The Jeff Hornacek Thread

[MHSL82]

Sad day for Nuraman, but I could see him accepting it or even agreeing with it: Jason Kidd of New York Knicks retiring after 19 NBA seasons

Kidd's defense stopped being good in New Jersey. I don't know what day that was.

Stockton was still a good defender on his last day.

With your thoughts on Hornacek and your admiration of Kidd, I was wondering, what would you think if this happened? Jason Kidd pursuing Brooklyn Nets' head coaching job

 

[MHSL82]

Sad day for Nuraman, but I could see him accepting it or even agreeing with it: Jason Kidd of New York Knicks retiring after 19 NBA seasons

Kidd's defense stopped being good in New Jersey. I don't know what day that was.

Stockton was still a good defender on his last day.

With your thoughts on Hornacek and your admiration of Kidd, I was wondering, what would you think if this happened? Jason Kidd pursuing Brooklyn Nets' head coaching job

 

[nuraman00]

Former PGs have an easier transition to a first-time head coach, because they were responsible for the initial offense, and first line of defense. They had more responsibility, and had to lead at both ends, so I think they understand the game enough to be a first-time head coach.

Mark Jackson said the same thing for years, prior to getting hired. That he didn't need to be an assistant coach first, and that was why he had turned down assistant coaching jobs for years.


Something Chuck Person said though, reminds me of Hornacek. Person was hired several years ago as a defensive assistant coach. I had wondered why he was a defensive coach, as opposed to a shooting coach. His response was that he had to know something about defenses, if he could score on them.

I wonder if Hornacek, being a similarly good scorer, has the same kind of understanding of schemes.

(Note: Chuck Person has been fired from two different organizations as a defensive coach. Maybe he just wasn't good regardless of his quote.)

With your thoughts on Hornacek

My thoughts were about Phoenix's management's decision to hire Horacek, as well as considering the other candidates they interviewed. Right now, Phoenix and Charlotte are the front offices I trust the least to make good decisions.

Had an organization that Hornacek hadn't played for, such as Detroit or Toronto or Milwaukee or Clippers or Memphis or Philly hired him, I would have trusted their management more. Yes, even for a contending team like Memphis or Clippers. I know those latter two organizations are trying to win now, and if they hired Hornacek (with at least a 3 year deal), then it speaks more to their belief in him, given what's at stake for them. And overall I trust those other front offices a little more than the aforementioned Phoenix and Charlotte.

With Phoenix, I wonder if they made the hire more for PR / emotional ties. And also, they didn't interview one experienced NBA coach, which worries me. Did others not want to work for them? Did Phoenix not want to be as ambitious for a rebuilding team? Are they just trying to be profitable, until they have a better team?

I think first-time head coaches can be decent. Spoelstra, for example, has changed the way his team plays a little bit each of the past 4 years. But his first job has been good, and that includes bouncing back from Riley's 15 win season to make the playoffs in he debut as a coach the next year.

I also liked Maurice Cheeks in Portland. (Coincidentally another former PG). Portland might not have been contending, but they were a playoffs team, and Cheeks kept that going for a few years. And I also liked how Cheeks was hired by an organization he didn't play for. Just like Lionel Hollins was hired by Memphis, an organization he never played for.

Larry Brown was also a PG during his playing days.

Hmm, I thought of another bad comparison for the Suns hiring Hornacek: The Kings hiring former Kings player Reggie Theus. Theus hasn't been a NBA head coach since the Kings fired him. (He didn't have much to work with, especially after the Kings traded away Artest, but the point is that no other organization saw much in him either afterward either. Shades of Corbin?) Since then, he was an assistant in Minnesota, then a head coach for the D-League Defenders this past year. Then a few months ago, he took a job for CSU Northridge. During the Kings introductory press conference for Theus, they of course kept mentioning how Theus scored the first points for Sacramento in 1985. I wonder if Horancek's press conference was similar, in that a large portion was focused on his past, rather than the present.

I watch a lot of these types of long press conferences. For example, when Mobley, Kelvin Cato, and Steve Francis were traded to Orlando, I watched the 20 minute video of their press conference. I like things like that. Not so much that I learn something, but I just like these funny little moments that happen. (Example: During Theus head coaching press conference, either a reporter or another Kings staff member said that even though Theus had scored Sacramento's first points, it had taken him 7 shots to do so, haha. I don't know if that's true, but it's funny and memorable.)

I'm going to look for Hornacek's press conference. Again, I don't expect much from these things, but I do find watching them entertaining.

Ok, I can't watch these right now, but they look like they're what I'm looking for. I'll watch and post my "game thread" style reactions at some point.

 

[nuraman00]

If Prokhorov hires Kidd, that's a - for me. Prokhorov sucks.

I wonder if Kings hiring Theus, Phoenix hiring Hornacek, and Prokhorov hiring Kidd were were all somewhat PR / selling hope to fans type moves. All were head coaching hires by organizations they used to play for. (Kidd hiring TBD)

And both Prokhorov, and the former Kings owners, were bad. I'm not as down on the Suns Robert Sarver as many others are. I think it's more about their GM, or unstable GM position the last few years. Of course, someone can say that the GM comes from the owner.

Especially since these guys weren't experienced assistants or ones that had a good reputation.

 

[nuraman00]

When a team wins the conference finals, or NBA Finals, sometimes there's a special all-time great, that presents the conference finals trophy or NBA Finals trophy to the winning team.

For example, Alonzo Mourning (Heat) and George "Iceman" Gervin (Spurs) did it for this year's Finalists during the conference finals.

Sometimes it can just be a network studio host, such as Stuart Scott (ESPN) or Ernie Johnson (TNT).

When the Jazz win the conference finals, who will be the special trophy presenter?

Who would you like to see do it?

I think Dantley and Malone are the most obvious picks. If Hornacek isn't working for another team, I could see it being him too. Stockton doesn't seem to like this sort of attention-getting moment, so I think he is less likely.

Sloan is another good pick. Actually, I think Sloan is the leading candidate now.

Sometimes it can be someone outside the organization that presents it (such as Bill Russell), but I think there's too much history with the Jazz for someone not tied to the Jazz to do it.

I don't think it will be Maravich, since he was more associated with the New Orleans Jazz.

 

[MHSL82]

When a team wins the conference finals, or NBA Finals, sometimes there's a special all-time great, that presents the conference finals trophy or NBA Finals trophy to the winning team.

For example, Alonzo Mourning (Heat) and George "Iceman" Gervin (Spurs) did it for this year's Finalists during the conference finals.

Sometimes it can just be a network studio host, such as Stuart Scott (ESPN) or Ernie Johnson (TNT).

When the Jazz win the conference finals, who will be the special trophy presenter?

Who would you like to see do it?

I think Dantley and Malone are the most obvious picks. If Hornacek isn't working for another team, I could see it being him too. Stockton doesn't seem to like this sort of attention-getting moment, so I think he is less likely.

Sloan is another good pick. Actually, I think Sloan is the leading candidate now.

Sometimes it can be someone outside the organization that presents it (such as Bill Russell), but I think there's too much history with the Jazz for someone not tied to the Jazz to do it.

I don't think it will be Maravich, since he was more associated with the New Orleans Jazz.

I'd hope it wouldn't be Maravich. He died during a pickup game decades ago. But robots like you don't see the distinction or significance of dead/alive, so I don't blame you. I'd imagine, but don't know because I am not a robot or computer like you, that it would take some time to get used to humans and fully assimilate. These must-be-breathing, heart-must-be-beating traditions are low on the priorities of customs one such as yourself would learn. I know because I read this in a book. (I actually did have a neurological class called, "Brains, Minds, and Machines" but it was light on the machines part and brains/minds are basically the same if not the same thing and the professor said the mind was a machine; he must have been talking about you.)

 

[MHSL82]

Matt, what kind of timeline do you put on us winning the trades overall? Next year with good draft use? Two years, when all the young guys have been given major minutes? What do you think of Corbin as coach? Would you rather have Hornacek? (Out of those two. Nuraman would say, "neither" despite him knowing full well that that wasn't an option.) I don't have much confidence in Corbin, but he has one and a half year's experience and Hornacek is a newbie with little assistant coaching.

What are your thoughts on Malone and Sloan? I think I know a bit from your first post on Stockton.

 

[nuraman00]

Starting now.

 

[nuraman00]

The GM jokes about how Jeff's brother John has twin sons, and jokes about how "as if we don't have already enough twins".

I think that's a reference to both how Steve Nash had twins, and how Markieff and Marcus Morris are twins.

 

[nuraman00]

"Jeff's other son Ryan is some kind of analyst in Chicago, nobody understands what he does, and he's apparently so busy making money that he couldn't make his father's press conference."

 

[nuraman00]

"Jeff's work with the Jazz has gotten rave reviews."

 

[nuraman00]

He worked with Kirilenko a lot on shooting, by Kirilenko's request.

 

[MHSL82]

I know it is a different era, but he only averaged 1.9 three point attempts per game for his career? I understand that part of efficiency in shooting percentage is picking your shots and choosing when to take them, but I wish he had taken more.

Money Shots: The 20 Greatest Shooters in NBA History

 

[MHSL82]

This thread was buried 17 pages into this board. We didn’t bump this his whole New York coaching stint?

 

[nuraman00]

This thread was buried 17 pages into this board. We didn’t bump this his whole New York coaching stint?

I guess you had created another thread, to specifically announce he had been the Knickerbockers coach.

 

[nuraman00]

I know it is a different era, but he only averaged 1.9 three point attempts per game for his career? I understand that part of efficiency in shooting percentage is picking your shots and choosing when to take them, but I wish he had taken more.

Money Shots: The 20 Greatest Shooters in NBA History

Some day, I'll make my long post, that I've been teasing for probably over a year now.

 

[MHSL82]

 

[MHSL82]

 

[nuraman00]

How did it take over a month for someone to post that? It aired in mid May. I watched it.

 

[MHSL82]

How did it take over a month for someone to post that? It aired in mid May. I watched it.

Hornacek is not exactly Air Jordan and Jeopardy is not the Kardashians.