longstrangetrip wrote:monsterpile wrote:longstrangetrip wrote:Really interesting Robson article. I was listening to the post-game press conference, and shook my head when I heard the ill-informed question...honestly, I thought it was Zgoda asking the question. But I thought Mitchell's belittling answer was way out of line. I get that Sam was unhappy about the loss and didn't want to have to listen to any questions, much less a dumb one, but that's why coaches are paid millions...to win ball games while juggling a challenging PR role at the same time. Flip understood this, but Sam doesn't. It surprises me, because he was never this defensive when he was a player. But Robson does a good job of describing the difference in pressure of being a coach vs. being a player.
I don't think Robson has it in for Sam and actually agree with almost everything in his article...I think it's very fair. He admits that he has been a huge Zach LaVine detractor since his career started, and especially with him at PG, but has come around as Zach's improvement has become impossible to ignore. And he gives Mitchell credit for his development as well as the development of some of our other youngsters. But Robson's main point is well taken...Sam does the fans a disservice when his defensiveness doesn't allow the involved fan, or sportswriter for that matter, to understand the reasons for decisions he makes. Robson makes a great point...''''what were you thinking" can be either exploratory or blaming, and Sam always seems to take it as the latter.
I am obviously a big fan of Sam as a player and a coach, but I find his attitude toward the public part of his job childish. I actually watch more press conferences now than I did when Flip was coach, because I want to see what is going to happen. It reminds me of how I always watched Donald Rumsfeld when he was a guest on Meet the Press...you never knew when an innocent question from Tim Russert was going to trigger his defensiveness and set him off. I hope that Sam becomes aware of this article (I'm sure he will be) and uses it to modify his behavior. As Robson says, he's a smart guy. And I think he will get the logic that he needs to help the sportswriters become smarter by understanding what he is doing. I'll be watching the post-game tonight to see if he is any softer.
LST you have been Sam's biggest supporter here and so for you to be this frustrated with him says something. Unless Sam has some calculated reason for the way he has been acting (which I wondered early on if it was a little calculated) and he doesn't soften up you have to wonder who else he is belittling or will belittle. I just read a little more about Mark Jackson being fired. The owner said he didn't get along with a number of people in the organization. Will Sam end up having that problem in addition to the media? Who is gonna make the call if that happens? It's gonna be real interesting to see how things pan out.
I'm not a psychologist, monster, but I suspect Sam's defensiveness doesn't come from "smartest man in the room" syndrome, but rather from insecurity. I think he knows he has a good basketball mind, but I also think he is flummoxed by how to work his rotations. I'm sympathetic. Rotation decisions are pretty easy on some of the more established teams, but the wolves have some really interesting questions. And despite the certainty you can read over at rubechat as to how the rotations should work, they're much more nuanced than the typical fan thinks. I think coaching the wolves is one of the most challenging coaching jobs out there today, but also potentially the most rewarding. I think that's why this board is so interesting this season, because there are so many different ways for this team to line up and most of us have fairly strong positions on what is the correct direction. I think Sam also has a clear vision of what he should be doing, but also understands the complex situation he is in and that he is going to be challenged regularly. And that's where his defensiveness doesn't serve him well. He needs to take a deep breath, be confident with his answers but not demeaning, and give the public what we deserve to know.
Sam's clear vision has led to 3 starting lineup changes since training camp. That's not a clear vision. That's guess and check. That's his biggest problem. He's not properly communicating his vision, nor is he properly executing it. Defiant coaches with a plan are a lot better than one's who are just guessing along the way. Who's to say his guesses are better than ours when he turns on his own guesses so quickly and never tries ours? He does nothing to instill confidence in the fan base that he's the smart guy we should be following because he goes against his own decisions relatively quickly. That's what the media is trying to dig into and my sense is he has no real vision which is why the media is still digging and without answers. He's just guessing. I follow several T Wolves writers who post on AWAW's and other sites and they always write great articles trying to convince the fan base of the vision the coach is trying to follow on the court. They try to sell us on why moves the coach is making are a good thing and the right thing. Hell, McPherson literally just switched to the Lavine at SG side like two weeks ago that's how long he was willing to believe in the vision that Zach is a PG. They don't have those articles this year because they have no idea because Sam has no idea.
