re: tOfficial Pels Coaching Search Thread (minor stein update re: Lee and Green)

Just did some quick searching on the 2 remaining openings, Orlando and Washington.

It looks like Lee and Green are afterthoughts in the Magic's search.

The Wizards don't appear to be any further ahead in the process than the Pels. They've interviewed a ton of assistants. The usual names like Unseld Jr., Mosley, Ham, Cassell, but I didn't see anyone seeming to be favorites yet.

So I don't think Lee/Green are using Wizards/Magic against the Pels.

Also, for some perspective on how long hiring a new coach in the NBA takes, Brooks was fired the same day as SVG and Steve Clifford was fired about 10 days before that. The Pels seem to be about the same place as the Magic who started 10 days ahead of them, narrowing in on the finalists, and ahead of the Wizards who started the same time as they did.

Willie Green is the guy to me.

What sets him apart, to me, is that he's worked on multiple coaching staffs so he's gotten a taste of varying styles and is able to put his own imprint on them. He's learned what works and what doesn't from guys like Rivers, Kerr, Monty. He centers his approach about the relationships. Does this mean he'll be successful? Who's to say? But, his demeanor, his age, his background I think he's the right fit.

Woj

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Washington’s search process for a new coach has narrowed to several assistants, including Dallas’ Jamahl Mosley, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Charles Lee and Denver’s Wes Unseld, Jr., sources tell ESPN. Those are among the candidates who will talk to Wizards again this week.

Mosley and Unseld Jr., are also serious head coaching candidates for the Orlando Magic job, sources tell ESPN.

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Sorta a whose who of assistants there. You’ll notice neither are on Green anymore but Wiz are on Lee

I don’t see Lee as necessarily the front runner in Wash. this is the first time I’ve seen him mentioned and he’s mentioned with 4 other guys of similar ilk.

Lee getting passed up for seemingly every opening the last 2 offseasons has me a little concerned. I hope it's Green at this point. Something about Lee preventing teams from pulling the trigger on the man.

It shouldn’t. He’s 36. That’s really young. A lot of these assistants have been interviewing for YEARS before they break through. It’s hard to get that first HC job. But once you do these guys get recycled forever.

Stein

quote:

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Finals foes Willie Green (Phoenix) and Charles Lee (Milwaukee) remain prominent candidates in New Orleans’ coaching search after Jacque Vaughn withdrew from consideration, sources say. The Pelicans’ Fred Vinson also interviewed for the post.

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We talking ourselves into Willie Green lol

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How's he really any different than all the other dudes who would be 1st time coaches?

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He seems to be the motivator type of coach. I also could see him playing one on one against the players and hanging still. Some of the pictures I've seen of him as a coach makes him look leaner than when he was a Hornet.

One thing I wonder about Lee seeing him not getting more traction in his 2nd time through the process while his team is having more success: is Lee a "5 tool coach" that's a jack of all trades but master of none?

If I had a choice between a coach that was B to C+ in everything, but someone like Green was an A in reaching/motivating players, I'd go with Green and use a strong staff to cover his weaknesses.

Also, Lee can talk about Giannis and Middleton. Willie has played with and/or coached Steph, Klay, KD, Draymond, CP3, Booker, Allen Iverson, a young Kyle Korver, and probably the biggest waste of talent/cautionary tale of all time - Derrick Coleman.

ETA: Here's a clip of CP3 talking about Willie Green as a coach from earlier today:

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Willie just gets it. When you play in this league...I always talk about that Golden State series (with the Clippers) when it was Game 7 and his locker was right next to mine and I didn't really have a real good first half and he was the one who told me he was like "you know you gotta be more aggressive C." So he's just always been the guy that I could talk to about anything, he pushes me, and I think for him not only being a good player in his own right, that time he spent with the Warriors on those championship teams, there's nothing in this league Willie hasn't seen.

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LINK

Listening to him talk about his relationship approach/do things out of love just seems like it’ll fall short. It’s like, “hey, all you gotta do is so everything out of love, and you’re gonna be successful.”

It’s like he just thinks, even if he doesn’t know much about Xs and Os, or anything else basketball related, that’s ok, because he supports and loves his players.