build a contender and give Williams reason to sign an extension during the offseason of 2012 when he can and likely will opt out of his player option to test the free agent market.
The 2011 class of free agents was extremely weak, especially in comparison to the 2010 and potential 2012 class that was shaping up. So the Nets turned most of their attention to trying to arrange a deal with the Orlando Magic to land All-Star center Dwight Howard. Acquiring Howard would have assured the Nets of securing Deron Williams and made them a power in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets reportedly were dangling offers to the Magic that included Brook Lopez and two future first-round draft picks. But the Magic were intent on keeping Dwight Howard and continuing to try to please him and get him to sign an extension.
Ultimately, Dwight Howard decided to opt-in to the final year of his contract and the idea of a trade deadline deal for Howard was over. Instead, Nets general manager Billy King decided to acquire small forward Gerald Wallace from the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and most importantly, the Nets’ 2012 first round draft pick with top-3 protection.
Putting the protection on the pick served two purposes. First, at the time, it looked like a very real scenario that the Nets would land in the top three of the draft and the idea of trading a 2013 first round pick (which is when it would have been conveyed had the Nets landed in the top three) to acquire Gerald Wallace was too good to pass up. Secondly, the protection assured the nets that they would not end up trading Anthony Davis for Gerald Wallace which would have been seen as a colossal mistake.
Unfortunately for the Nets, they ended up landing the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and the pick then had to be turned over to the Portland Trailblazers.
The Nets are now in a curious situation. Dwight Howard has come out and said that he regrets opting into his contract and wants to be traded. Orlando has opened up that they will listen to offers, and Brooklyn appears to be a perfect destination for Howard.
Deron Williams stated the other day that it’s “Dwight Howard or bust” when talking to a representative of Yahoo! sports.
However, a deal is not up to Deron Williams or Dwight Howard. A trade is ultimately up to Orlando management. With Howard opting into his deal, he surrendered all his power and can not force a trade to a specific team. The best that he can do is tell whichever team that trades for him that he will not sign an extension and that he will test the free agency market in 2013. Simply put, all of the leverage belongs to the Magic and they are in the perfect position to set up a bidding war. Unfortunately for the Nets, they no longer hold the assets to swing a deal for Dwight Howard.
Ranking the Nets’ positive assets would look something like this in my opinion: Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, Anthony Morrow’s $4 million expiring contract, and Johan Petro’s $3.5 million expiring contract. In that order.
Gerald Wallace has a player option that he will decline and test the free agent market. Deron Williams will do the same. Kris Humphries is an unrestricted free agent. The Nets do not own their 2012 first round pick.
If Gerald Wallace and Deron Williams decline their player options and test free agency, I do not see a scenario where either player will be included in a deal for Dwight Howard. Theoretically they could be a part of a sign-and-trade; however, the player has to agree to the contract and the deal. There is no reason for either of those players to accept a contract to play for a rebuilding franchise like Orlando.
The only way that the New Jersey Nets can acquire Dwight Howard is through a trade, and the best offer they can put together would be a sign-and-trade deal around Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks, and taking back some bad contracts like Hedo Turkoglu.
Tom Haberstroh, an ESPN.com Insider, wrote an article today breaking down four possible trade scenarios for Dwight Howard. The Nets were not among the teams listed. As Haberstroh mentions in the article, “we might be headed for the most competitive bidding war in recent history.” So a deal around the Nets’ current assets is not a realistic scenario.
It is a very real possibility this offseason that Dwight Howard is traded to a team not named the Brooklyn Nets. It’s also a very real possibility that Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace both test the free agent market and walk out of town. Compounded by the fact that the Nets no longer have their 2009 first round pick (Terrence Williams), 2010 first round pick (Derrick Favors), 2011 first round pick (Enes Kanter) or their 2012 first round pick.
The Nets will be left with making the decision to match an offer sheet for Brook Lopez and continue to build for the future, which they should do.
Fortunately for the Nets, they do not have any bad contracts extending past the 2013 season. Perhaps their best course of action at this point is to let Deron and Wallace walk out of town and save their cap space for the 2013 free agent market. The only players currently under contract for the 2013-2014 season are Damion James, Marshon Brooks, and Jordan Williams with James making the most at $2.35 million and the Nets hold a team option for that year. If the Nets re-sign Lopez to an expected extension in the $10-13 million per year range, they would be left with nearly $40 million in cap space for the 2013 off-season as long as they commit to only one year contracts for next season.
There are far worse situations in the league than a team who can have Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks and $40 million in cap space 12 months from now. But considering this franchise has sold the hopes of adding a super star for the past two years, fans certainly should be concerned.
When will the rebuilding end and the legacy of Prokhorov begin? Or perhaps the current state of the franchise will be the legacy of Mikhail Prokhorov.
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Charles Barkley rips Magic management over Dwight Howard/Stan Van Gundy mess
So the story goes, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard had a private conversation with a person or multiple people within the Magic management about wanting head coach Stan Van Gundy to be fired. During today’s shoot around, Van Gundy addressed the issue saying that he was told by someone in management told that Howard indeed wanted him fired.
Then what happened next is what one of the most awkward exchanges you’ll see during an interview. Howard walked over to Van Gundy and put his arm around him. He played dumb asked if Dave “Ping” (Pingalore) was in attendance. Pingalore, according to the Orlando Sentinel, reported on Tuesday that Howard told Magic management that he wanted Van Gundy out before signing a contract extension.
It reminded me of an older brother (Howard) bullying his younger brother (Van Gundy) into taking the rap in front of their parents.
Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal weighed in on the situation. Smith and Sh…
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Roscoe Smith needs clock management lessons
Someone needs to teach Connecticut sophomore forward Roscoe Smith some clock management skills.
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