Best choice for Orlando Magic's next coach

[Flying_Mollusk]

We all know it should be a veteran guy. The NBA in recent years has proven the best coaches are the guys who have the solid background resumes and who have coached for a while. Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello(who I wanted in the middle of last year), George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy..etc etc etc.

 

So who is out there that can fit these spots? The two names thrown around have been Flip Saunders and Phil Jackson. I dont think we can get either one nor do I think we should get Saunders. There is one guy out there I am convinced is the best coach for this team.

 

 

Del Harris.

 

Here me out. He fits all the criteria of the coach we need...long resume...has succeeded in the past when a head coach. Harris has coached more than a 1000 basketball games. Not only that..he is a frikkin winner who got the bad rap in LA. Between 1987-1990, he got wins in a season of 42, 49, 44, and 48 with the frikkin Bucks. In LA between 1994-1997, he got wins of 58, 53, 56, and 61 in a season. In only one year did he lose more than 42 games in a season..his fourth year as an actual coach way back in 1982. He has had so much time to hone in his skills and is used to todays players having sat on Dallas' bench for so long.

 

Clearly the guy is a winning coach who knows how to mold a team to victory..just like Karl is doing in Denver...just like Brown and Fratello did in Memphis...just like so many coach do. This is our Mike Fratello. This is our Hubie Brown.

 

But one thing hand down has impressed me more than anything. How he performed with the Lakes in the 2 years before Shaq got there. He went 48-34 in 94 and then 53-29 in 95. And did he have any superstar talent? No. He had Nick Van Exel..Eddie Jones, Vlade Divac...and Eldon Campbell. All fantastic players that you would expect to be on a 50 plus win team...but ONLY when complementing a superstar player. Harris got this cast of guys to win 53 frikkin games and thats amazing IMO. We all know that group of guys are not shining beacons as team first players. The man only got fired in LA after a frikkin 6-6 start. That was also the year they brought in the worm and tried out Kurt Rambis. Not exactly LA managment thinking brightly. Clearly Harris got a raw deal.

 

So it seems to me a no brainer that a guy who has won 48-50 games without superstar talent(just like Mike Fratello did) teams can easily do it with a developing Dwight Howard, Steve Francis, Hedo Turk, Grant Hill, and these other guys. Im convinced he can get the best out of all of them and let us reach the next level.

[WildMarlinMan2003]

I actually like Eric Musselman. I know he isn't the biggest name but he has a great rep around the league and he gives it his all. As long as it isn't Jent and is someone with experience then I should be happy.

[SHUfishfan]

I'm a huge Del Harris supporter so I'd really like to see him get a head coaching job somewhere and Orlando might be a great spot for him to go to. Everyone seems to overlook the guy and I still can't see why. He was a pretty good coach in LA and I think that Orlando with their talent might finally get it together if Harris was their coach

[Das Texan]

I actually like Eric Musselman. I know he isn't the biggest name but he has a great rep around the league and he gives it his all. As long as it isn't Jent and is someone with experience then I should be happy.

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he got a bad screwjob in golden state.

[TarHeel324]

del harris would be a great choice, although i am a fan of muss.

[Mark]

Flip Saunders is my favorite.

 

Although Mussleman and Harris would be good choices as well. I had totally forgot about Del.

 

Silas would be another choice for me.

 

Really, I'd be happy with any coach with a proven record.

[Flying_Mollusk]

Lucky for the Magic, a lot of good qualified coaches are available.

[Fish Tank Frenzy]

PJ Carlissimo, spending a few years with POP in San Antonio. Golden State wasnt a laughing stock when he was coach. If it wasnt for Latrell "I cant feed my family with 10 million dollars" Spreewell he would still be an NBA head coach.

 

What about Bob McAdoo? He was learning under Riley and Van Gundy. He deserves a shot at being a head coach.

[PhxPhin]

someone is going to snatch Dwayne Casey from seattle one of these days and get themselves a pretty good coach

[SlapHands69]

Iavaroni anyone?