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The Official Phil Jackson to Cleveland thread

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LyXo

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Friday, March 25, 2005
With Phil Jackson, Cavs Can “Kill Two Birds With One Stone”

Filed under: Columns— Amar Panchmatia @ 10:33 pm

Parity. It’s a word that defines the NFL, and it’s a reason why the league is so successful. Set aside the recent New England dynasty, and you have six different teams that have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in the seven year span from 1996 to 2002. The NBA, however, has not enjoyed such parity. In fact, Major League Baseball, which has been criticized severely for its lack of a salary cap and exorbitant salaries, has witnessed more surprises in October than the NBA has in June. How much so? Since the 1980 NBA Finals, won by the Los Angeles Lakers, the Association has crowned just seven franchises as champions. That’s a 25-year span. The Lakers, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs are the seven said franchises, and every one of these teams save the 76ers has won multiple times.


Pretty cut and dry, right? You haven’t seen anything yet. One coach alone was responsible for nine championships won during that span. And for two different franchises, at that. Before Phil Jackson got to Chicago, the Bulls just couldn’t seem to get past the “Bad Boys” of Detroit, who had continuously shot down Michael Jordan in the playoffs every year. Six rings later, Jackson moved on to L.A., where Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had made a habit of losing to the Spurs and Utah Jazz. Nine rings later, Jackson is tied with the legendary Red Auerbach for most championships won as a coach. Jackson won his nine rings in a 12-year span from 1991-2002. It is an unprecedented run that any coach in any sport will be hard-pressed to match in this day and age, including Joe Torre of the New York Yankees or Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots.

Getting the picture yet? Simply put, Phil Jackson is a winner, and has been a winner for his entire coaching career. Which is why Cavaliers fans have to question the ceiling of their potential under anyone else brought in to replace ex-coach Paul Silas.

Not only has Jackson established himself as one of the most successful coaches in professional sports, but he has done so with stars. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant are undoubtedly headed to the Hall of Fame one day. And some are prematurely preparing a bust in Springfield for LeBron James. Nevertheless, the young superstar offers Jackson a gold mine of opportunities. New Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert must know this, and its one reason why the Cavaliers have been regarded as the perfect opportunity for Jackson almost immediately following Silas’ termination. Jackson’s name has been linked to openings in Minnesota, Portland, Los Angeles, New York, and even Dallas. Jackson spent his playing days in New York, winning a ring with the 1973 Knicks. The desire to return there as a coach and break Auerbach’s record as a Knickerbocker would, indeed, be a storybook ending for one of sports’ most successful coaches. With the Lakers, he obviously has a compelling history, leading the franchise back to glory and its status as the NBA’s flagship franchise. However, a return to Hollywood would defy all logic if what has been documented in the past is true. In Jackson’s latest book, entitled The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul in which he archives the 2003-04 Laker season, the coach is anything but enthusiastic of Laker superstar Kobe Bryant. Jackson, who had been known to become fed up with Bryant’s antics, writes in his book, “I do know that there were many occasions this year when I felt like there was a psychological war going on between us. Amazingly, we came to a truce, even to a higher level of trust. Ultimately, though, I don’t believe we developed enough trust between us to win a championship.” In addition to his ambiguous views on Bryant, Jackson was, according to an October edition of the Los Angeles Times, seeking help from a hired therapist to help cope with the struggles caused by Bryant.

There are two sides to the “Phil Jackson Debate.” One side has argued that Jackson is not a great coach because he has always had some of the game’s all-time greatest players on his squads. Winning with Jordan and O’Neal isn’t much of a challenge. So why would Jackson re-enter the profession via underachievers in New York and Portland? Unless he wants to prove that he can single-handedly turn around a woeful franchise, neither team has anything to offer. At the same time, the other side argues that Jackson take a risk, a la Michael Jordan, of tarnishing his legacy and come back into the league for his third stint to prove the nay-sayers wrong. Winning with New York or Portland may eliminate all doubts of his greatness, while the whispers will only grow louder if he leads Cleveland to multiple championships with LeBron James. So simply having James may not necessarily mean that everyone on the Cavaliers’ roster should immediately start studying Jackson’s famed triangle offense.

But the Cavaliers may be getting even more than just a coach. Jackson has been said to be searching for a job that will make him both coach and general manager of a franchise. Gregg Popovich in San Antonio holds such duties, and Pat Riley in Miami did as well before relieving himself of his coaching position last season and focusing on front office matters exclusively. It is Jackson’s right to think he has earned enough accolades in his illustrious career to stake a claim to front office responsibilities. There is, however, one major roadblock in Jackson’s path to general manager in Cleveland. It certainly isn’t current GM Jim Paxson, who may follow Silas out the door as Gilbert continues to clean the franchise of anyone that may hinder progress. But Jackson’s roadblock resides in Detroit and goes by the name of John Hammond. Hammond is the vice president of basketball operations for the Pistons, and has been touted as the hottest “general manager in waiting.” He is considered the “right hand man” for current Detroit GM Joe Dumars, who has helped build the Pistons’ current championship roster. Gilbert, as well as many of his associates, is from Michigan and grew up as a die-hard Pistons fan. He continues to admire the franchise and desires to emulate its championship standards. With Hammond being considered as the next great general manager, his Detroit ties can only help him if he desires the position in Cleveland.

Let’s also not ignore a factor that may trump all others as far as Jackson is concerned: money. Jackson has been rumored to be looking for over $16 million a year from whatever team claims his services. That is well over what at least 95 percent of players in the league earn. On his first day of ownership, Gilbert expressed his desire to make the Cavaliers a world-class organization. With a world-class player in place even before he got to Cleveland, it may be time for Gilbert to cash the checks his mouth wrote and break the bank for a world-class coach.

Source | MostValuableNetwork

Although I don't think he's the best coach out there for us, all in all he'll be the best for us in terms of the franchise and the fame of the team
 
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Right now our organization is in bad shape: with a GM on the way out, no permanent coach, and our freefall even with all the money we have, free agency will be tough. On top of this playing in Cleveland ain't like playing in South Beach.

Bring in Phil and we get instant respect from everybody. Free agent will want to come because they know they can get a title here.

I can't emphasize this enough: without draft picks the only we can keep Lebron and become title contenders is smart use of FA. Make it happen Gilbert: give phil however much money he needs and we'll be in good shape
 
Phil would bring an organized offense to the table. The difference between what the Cavs do on offense now and Jackson's philosophy would be day and night. There would be a system in place, with discipline and dedication demanded from all the players. For the first time in a long while, the Cleveland players would actually be "coached" and would avoid being blown out in 3rd quarters due to poor adjustments and being outwitted.
 
i would luv phil bein' here and takin' bron unda his wing...if he does cum..i really like our team's chances next year. :D
 

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