On this topic our opinions are similar in the end, but differ on how we come to those conclusions. I agree Mike Brown was not a good fit for the L.A. Lakers(as currently constructed), and Mitch Kupchak has not made the best moves so far this year(given the hand he was dealt by the league). But let's take a step back and look at the real culprit in this situation.
David Stern. Management issues in the NBA start and end with him. Retrospectively, we look back at Mitch Kupchak's move and say trading away Lamar Odom was a bad deal. But if the all-knowing, power hungry, idiot dwarf of a commissioner hadn't decided at the last minute to disallow the trade that was perfectly ok, Mitch Kupchak might be the NBA executive of the year instead of Larry Bird(who is the only person ever to be and NBA MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year- kudos to him). That trade would have brought Chris Paul and I believe Trevor Ariza to the Lakers in exchange for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. If you recall Ariza was a huge part of the Lakers team that won the championship a few years before, and has always been a better option than Ron Artest (I refuse to call a diagnosed psychopath a name that he made up). The likely end scenario to this would be that you have Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol being unhappy in New Orleans and being bought out, leading to them re-signing with the Lakers, who at that point have a starting five of: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, Gasol/Odom, and Andrew Bynum, with Ron Artest, Derek Fisher, Steve Blake, etc coming off of the bench. As evidenced by this season where he took a team with a shell of a coach (Vinny Del Negro), a basketball-challenged superfreak of an athlete (Blake Griffin), and a team full of league cast-offs to the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs, Chris Paul is the best PG in the league and would make a HUGE difference in helping out KB. This situation likely leads to the Lakers being a much better team, making at least the conference finals, and Kupchak looking much smarter than he does now. David Stern took one look at this possible chain of events and decided it was a great opportunity to deprive the Lakers of an opportunity, while making himself appear more powerful than ever as the league's commissioner. Stern single-handedly deprived Kobe Bryant (and the Lakers) of a great shot at his sixth championship,made the hiring of Mike Brown look foolish because he can't coach during a game (more on this in a moment), and the trading of Derek Fisher necessary to try and bring someone better in because Fisher and Blake are both back-up PGs at best. Bottom line, this season would've been a huge success had Stern not stepped in and blown up a perfectly legitimate trade.
On the subject of Mike Brown: Magic Johnson said it well the other day on NBA Primetime pre-game when he commented that Mike Brown was a great pre-game coach but did not have the ability to make in-game adjustments. Here's my question: how can you be hired as a head coach if you can't make in-game adjustments? Only if you have superhuman efforts from superstars constantly can you be made to look good without the ability to make coaching adjustments during the game (see the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers). Brown could have conceivably been made to look better had the original trade been allowed to go through (and had it gone through we probably wouldn't even being talking about Brown's coaching deficiencies).
Finally, I would rather have Andrew Bynum on my team than Dwight Howard. Several reasons. Reason #1: He's younger. Most of Bynum's durability issues I believe have to deal with the fact that he simply hadn't grown into his body yet, and this season he had almost zero durability issues. Reason #2: His production is VERY similar to Howard. This past season Dwight Howard averaged 20.6 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. Andrew Bynum averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Those numbers are very similar, especially for a player who is 2 years younger than Howard. Reason #3: Offensively he's much more polished. Bynum has a well-developed post game, can hit a 15-17 foot jumper and can actually make a free throw consistently. Howard's career FT% is .577, but has steadily declined every year in the NBA, starting with .679 in 2004-05 to .496 this season. Bynum is a career .678 FT shooter, and this season shot .692 from the stripe. When you put all those stats together, yes Howard has a bigger name and reputation, but Bynum's numbers speak for themselves. Keep Bynum and the first rounder you'd have to give up, and forget Dwight Howard. Andrew Bynum is younger,offensively talented and has even won the confidence of Kobe Bryant.
-Greg
I agree Stern is incompetent and likely did hurt their chances by turning down the trade. BUT Mitch made moves before and after that built upon this downward trend.
ReplyDeleteMike Brown is a good defensive coach but not offensive. That's where his coaching issues occur. Get him more pieces and he'll be alright.
And that's absurd that you would rather have Bynum than Howard. Bynum disappears. Where has he been since that one 30 rebound game? Where was he in the playoffs? He had as big an impact in the playoffs as Dwight did (and Howard didn't play). Howard is a game-changer. I agree his offense isn't polished but neither was Shaq's...size makes him great though!
Mike Brown is like any other coach in the league...he looks good when he has good players. That's not what makes great coaches. Great coaches take great players and win championships. Great coaches have the ability to make already great players better, and manage multiple superstar personalities well. Mike Brown is essentially the same as Erik Spoelstra, they might be good X and O coaches, but not great at managing egos and personalities.
ReplyDeleteBynum's playoff averages were almost on par with his regular season averages. Shaq's offense was more polished than DH's. If I'm the GM of a team that already possesses Bynum, i'm not going to trade him AND a first round pick away for a guy who's VERY similar to who I already have, and is older.
Bynum took 10 shots last night...TEN! A man with his size should attempt more regardless of how many Kobe was taking. Get in position, demand the ball, grab offensive boards, be aggressive. No way that would happen with Dwight. Also, they don't even have a first round pick this year. They do have a second rounder and I think it's the last pick in the draft...they should trade that cause its worthless!
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