How would John Stockton fare as coach?

[MHSL82]

Title is self explanatory. The Jazz fired their coach. No, they're not hiring Stockton.

To get some typical responses out of the way:

He would formally request to wear short suits.

No, Malone doesn't come, too.

He would dirtily set a pick on a referees he didn't like as he ran the floor.

He would finish second to Jordan when MJ decides to coach.

He'd be one of the best coaches to never win the title.

Ok, seriously speaking, I'm a Jazz fan and would love him as coach but have no illusion of grandeur. Won't happen and he may be no good. These things don't always translate. I don't think he wants to coach - but how do you think he would do?

Adding a poll. (Default team is the Jazz, but if you have a better option, tell us).

 

[shitsho]

I consider Stockton a great. Most of them have a poor track record in coaching. I dont think he would last a season unless his demeanor has changed.

 

[trojanfan12]

Hard to say. Ultimately, it would come down to how well he was able to relate to/tolerate today's players.


I remember seeing an interview with Magic after his very brief stint coaching the Lakers. He found it very frustrating that his players couldn't see what he did on the court. The biggest issue for him though, was he didn't understand why his players didn't have the same "there's winning or there's misery" attitude that he and the Showtime Lakers had.


One of Stockton's biggest attributes was that he was a very smart player, so in that regard, he should be fine. I just wonder how he would relate to players who have more distractions and probably don't have the same "win or die" attitude that he had.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

TF12 summed it up.

I am going to say it will not matter how smart he is, empathy (for lack of a better word) is going to be much more important.

I think Magic is pretty intelligent, he just needs to compete himself rather than trying to coach inferior talent to do what he did. His very successful business career I think shows he has that magic that will always make Magic successful.

Back to the important stuff, I want short suits.

I think the win or die attitude is overstated. They all want to win they just do not want to wage war with their peers for the sake of owners getting richer anymore. United front thing aka progress.

 

[beardown07]

Stockton was not exactly a people-person (obviously not a prerequisite for coaching) but I just think that he wouldn't do well as a coach. Tremendous knowledge of the game, but don't know how well that would translate, or if it could be properly communicated.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

I could see him coaching at the college level...not the NBA.

 

[MHSL82]

Wanted to say the first, see that it could be worse than the second option, so I selected the second.

 

[gooooooogators]

I see no reason why he wouldn't be a GREAT coach. Smart, tough, experienced, etc. Players would HAVE to respect him or be deemed a malcontent.

 

[MHSL82]

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