[ABM]

....now that his dad has stepped down as coach of the Mavs, I wonder if any of this feeling has shifted....

From: The Big O - Quick

Scratch Donn Nelson as a candidate to be the next coach of the Trail Blazers.

The president of basketball operations for the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday said it would take a "special" situation for him to leave Dallas, where he works with his father, Don, and for one of the most enthusiastic and committed owners in Mark Cuban.

"I love the city, I love the people, and for me to work with my dad, and a guy as great as Mark -- who has given us the wherewithal to put a competitive group out there -- it would just be really difficult for me to leave," Nelson said. "It would take an incredible offer for me to even consider it."......

 

[CanJohno]

....now that his dad has stepped down as coach of the Mavs, I wonder if any of this feeling has shifted....

From: The Big O - Quick

Though I'm kind of leaning towards a "proven" NBA head coach (like Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders, etc.), I also wouldn't necessarily mind seeing a guy like Donnie get the job. He did a helluva coaching job in the Olympics and, apparently, has somewhat of an inside-track to some of the Euro players. The style that the Lithuanian basketball played, is similar to the style that I think the Blazers ashould try to employ. Who'd be better at doing that than the guy who coached the Lithuanian team?

Of course I'm not convinced that Donnie is the "perfect" man for the job (though he could be EXACTLY what we need), but he IS a very, VERY good candidate, IMO. And, though we saw the comments in today's paper, we could be hearing his name some more, while/after the season comes to a close.

 

[crandc]

Olympics is totally different from an NBA season.
I want someone with a proven track record as a head coach. Not a screamer but someone who runs a tight ship. Not a pal.

 

[Nightfly]

Personally I do NOT want the Blazers to hire another rookie head coach.

Whoever the Blazers hire had better have some NBA head coaching experience. Anything less will be a disappointment to me.

 

[4-For-Snapper]

I'm glad that Donnie Nelson doesn't want the job. I agree with HTTY on this one. If the Blazers go after a still-wet-behind-the-ears head coach, then I will look at that as failure on the mgmt's part to do the best job they can in finding the one who best fits our needs.

 

[Zalgirinis]

Who'd be better at doing that than the guy who coached the Lithuanian team?

He wasnt head coach of Lithuanian NT. He was just an assistant, a 4th coach probably by hierachy, but very helpfull. Especially with defense vs NBA players. In Eurochamp-2003 we locked Nowitzki so good thanks to Nelson and crushed Germany by more than 20 points.

I think he helped Lithuania vs USA in those two close games at Sydney Olympics also. He probably didnt believe that we have chance for victory, so pointed out the weaknesses of last Dream Team. But after he saw how close we were he said he wont be at our bench in next games vs USA, because it was heartbreaking for him. So he skipped both games vs USA in Athens.

But I give props to guy which is helping us for 12 years already and in first years after independence it was very needed (smth like getting new balls to our country for free, etc.)