Rank the NBA coaches

[Monster]

Some conversations in a couple threads make this seem like a fun excercise. Put in the amount of work into it that you see fit. Make a tier of coaches, put down your elite guys and move on, do an underrated list or even...rank all 30! :)

If you do all 30 coaches you could even rank coaches that don't have a job ahead of guys that do if you want.

[Monster]

Here is mine

Elite franchise leading coaches that can do it all (not exactly in order)

Pop
Kerr
Stevens (seems like a no-brained now)
Carlisle
Spolstra

Better than the rest
D'Antoni

At this point although it's not completely fair I don't feel enough separation to rank the rest of the guys. Some guys probably deserve better than this but yeah.

Jay Triano is probably the bottom of the barrel but at this point I like him better than Earl Watson. I wonder if his international game experience might actually be a good fit for this roster as least as a guy to be the one that helps develop them till the next guy takes over. He may also suck which is why he gets noted at the bottom.

[BloopOracle]

1-Pop
2-Stevens
3-Carlisle
4-Thibs
5-Kerr
6-Spoelstra

then there is a big step down to Vogel, Bud, Snyder

[kekgeek]

Here is mine

Elite franchise leading coaches that can do it all (not exactly in order)

Pop
Kerr
Stevens (seems like a no-brained now)
Carlisle
Spolstra

Better than the rest
D'Antoni

At this point although it's not completely fair I don't feel enough separation to rank the rest of the guys. Some guys probably deserve better than this but yeah.

Jay Triano is probably the bottom of the barrel but at this point I like him better than Earl Watson. I wonder if his international game experience might actually be a good fit for this roster as least as a guy to be the one that helps develop them till the next guy takes over. He may also suck which is why he gets noted at the bottom.

My big problem with ranking coaches is what is the definition of a good coach.

For example if Kerr didn't have 3 of the best shooters ever and Draymond would he be a good coach. If he was the Suns coach would the be a playoff contender. Or would they be bottom feeders and Kerr would be considered a bad coach. If Jay Triano was the Warriors coach would you pick the Warriors not to win it all? Serious question.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Elite:
1. Popovich
2. Stevens
3. Kerr

Next Tier:
Spoelstra, Carlisle, maybe D'Antoni (although no title)... guys who have experienced success in multiple types of environments.

Middle:
Put a bunch of guys here, from Casey to Thibodeau. The mixed results guys.

Rambis division:
Pick the guys who are only obvious stopgaps here.

[Monster]

Here is mine

Elite franchise leading coaches that can do it all (not exactly in order)

Pop
Kerr
Stevens (seems like a no-brained now)
Carlisle
Spolstra

Better than the rest
D'Antoni

At this point although it's not completely fair I don't feel enough separation to rank the rest of the guys. Some guys probably deserve better than this but yeah.

Jay Triano is probably the bottom of the barrel but at this point I like him better than Earl Watson. I wonder if his international game experience might actually be a good fit for this roster as least as a guy to be the one that helps develop them till the next guy takes over. He may also suck which is why he gets noted at the bottom.

My big problem with ranking coaches is what is the definition of a good coach.

For example if Kerr didn't have 3 of the best shooters ever and Draymond would he be a good coach. If he was the Suns coach would the be a playoff contender. Or would they be bottom feeders and Kerr would be considered a bad coach. If Jay Triano was the Warriors coach would you pick the Warriors not to win it all? Serious question.

It's a fair question and why I just couldn't start ranking after the guys I did list. To me what makes Kerr better than just some other guy is what he gets out of and has developed with the other players on the roster. Heck David West went from the Spurs to the Warriors and seemed to be a better player for GS. Impressive! :) It seems like they have gotten something out of vet players, reclamation projects, and young guys often in a very Spurs way. Is that Kerr or the front office or the great players on the roster making everything better? It's a combo obviously but I think Kerr is doing it all. Would Kerr do better than Earl Watson did the last couple years coaching the Suns? Probably and I say that as sort of a fan of Watson as he was a solid NBA player.

Obviously you need the players. D'Antoni has done a heck of a job with Houstonbut he also has a roster that's terrific for him which is t a knock on him it's just reality. Some good coaches aren't going to be that successful if their rosters don't match up.

Anyway it's just a fun talker but it's also interesting to see how people perceive value of some coaches.

[kekgeek]

Elite:
1. Popovich
2. Stevens
3. Kerr

Next Tier:
Spoelstra, Carlisle, maybe D'Antoni (although no title)... guys who have experienced success in multiple types of environments.

Middle:
Put a bunch of guys here, from Casey to Thibodeau. The mixed results guys.

Rambis division:
Pick the guys who are only obvious stopgaps here.

Think those are fair, still struggle with would Kerr be good if he was coaching let's say the Nuggets this year. Would his coaching elevate them to a top 4 seed because he is coaching them. He is a great at managing egos on a championship caliber team. Is that good enough to be considered elite, I don't have that answer.

Agree though that Stevens and Pop are the best

[kekgeek]

Here is mine

Elite franchise leading coaches that can do it all (not exactly in order)

Pop
Kerr
Stevens (seems like a no-brained now)
Carlisle
Spolstra

Better than the rest
D'Antoni

At this point although it's not completely fair I don't feel enough separation to rank the rest of the guys. Some guys probably deserve better than this but yeah.

Jay Triano is probably the bottom of the barrel but at this point I like him better than Earl Watson. I wonder if his international game experience might actually be a good fit for this roster as least as a guy to be the one that helps develop them till the next guy takes over. He may also suck which is why he gets noted at the bottom.

My big problem with ranking coaches is what is the definition of a good coach.

For example if Kerr didn't have 3 of the best shooters ever and Draymond would he be a good coach. If he was the Suns coach would the be a playoff contender. Or would they be bottom feeders and Kerr would be considered a bad coach. If Jay Triano was the Warriors coach would you pick the Warriors not to win it all? Serious question.

It's a fair question and why I just couldn't start ranking after the guys I did list. To me what makes Kerr better than just some other guy is what he gets out of and has developed with the other players on the roster. Heck David West went from the Spurs to the Warriors and seemed to be a better player for GS. Impressive! :) It seems like they have gotten something out of vet players, reclamation projects, and young guys often in a very Spurs way. Is that Kerr or the front office or the great players on the roster making everything better? It's a combo obviously but I think Kerr is doing it all. Would Kerr do better than Earl Watson did the last couple years coaching the Suns? Probably and I say that as sort of a fan of Watson as he was a solid NBA player.

Obviously you need the players. D'Antoni has done a heck of a job with Houstonbut he also has a roster that's terrific for him which is t a knock on him it's just reality. Some good coaches aren't going to be that successful if their rosters don't match up.

Anyway it's just a fun talker but it's also interesting to see how people perceive value of some coaches.

Ya fun talker, just go back to their 73 win season. Kerr didn't coach half of the games Walton did. So is Walton elite?

[Monster]

Here is mine

Elite franchise leading coaches that can do it all (not exactly in order)

Pop
Kerr
Stevens (seems like a no-brained now)
Carlisle
Spolstra

Better than the rest
D'Antoni

At this point although it's not completely fair I don't feel enough separation to rank the rest of the guys. Some guys probably deserve better than this but yeah.

Jay Triano is probably the bottom of the barrel but at this point I like him better than Earl Watson. I wonder if his international game experience might actually be a good fit for this roster as least as a guy to be the one that helps develop them till the next guy takes over. He may also suck which is why he gets noted at the bottom.

My big problem with ranking coaches is what is the definition of a good coach.

For example if Kerr didn't have 3 of the best shooters ever and Draymond would he be a good coach. If he was the Suns coach would the be a playoff contender. Or would they be bottom feeders and Kerr would be considered a bad coach. If Jay Triano was the Warriors coach would you pick the Warriors not to win it all? Serious question.

It's a fair question and why I just couldn't start ranking after the guys I did list. To me what makes Kerr better than just some other guy is what he gets out of and has developed with the other players on the roster. Heck David West went from the Spurs to the Warriors and seemed to be a better player for GS. Impressive! :) It seems like they have gotten something out of vet players, reclamation projects, and young guys often in a very Spurs way. Is that Kerr or the front office or the great players on the roster making everything better? It's a combo obviously but I think Kerr is doing it all. Would Kerr do better than Earl Watson did the last couple years coaching the Suns? Probably and I say that as sort of a fan of Watson as he was a solid NBA player.

Obviously you need the players. D'Antoni has done a heck of a job with Houstonbut he also has a roster that's terrific for him which is t a knock on him it's just reality. Some good coaches aren't going to be that successful if their rosters don't match up.

Anyway it's just a fun talker but it's also interesting to see how people perceive value of some coaches.

Ya fun talker, just go back to their 73 win season. Kerr didn't coach half of the games Walton did. So is Walton elite?

Well maybe Walton is very good maybe we will find out in a few years. Lol Having good assistants matters too and Kerr has Ron Adams who is considered one of the best in the business. Part of being one of these elite head coaches is hiring, keeping and even developing good people around you. Pop and the Spurs are really good at doing this. Not everyone is gonna put Kerr in that top tier. I'm ok with that. A few months ago I wasn't quite ready to put Stevens in there either since he hadn't really won anything yet at this level. What he is doing this year so far it's hard to argue with him being there.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Elite:
1. Popovich
2. Stevens
3. Kerr

Next Tier:
Spoelstra, Carlisle, maybe D'Antoni (although no title)... guys who have experienced success in multiple types of environments.

Middle:
Put a bunch of guys here, from Casey to Thibodeau. The mixed results guys.

Rambis division:
Pick the guys who are only obvious stopgaps here.

Think those are fair, still struggle with would Kerr be good if he was coaching let's say the Nuggets this year. Would his coaching elevate them to a top 4 seed because he is coaching them. He is a great at managing egos on a championship caliber team. Is that good enough to be considered elite, I don't have that answer.

Agree though that Stevens and Pop are the best

It's the old Phil Jackson question, right?

And I might be putting him there in part because I personally like him. But I think there are a couple of things that makes Kerr unique:

- An immediate improvement over his predecessor. Remember, the Warriors were a playoff team, but not a great team... in fact, it was the offense holding them back.
- A system. Players emulate how the Warriors play. Lots of movement. Passing. Unselfishness. This isn't only from players... see how little the Warriors passed with Mark Jackson there.
- Success at the GM level. The two must be intricately tied.