When Warriors coach Steve Kerr last week signed a $25M deal to "do a job he’s never held before, two growing trends within NBA coaching circles were reinforced: Teams are getting more creative with their candidates list and the trigger-happy owners are paying a premium for their instability," according to Jason Lloyd of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Since the end of the '12-13 season, 21 NBA head-coaching vacancies "have been created." Coaches and execs agree that the instability "is damaging the franchises and quickly thinning the candidate pool." A source said, "Imagine if two-thirds of all Fortune 500 companies replaced their CEOs in a year? When you fire 20 people in 13 months, your options are limited on who you can hire." Lloyd wrote the "shuffling and reshuffling force teams to think creatively when searching for new coaching candidates." Kerr "has never coached before, but had his pick between two NBA jobs in the Knicks and Warriors" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/18).
MEDDLESOME IS TROUBLESOME: In N.Y., Marc Berman reported Knicks President Phil Jackson's initial bid to Kerr "was a lowball" offer of three years and $13.2M before Kerr decided to join the Warriors (N.Y. POST, 5/17). Also in N.Y., Mitch Lawrence wrote Knicks Owner James Dolan is not "considered the worst NBA owner when it comes to exerting his power and going where he has no business." Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert "found out last week that candidates to succeed Mike Brown as coach are doing their due diligence, and he’s the main reason they are declining offers." A source said that the Cavaliers "were rejected" by UConn coach Kevin Ollie. Gilbert "is known as a non-stop screamer and the very definition of a hands-on owner" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/18).
THE ASCENT OF STAN: In Detroit, Vincent Goodwill noted Pistons Owner Tom Gores on Friday at coach and President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy's introductory press conference "made no bones about saying it’s his 'defining moment' as Pistons owner, which it certainly appears to be, to date." It is "easy to be bold when that’s the reputation Gores has earned, at least theoretically, since taking over." Gores is "confident, brash and unafraid to say this is his stamp as Pistons owner, but can he back off?" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/18). Also in Detroit, Vince Ellis wrote Gores "seemed comfortable" as he "made the media rounds." In three seasons as owner, Friday "was definitely the most at ease he has appeared in contact with the media." It "could be a direct result of the confidence he has in Van Gundy to restore the franchise to relevancy." But there also is an "acknowledgment that Gores now has a better idea of what it takes to succeed in the NBA." He said, "One of the things that has always been kind of something I didn’t get comfortable with was the lack of connectivity between the floor and the front office" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/18).
