January 13, 2003

FOR NBA COACHES--TIMING CAN MAKE OR BREAK THEM 

  Lenny Wilkens is sitting on a seat that is so scorching hot it probably just came out of the oven.  In a little less than two and a half years Wilkens has gone from club saviour to club pariah and is enduring the same kind of criticism that was levelled at him during his last year in Atlanta.  Lenny is in his 30^th season as an NBA coach and as such is long past the day when he could alter his style and his methods.  He is the same coach today that he was when the Raptors hired him.  To understand the change in perception from one year to the next speaks less about the man and more about the circumstances he faces.  It’s all about timing.  He was the perfect coach for a Raptors team three years ago that desperately needed his credibility and stability.  Now his calm demeanour comes under scrutiny and criticism for a team in desperate need of discipline and a more forceful attitude.  Such is the tremulous life of an NBA coach.

       Two coaches have already been let go this year—Sidney Lowe in Memphis and Lon Kruger (Lenny’s replacement) in Atlanta.  The reason for both being let go—the usual one, their respective teams were not performing up to expectations.   Lowe apparently resigned but his head had been on the chopping block for some time.  Resigning meant that he left with the dignity of having made the decision himself, but it also meant that he forfeited the remainder of his contract.  Kruger was fired because Hawks management had made several changes over the past year and a half, had brought in several high profile players, and had guaranteed its (small) fan base that it would make the playoffs this year or season ticket holders would receive a partial refund. 

       Along with Lenny the other coach that is sitting precariously these days is Alvin Gentry with the L.A. Clippers.  Donald Sterling, long thought to be one of the worst owners in professional sports, has owned the club for the better part of twenty years and for much of that time the Clippers have been NBA fodder.  Recently, Clippers GM Elgin Baylor retooled the franchise and brought in a wealth of talented young players.  Last year progress was shown as the Clippers won 39 games and looked to be ready to take the next step into being a playoff contender.  But this year the team has fallen off that pace, and has actually fallen into the cellar of the Pacific Division.  Sterling is threatening to unload all his high priced talent in the off-season and return to a time when the Clips had some young talent, a low payroll, and very little else.   Troubled times in Clipland, and it likely will cost Gentry his job.

       In Cleveland there is some confusion as to the stability of John Lucas.  Ownership seems to be saying all the right things--that this season is one of growth and that Lucas will not be judged on his won-lost record.  There is no confusion as to the Cavs predilection toward winning the lottery and grabbing local high school phenom LeBron James, and to that end wins are certainly not a high priority.  But it has been six years since Cleveland had a winning season, and in that time the Cavs have been swimming down among the depths of the NBA bottom-feeders—the city wants the roster rebuilding to end.   This is the final season of the rebuilding—ownership will want results next year and it is questionable whether they believe Lucas can be a winning coach.  Lucas had a couple of playoff years as coach of the San Antonio Spurs but was fired when the Spurs—winners of 55 regular season games—were ousted in the first round.  A couple of horrible seasons in Philadelphia followed.  This is Lucas’ second year as coach of the dreadful Cavs.  The team may want a coach with a proven track record to take the club to the next level.

       Coaches, it is said, have a short life span with a team.  Inevitably their methods and their words start to fall on deaf ears.  Today’s players are blessed with multi-million dollar salaries and guaranteed contracts, and the fortunes of a team usually rest on the productivity of its star players.  If those star players grow tired of the coach then the coach is let go--this gives players a sense of empowerment and produces a sense of insecurity among coaches.  Is it any wonder that coaches coddle their star players?   Lenny is often criticized for his babying of Vince Carter (Carter needs some swift kicks in the butt to motivate him, and Lenny is unwilling to do so).  But Lenny’s strength is not motivation--it is consistency.  He is a guide, a fatherly, or grandfatherly figure, not a disciplinarian.  He relies on adult ballplayers being adults and being able to motivate themselves.  It was the perfect philosophy for a team that had endured the scattered ramblings, power struggles, and lawsuits of a burnt-out Butch Carter, and he gave the team a quiet sense of confidence as it churned into the playoffs.  Lenny was the only coach available at the time that had a proven track record of success, and he was the only coach the team pursued. 

       In time most experienced coaches become classified according to their strengths.  Whether it is as a players coach, or a coach that excels at developing young players, or a coach that can bring out the best in a veteran squad, these coaches move around the league being hired depending on the situation.  NBA coaches must possess a defensive philosophy, and must be able to integrate plays into an offensive structure.  Successful coaches determine the strengths and weaknesses of his players, and are able to utilize those strengths for the betterment of the team.  The coach must also be able to mend weaknesses, or at least minimize them, and allow the player to produce at his highest level.  Then the coach must integrate each of these players into a system that not only does not restrict these players’ abilities but also gives them the opportunity to soar.  If the players are performing well then they are usually happy; and if those players are performing well and are happy then the higher-ups in the organization, as well as the media and the fans, aren’t breathing down the coach’s neck.  Coaches find the unemployment line when players stop producing at their expected level. 

       Despite the injuries this Raptor team is performing well below its expectations.  There is enough talent on the floor to have a record that is much better, and that is the main reason why Lenny’s job is on the line.  All the other reasons, from his style to his temperament, are just the specifics behind the general outcome.  When the team was one basket away from the eastern conference finals his style and temperament were not liabilities, they were considered assets.  Oh, how the times have changed.

       NEXT WEEK - A more specific look at coaching styles.