I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a female nba head coach in the next few years. Two reasons: 1. Talent. 2. Men in the nba may be 6’10” and carved out of magic, but quite a few of them grew up listening to a woman who was raising them. The owners and sports writers and fans might find it strange, but the players might not have the same reaction.
One taste of the future: Becky Hammon filled in for Gregg Popovich after he got ejected from a game in December 2020. How’d she do? Here’s a yahoo article that was basically quoting from espn, Twitter, etc. https://sports.yahoo.com/spurs-becky...041223855.html
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It was clear after the game that the Spurs’ players were fully supportive of Hammon taking the reins on Wednesday.
Here’s Spurs star DeMar DeRozan, via ESPN:
"Becky played, and any player who knows the history of women's basketball knows what she meant to the sport," Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said. "You don't think twice about it. She's one of us. When she speaks, we are all ears."
Point guard Dejounte Murray, also from ESPN:
"I love Becky to death. We are really, really close. She texts me on holidays to ask about my daughter, and I ask about her kids. I appreciate her. The future is bright for her. I hope she sticks to it and doesn't give up. One day it may happen, or it may not happen. Who knows? But she is definitely on the right road, and I think everyone here appreciates her. She is setting an example for every woman out there."
Veteran guard Patty Mills: “A proud moment not only for Becky, but the whole organization tonight. She has the ability to step up and coach in the NBA.”
There was also at least one player on the other side who liked what he saw on the Spurs sideline: LeBron James, on Becky Hammon's big moment: "It’s a beautiful thing just to hear her barking out calls, barking out sets. She’s very passionate about the game. So congrats to her and congrats to the league."
Other players around the NBA were also praising Hammon on social media, including Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, Pau Gasol and CJ McCollum.”
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My hunch is that the first female head coach will get the job because a superstar or 3 makes it a condition for a free agent signing. Mix that with an open GM, like Brad Stevens, and the change could be quick. And I’m not sure it’s risky to hire someone with minimal HC experience; the NBA routinely hires guys with lifetime records of 235-321; that seems risky as well.
Last edited by johnb; 06-04-2021 at 08:10 AM.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
https://www.aol.com/former-celtics-p...150213779.html
Interesting thoughts on the possibility of Kara Lawson becoming the Celtics' head coach.
I'm not sure how Mr. Pagliuca would feel about yanking the hot dog out of the Duke bun so quickly...
Hard at work making beautiful things.
I just don't think the GM/coach combo of Stevens/Lawson is anywhere as good or experienced as what they had previously, not that Ainge was setting the world on fire.
At the end of the day, it's very good for Lawson to even be mentioned in this way, even if only by a few people (I'm not counting the DBR front page).
I'm calling it now...Kara picks up 2 top-10 recruits in the class of '22 and has a top-3 recruiting class.
So now Kemba Walker reportedly wants out of Boston. Is this vindication for Kyrie? Considering how unceremoniously they dumped Isaiah Thomas before him, perhaps someone should tell Celtics fans the old line of "the one constant in all your failed point guard relationships is you"?
And yes, I'm aware of the Duke connections among Celtics leadership. I think it's fair to say that considering where they were five or so years ago - two budding superstars in Tatum and Brown, the best young coach in the league in Stevens, scores of future lottery picks from the Nets trade where they dumped Garnett and Pierce to that Russian billionaire - and then looking at where they are now, it's been a disaster.
Maybe the dysfunction extended beyond Kyrie with the Celtics...
https://www.si.com/nba/2021/06/19/ce...walker-tension
If Celtics players were OK with Kyrie stomping the logo that says a lot.
Or maybe it was a punk move but Tatum didn’t want to call out a member of The Brotherhood so others followed suit
It sounds like Stevens was promoted out of incompetence. Where in his resume is he qualified to be an NBA General Manager (or President of Basketball Operations)?
Players even began to voice their concerns over Stevens's "college offense" that often left the team's best players in isolation situations. They began to welcome the idea of a coaching change for Stevens's favoritism of players and inability to hold some accountable as well, per the report.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club