Dave Joerger is now the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, which leaves Phoenix Suns fans in a state of clinical depression on Monday afternoon.
Joerger essentially fired himself from the head coaching spot in Memphis, and as soon as he left the Grizzlies, he and the Kings rushed to the altar to get married. We discussed the fit in Sacramento on Sunday, but regardless of whether you think it’s a good move for Joerger himself, it’s definitely a good move for the Kings. Joerger might not rate as an upgrade from George Karl in terms of career resume and achievements, but given the dysfunctionality which consumed Karl’s tenure — keep in mind that he arrived before Vlade Divac did — Sacramento has created a better situation.
The Los Angeles Lakers also produced a substantial improvement at the head coaching position when they tabbed Luke Walton as their newest bench boss. As is the case in SacTown, the coach’s decision to move to a franchise with a bumbling owner might not be in his own best interests. Yet, when viewed from the perspective of the owner and the general manager, there’s no question that the Lakers took a step forward as an organization by securing Walton’s services.
The Kings and the Lakers — two Pacific Division franchises — stand on firmer ground today, relative to the final night of the 2016 regular season.
What, pray tell, can be said for the Suns, the third Pacific Division team to change coaches this offseason?
While Sacramento joined hands with Joerger and the Lakers decided to have this next waltz with Walton, Phoenix thought it was elementary to select Earl Watson as its next coach.
It’s hard to see — or argue — that the Suns have the worst coach in the Pacific Division, and more precisely, the worst coaching situation in the division.
It’s not that Earl Watson is a bad coach, of course — no one can say that in the present moment. Watson is merely a blank slate, an unproven entity. Walton, like Watson, has coached a few dozen games in an interim capacity, and while he obviously had far better material to work with in Oakland with the Golden State Warriors, he certainly maxed out. A 39-4 record surpassed all reasonable expectations, showing that in a head-to-head comparison with Watson, there’s no comparison at all. Joerger joins Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers as an accomplished head coach over the course of multiple NBA seasons, so by mere process of elimination, the Suns are fifth out of five teams in their division.
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The Suns’ situation offers a basic reminder about the complexity of coaching pursuits. It’s true that if you have your man, the person you’re convinced should be your next head coach, you grab him right away. This is what Sacramento has done with Joerger. It might very well be true that general manager Ryan McDonough felt Watson needed to be the leader of this team in the coming season, so even by that standard, the Suns did nothing wrong.
However, knowing that you have your guy lined up — arriving at that place of confidence — must be preceded by a process of anticipation and evaluation. The anticipation refers to other chess moves on the board, namely, the expectation that other teams would either fire coaches (the Lakers with Byron Scott) or select certain people as replacements (Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota, just to give an example; this is not to imply the Suns should have pursued Thibs as a candidate — that was never realistic).
The Suns might have found their man in Earl Watson — let’s give them that. However, they might have been shortsighted in terms of anticipating moves and then evaluating the full pool of candidates as a consequence of not anticipating as much coaching turnover.
You can still defend the hire of Earl Watson in Phoenix… but it’s virtually impossible to defend the idea that the Suns have a coach who is anything other than the worst in the new-look Pacific Division.
The Suns’ ability to shine more brightly in 2017 and beyond has just encountered a haboob in the desert.
