Sammitch on Chad Hartman's show today

[Coolbreeze44]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

[Monster]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

3 weeks from now Sam might pigeon hole him back at SG. He seems to be plenty capable of changing his mind. Lol It is kind of bizarre with his declarations and I am not a fan of it.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

3 weeks from now Sam might pigeon hole him back at SG. He seems to be plenty capable of changing his mind. Lol It is kind of bizarre with his declarations and I am not a fan of it.

This one feels different to me. If he truly feels Zach can only be a star at PG, then what scenario can he legitimately move him back to the 2 without looking like an ass hat? It's one thing to say he's gonna start at the 2 because he's the best guy in camp and reverse course when he plays poorly in the pre-season. It's another to say he can only be successful long-term as a PG. You can't really say the latter and then move the guy to any other position.

[Lipoli390]

I've said from the beginning that there isn't much between Sam's ears. This interview further confirms my initial impression. There's a reason no other NBA team pursued Sam as a possible head coach after the Raptors fired him.

[Tactical unit]

I see Sam's views as great news, keep sending the kid out there at the wrong position. Add to the loss column and though I liked Sam as a player, he's just not a good coach. To let the Hawks comeback from down 34 to actually take a lead is a lot of peoples fault, but first and foremost its on the coach when something like that happens!

[Monster]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

3 weeks from now Sam might pigeon hole him back at SG. He seems to be plenty capable of changing his mind. Lol It is kind of bizarre with his declarations and I am not a fan of it.

This one feels different to me. If he truly feels Zach can only be a star at PG, then what scenario can he legitimately move him back to the 2 without looking like an ass hat? It's one thing to say he's gonna start at the 2 because he's the best guy in camp and reverse course when he plays poorly in the pre-season. It's another to say he can only be successful long-term as a PG. You can't really say the latter and then move the guy to any other position.

It's pretty easy to come up with a scenario actually. Zach continues to improve and becomes a guy you want on the floor as much as possible. Sam says he is a young player that we want to develop and you want your best players on the floor. To do that Sam Zach plays a decent dose of minutes at SG to do that. Zach plays well there on both ends of the ball. Bingo Sam gets out his eraser and his pencil... Lol The next day Zach walks in to Sam's office with a small wrapped box and says "Yo coach I got you somethin. It's an iPad mini it's easier to move people around for lineups than paper and pencil I thought you might like it."

Really I don't buy all this Lavine can only succeed at PG talk. I think he is giving a strong rationalization for playing him there which does make some sense. The more I think about it the more I have no real concerns that if Zach is playing as well as we hope he does this year that Sam will play him minutes at SG next to Rubio and Wiggins at SF. The last 3 games have been pretty good. If he keeps this up Mitchell will be playing him closer to 30 mpg with some of them at SG. If a guy playing really well Sam is gonna play them he is might be stubborn but he isn't stupid.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

3 weeks from now Sam might pigeon hole him back at SG. He seems to be plenty capable of changing his mind. Lol It is kind of bizarre with his declarations and I am not a fan of it.

This one feels different to me. If he truly feels Zach can only be a star at PG, then what scenario can he legitimately move him back to the 2 without looking like an ass hat? It's one thing to say he's gonna start at the 2 because he's the best guy in camp and reverse course when he plays poorly in the pre-season. It's another to say he can only be successful long-term as a PG. You can't really say the latter and then move the guy to any other position.

It's pretty easy to come up with a scenario actually. Zach continues to improve and becomes a guy you want on the floor as much as possible. Sam says he is a young player that we want to develop and you want your best players on the floor. To do that Sam Zach plays a decent dose of minutes at SG to do that. Zach plays well there on both ends of the ball. Bingo Sam gets out his eraser and his pencil... Lol The next day Zach walks in to Sam's office with a small wrapped box and says "Yo coach I got you somethin. It's an iPad mini it's easier to move people around for lineups than paper and pencil I thought you might like it."

Really I don't buy all this Lavine can only succeed at PG talk. I think he is giving a strong rationalization for playing him there which does make some sense. The more I think about it the more I have no real concerns that if Zach is playing as well as we hope he does this year that Sam will play him minutes at SG next to Rubio and Wiggins at SF. The last 3 games have been pretty good. If he keeps this up Mitchell will be playing him closer to 30 mpg with some of them at SG. If a guy playing really well Sam is gonna play them he is might be stubborn but he isn't stupid.

Or Sam could stop backing himself into corners because of his stubbornness. I don't want a coach that has no accountability for what he says or how he coaches/develops players. Acting like the smartest guy in the room when you aren't has done some pretty bad things to this franchise the last ten years. I don't want to see a young guy like Zach be treated as a secondary player that is icing on the cake if he pans out. They all are important and they all are taking development hits just so completely interchangeable guys like Wiggins and Towns can have easier lives. I think Wiggins and Towns have proven they are going to be just fine no matter what so Sam should be focusing on the other young guys like Lavine, Bazz and Dieng and be putting them in the best position to succeed. He shouldn't be treating them as afterthoughts with inconsistent minutes.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Wow, we must have the best roster in the league to be 4-4 after 8 games with a dunce like Mitchell coaching the team! You guys are brutal!

While I don't agree with Mitchell's comment that the only chance Zach has of being a star is at PG, I liked everything else in this interview. Mitchell wants to get Zach regular minutes, and while he can't say it publicly, he knows that Ricky is going to miss a lot more games than Wig...he's already missed a quarter of the games in this young season and will likely add to that tonight. So, Sam has correctly concluded that Zach's best opportunity to get regular minutes is by backing up Ricky.

Last night Zach played 26 minutes "out of position" at PG against the best team (and one of the best defenses) in basketball. And after a dreadful 10-0 start in the first 90 seconds, we played the world champions pretty much dead even. Zach did not have a good game, and that is to be expected for a 20-year-old kid playing a position he didn't play much in his one year in college...anybody who thinks he should be playing the most difficult position in basketball at a competent level with so little experience needs to share what they are smoking. PATIENCE, boys! That's what Sam is showing, and it's what we need to show. Sam's commitment to development is on display every night as he continues to play Zach ahead of Miller. Miller showed last night that he is the more competent PG (well, duh!), but he is in no way our future. So Sam is going to continue to run Zach out there ahead of Miller, and Zach is going to continue to improve as he spends more time running the point.

Maybe you guys really do know more about where Zach and Wig should be playing than a guy who has spent 2/3 of his life playing, analyzing or coaching in the NBA, but frankly I doubt it. Some see a 20-year-old kid struggling under the big lights (while showing occasional flashes of brilliance) and conclude in knee-jerk fashion that Zach is everything that he is ever going to be at 20 and will never be a PG. Sam sees him three times more frequently than we do, and has concluded otherwise. I'm going to stay on Sam's side on this one.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Khans you are spot on with your takes here. And I want to congratulate Sam too. Congratulations for ruining the career of an uber talented prospect before it even has a chance to get started. How terribly unfair to Zach to have a dumbass, that's right, dumbass coach pigeon hole you in to the wrong position. He should be arrested for this crime. And that's just what it is, criminal.

Whoa, that might be a little over-the-top. Ruining Zach's career? Dumbass? Criminal?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Wow, we must have the best roster in the league to be 4-4 after 8 games with a dunce like Mitchell coaching the team! You guys are brutal!

While I don't agree with Mitchell's comment that the only chance Zach has of being a star is at PG, I liked everything else in this interview. Mitchell wants to get Zach regular minutes, and while he can't say it publicly, he knows that Ricky is going to miss a lot more games than Wig...he's already missed a quarter of the games in this young season and will likely add to that tonight. So, Sam has correctly concluded that Zach's best opportunity to get regular minutes is by backing up Ricky.

Last night Zach played 26 minutes "out of position" at PG against the best team (and one of the best defenses) in basketball. And after a dreadful 10-0 start in the first 90 seconds, we played the world champions pretty much dead even. Zach did not have a good game, and that is to be expected for a 20-year-old kid playing a position he didn't play much in his one year in college...anybody who thinks he should be playing the most difficult position in basketball at a competent level with so little experience needs to share what they are smoking. PATIENCE, boys! That's what Sam is showing, and it's what we need to show. Sam's commitment to development is on display every night as he continues to play Zach ahead of Miller. Miller showed last night that he is the more competent PG (well, duh!), but he is in no way our future. So Sam is going to continue to run Zach out there ahead of Miller, and Zach is going to continue to improve as he spends more time running the point.

Maybe you guys really do know more about where Zach and Wig should be playing than a guy who has spent 2/3 of his life playing, analyzing or coaching in the NBA, but frankly I doubt it. Some see a 20-year-old kid struggling under the big lights (while showing occasional flashes of brilliance) and conclude in knee-jerk fashion that Zach is everything that he is ever going to be at 20 and will never be a PG. Sam sees him three times more frequently than we do, and has concluded otherwise. I'm going to stay on Sam's side on this one.

All fair points LST, but it's just very tough to watch someone who appears to have minimal PG instincts play the position. I am very skeptical that this is something that someone can learn at this high of a level. I mean, there needs to be some baseline of b-ball IQ and instincts to start with and he has minimal as a PG.