Congratulations are in order for Sam Mitchell. I definitely called this one wrong (I had Jerry Sloan). All the little things aside, to take 9 new players, and get them on the same page to win 47 games (increase of 20 from the previous year), win the Atlantic, and secure first round home court, is an incredible feet. The case Colangelo had to make for not renewing Mitchell’s contract just got a little harder today. I have been really thinking about this Mitchell situation hard over the last few months, and have come up with a list of things I would like to see addressed in the next coaching regime:
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A defined/robust offensive system. High pick & roll, and sharing the ball are not an offensive system, unless you have the DNA of the Suns.
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A commitment to the defensive end. Dare I say like when Kevin O’Neil was here. Granted defense was all he brought to the table, but still, it was good to see defense played.
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Clearly defined expectations/roles for the players. Getting in and out of the dog house quickly do nothing but kill motivation.
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Someone with enough credentials that bloggers, fans, media and the organization can not question his decisions (i.e. Don Nelson starting Al Harrington at centre, and people praising the move. If Mitchell started Humphries over a healthy Nesterovic, all hell would break lose)
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A passionate person with a dope wardrobe. I have to give Mitchell credit: he always looked good, and his emotions/passion were very refreshing (that hug he gave MoPete after the shot of destiny gave me a lump in the throat).
As long as these items are addressed, and the coach is not another rookie head coach (Iavaroni anyone?), I don’t care who/what/where this guy comes from. He could even be the head coach from Benneton Treviso, who coincidently is rumored to be in the running.
Technorati Tags: Sam Mitchell, Bryan Colangelo, Jerry Sloan, Kevin O’Neil, Don Nelson, Al Harrington, Kris Humphries, Rasho Nesterovic, Morris Peterson, Iavaroni, Benneton Treviso
