RoyToy

Nah, I like Nate. I think he's our coach for a long time. He has the tough attitude that rubs off on his players and it will ultimately pay off I think.

HOWIE

I was suprised that no one was running around about Larry Brown being the next Blazers coach when it was rumored a few weeks ago. Larry Brown was a Nation Championship with Kansas, Kevin Pritchard played at Kansas. I'm happy to see him as the Bobcat coach now, but where were all the threads on this a few weeks ago?

I don't see anything happening to Nate, I could see another asst coach on the roster next year.

__________________
"They (Blazers) looked like they were the team that was preparing for the race in the West," Lamar Odom said. "We looked like the team that was preparing for the long vacation." L.A. Times 04/09/2008

"Here's the No. 1 pick and every game at halftime the team's in the locker room and he's making ice bags with the ball boys. Not because somebody told him to do it. Just because he does it. How many times is the No. 1 pick doing that?''
Oden has impressed Blazers SI.COM 04/11/2008

ProZach

No, I'd definitely keep Nate for now. Our offense should improve with more experience and familiarity with each other. Fast break opportunities should increase as our defense increases (Oden). I won't say Nate's the best coach in the league, but I do think his style and defensive approach to coaching will ultimately lead this team to more playoff success than D'Antoni would.

I think we've improved every year since he's been here, and that's in the midst of having a massive roster overhaul, the youngest team in the league, and the loss of G.O. for a year. It would be totally unfair to get rid of him just as the team is starting to come together since he's had a lot to do with their growth. And the team really seems to respect him.

__________________
The refs sucked.

drexlersdad

we have inproved under nate, if we stop improving, thats when coaching changes happen. not before.

__________________

PorterIn2004

Ah, I see.



So, from my first post about this I was leaning toward sticking with McMillan. I'm amazed, though, how much agreement there seems to be. MM hasn't been the only one calling for McMillan's head. If D'Antoni isn't the guy the "Down With Nate" segment of this board wants, then who is? Avery Johnson? Phil Jackson? Jerry Sloan?

Honestly, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have than McMillan at this point.

Draco

He's going to Toronto to reunite with Colangelo and implement his offensive schemes with that roster.

Nate has a free pass for 2 seasons then he and alternative options will be evaluated.

Boob-No-More

He also doesn't have a proven track record developing young talent. Part of that is management's fault (for constantly selling off their 1st round picks), but he seems to prefer working with established veterans to the point he plays them 40+ minutes a game and burns them out.

In short, based on his resume' I don't think he's a good candidate for coaching such a young team. A few years down the road, if Nate hasn't taken our team to the next level, D'Antoni might be a better fit, but even then he hasn't had the kind of post season success I want to see. His "style" (high octane offense) is great for winning a lot of games in the regular season, but falls flat in the play-offs where defense and rebounding win more games than chucking up the ball with 15 seconds left on the shot clock.

The Blazers have improved by an average of 10 wins a year over the last two seasons. In spite of Nate's plodding offense and occasional bizarre substitution patterns, he has the team heading in the right direction. The kids work hard for him and are learning the fundamentals. As long as this trend continues, I see no need to create instability by changing coaches any time soon. A few years from now, if he can't get them deep in the play-offs, then I'd make a change, but not now. Give him a chance to continue to grow with this team.

BNM

Boob-No-More

Where they'll win 50+ games every year, but never make it past the 1st round of the play-offs.

BNM

#10

I'm surprised at how little credit D'Antoni is getting here, I guess I've held him in much higher esteem than most. For all the talk about playoff failures, the Suns have had some bad luck. There were the dodgy refs, Joe Johnson and then Amare's injuries. What would the Spurs have done if one of their big three was injured?

Worst of all is one of the crappiest owners in the league. Does D'Antoni really have a problem developing players or is he stuck with a cheap owner that sells away draft picks? Where would they be if they could've kept Johnson and Marion? Also, while admittedly at least in part a result of their pace, players tend to break out under him. Both Barbosa and Diaw significantly improved and Steve Nash became elite.

Maybe I just get the impression that he's one of the best coaches in the league because they kill the Blazers every time.

BBert

I don't know about D'Antoni, but I'd trade Nate for Steve Nash.

__________________
In KP I trust.

zagsfan20

Give Nate at least two season with Oden and if he doesn't make it to the Western conference finals at a minimum he should then look to be replaced. I think the young players have a lot of respect for him and it would just ruffle some feathers if he was replaced right now.

__________________
Linda Cohn is like a fine wine....

dwood615

i love nate

__________________
My Myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/dwood

My Groups page
http://www.myspace.com/eternalfamily503

My Soundclick page
http://www.soundclick.com/dwood