Best NBA Coach?

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

Who is the best NBA Coach?  If you're starting a franchise, what ACTIVE coach gets the first call? 

[idigTexas 2284]

Would really love for it to be Jason Kidd. 

[SilasCoade 2622]

Spoelstra is a good choice. You have to think about ty Lue after the miracle he worked with Westbrook in the postseason. I still think Quinn Snyder is a good coach. Curious to see how he does in Atlanta long term.

[closetohumping 17433]

Spoel 

[Brothahorn 10087]

4 hours ago, SilasCoade said:

Spoelstra is a good choice. You have to think about ty Lue after the miracle he worked with Westbrook in the postseason. 

Agreed.

Add Mike Brown to the list. 

[aggie08 21481]

Steve Kerr probably isn't the best, but he belongs in the conversation. People act like he pulled a Phil Jackson and agreed to coach the Jordan Bulls or Kobe/Shaq Lakers. He joined a cute, fun team that played pretty standard PnR, isolation, inside-out offense around a frail, undersized point guard, and basically said, "Fuck all that. I'm going to change the way basketball is played." Then built a motion, off-ball offense around one player's otherworldly gravity, inserted Draymond into the starting lineup, and the rest is history.

The Warriors are always among the league's best in passes per game, points off inbounds plays, points out of timeouts, 3rd quarter (halftime adjustment) efficiency, and they're typically great situationally. Not sure how else to judge an NBA coach objectively.

Plus, he has skins on the wall as a player with MJ, Phil, and Pop and can directly relate to bench/role players. 

But the correct answer is probably Spoelstra.

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by aggie08

[ztejas 43411]

Spoelstra Lue and Kerr probably top 3. 

Thibs and Mike Brown are having nice seasons. 

Pop is still really good but difficult to evaluate as he hasn't had a roster worth a shit in awhile. 

[Pam Cummings 9639]

I think Spoelstra. He's just consistently damn good, doing more with less.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4738]

I realize he isn’t technically active at this moment, but Nick Nurse might be my first call. I would have him in the Spo/Kerr convo, and then I guess Lue.
 

Carlisle and Pop are longer in the tooth, but give them players and I bet they still belong.

I also can’t believe how good Mike Brown is now. I thought he was terrible in his previous stints, but he’s been super impressive in SAC. 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

If I'm actually starting a franchise from scratch? Like an expansion team? I'm not calling any of the top guys in the league. Your team is going to suck donkey dick for several years regardless of who the coach is. You need someone who is secure enough to take a bunch of L's while developing young talent and building a culture. Look back at every expansion team or rebuilding job. The coach almost never survives to see it on the other side. Pop is perfect for the Spurs right now because he has no pressure to win to save his job.

Who the best coach in the league right now is, is a different question.

The usual suspects... Spoelstra, Kerr, Carlisle. I like Ty Lue as a tactician in a 7 game series, but I do think he can grate on people. There are also some people who don't like the way he did David Blatt in Cleveland.

I know Bud is getting killed right now and he's probably going to get shitcanned, but his overall record is stellar. People forget that he won 60 games in Atlanta and took them to the ECF before they tore down the roster. In his first year in Milwaukee, they went from 44 wins to 60 (which might say more about Jason Kidd than Bud). He leaves a lot to be desired during the playoffs (to be kind), but there aren't many guys with a better regular season resume.

Everybody loves Nick Nurse, but the only person to get more mileage out of the Raptors championship than Nurse is Kawhi Leonard. Nurse is living off that shit. The Raptors are 116-120 in the last three seasons with two playoff game wins with a roster that should be better than that. I do think he is a pretty good coach, though.

I think Mike Malone in Denver is pretty good. Steve Clifford in Charlotte has always gotten the most out of his talent. I think Darvin Ham has done a really nice job year 1 in LA. Thibs is a weird dude but he's certainly got the Knicks playing at a high level. I like Willie Green in New Orleans. He gets that team to play hard, no matter what.

I think Doc Rivers is the most overrated coach in the league. Not a fan of Monty Williams, at all. Nor Chris Finch. Nor Jason Kidd. Mike Brown had a magical year in Sacramento, but I can't forget how bad he was in Cleveland. I'd like to see what Quin Snyder does in Atlanta with more time. He's got a really good offensive mind, but holy shit is he twitchy and weird. 

[aggie08 21481]

11 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I think Doc Rivers is the most overrated coach in the league.

[ztejas 43411]

1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Everybody loves Nick Nurse, but the only person to get more mileage out of the Raptors championship than Nurse is Kawhi Leonard. Nurse is living off that shit. The Raptors are 116-120 in the last three seasons with two playoff game wins with a roster that should be better than that. I do think he is a pretty good coach, though.

Fax. And I've always thought that Toronto team was quietly loaded despite most folks elevating Kawhi for winning a championship with them. Their bench 5 (more like 3 ig - their 8 deep) was amazing. 

Edited April 28, 2023 by ztejas

[UpperWestside 6159]

On 4/28/2023 at 10:04 AM, Reynolds Woodcock said:

I realize he isn’t technically active at this moment, but Nick Nurse might be my first call. I would have him in the Spo/Kerr convo, and then I guess Lue.
 

Carlisle and Pop are longer in the tooth, but give them players and I bet they still belong.

I also can’t believe how good Mike Brown is now. I thought he was terrible in his previous stints, but he’s been super impressive in SAC. 

He evolved as a coach. I honestly do not believe he would have if not for his time with the Dubs. He realized the game changed by getting to see it up close and personal every night. He also has a pretty talented group to work with. That always seems to help.