Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot seat

[illmatic99]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-saturday-mcmillan-on-the-hot-seat

From Alex Kennedy:

However, many people within the organization are quick to point the finger at head coach Nate McMillan, who is currently on the hot seat. Portland entered the season as a dark horse to contend in the Western Conference, but now sits outside the playoff picture with a 19-21 record.

Sources close to the situation believe that McMillan has lost the locker room. According to one source, there’s a growing number of players who would like to see McMillan fired, with assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff taking over as interim head coach. Bickerstaff has coached the Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats, accumulating 414 wins throughout his career.

The players aren’t the only ones who are questioning McMillan. Sources within the organization have criticized the coach’s rotations and in-game adjustments. It’s always telling when a head coach has seemingly run out of answers, and that appears to be the case in Portland. One team source said that McMillan “has no idea what to do” as the Blazers slip further down the standings.

The most daunting part of all this? "There’s a growing number of players who would like to see McMillan fired, with assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff taking over as interim head coach

That would be a disaster. We need to clean house.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

If we're going to tank Bernie is the coach to do it!

 

[illmatic99]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

More Bobcat influence. ugh.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

"Sources within the organization have criticized the coach’s rotations and in-game adjustments."

But wait... how can that be???? We have the biggest second half scoring margin in the league. Just last night we had a +17 second half margin. Doesn't that mean Nate is the absolute best coach in the entire league at making adjustments at half time? It must be true. There can't possibly be any other explanation.

BNM

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

After a 40 point half time drubbing, I expected him fired this morning! I say he wont last the week, nor should he!

 

[oldguy]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Interesting that the article notes that Bernie has won 414 games (Basketballreference.com say it's 415) as a head coach. What they don't mention is that he lost 517 games over his career.

Yay.

Go Blazers

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Well if he's a sub 500 coach with ties to the Sonics he should be hired right now! HAHAHAHA!

 

[craigehlo]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

After a 40 point half time drubbing, I expected him fired this morning! I say he wont last the week, nor should he!

I was expecting to see him s**t canned today after that disaster yesterday as well. I have a bad feeling he's going to get a chance to survive until after the trade deadline at the very least.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

20 point loss can happen ,but 40 at halftime? It's hard to think that even the greatest Nate supporters would now ignore that he's lost his team!

 

[craigehlo]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

40 point half time deficit shows there's no accountability amongst the players on the floor. Zero discipline and execution. That's on Nate.

 

[BBert]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

We need to trade the malcontents and sandbaggers the same day we fire Nate. If that's Felton, Wallace, Camby, Crawford (my likely suspects), so be it. They should all be traded for future assets or young players anyway, and the sooner the better. We are quickly running out of time.

 

[illmatic99]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

The biggest thing I'm scared of more than losing is our young guys picking up bad habits from some of these crappy players.

Crawful repeatedly shoots after buzzer at the end of quarters because he's selfish. For the first time during their tenures in PDX, I saw Wessy and Nic both do the same recently. Not a good environment for some of the youth on our team to develop.

 

[Ghost Pepper]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Don't know the recipe for this destruction but I do know this can become cancerous if not contained in a hurry! In my eyes Felton, Camby, Wallace should all be traded right now! Who cares what we get in return, we're not making the playoffs but 3 more months of this crap could really affect LA, Batum, Wes, Joel and Elliot....on top of that the fans may for the first time head for the hills, because I think it's clear that PA and crew are already summer breaking!

 

[PapaG]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

"Sources within the organization have criticized the coach’s rotations and in-game adjustments."

But wait... how can that be???? We have the biggest second half scoring margin in the league. Just last night we had a +17 second half margin. Doesn't that mean Nate is the absolute best coach in the entire league at making adjustments at half time? It must be true. There can't possibly be any other explanation.

BNM

God SlyPokerDog is a big baby. As I've posted, it's time for Nate to move on, and is anybody surprised that the Vulcans are looking yet another scapegoat? I mean, somebody needs to be blamed, and it sure isn't going to be Paul Allen, or the lackeys surrounding him. Larry Miller should be as much on the hot seat as Nate, but since he's not, it's just another example of the organization getting rid of a respected basketball person, and keeping a bunch of boobs whose primary goal is to not get fired.

 

[oldguy]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

C'mon guys, being down 35 at the half to a very average Celtics team is jump-off-a-bridge bad by itself....no reason to exaggerate.

Go Blazers

 

[PapaG]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

We need to trade the malcontents and sandbaggers the same day we fire Nate. If that's Felton, Wallace, Camby, Crawford (my likely suspects), so be it. They should all be traded for future assets or young players anyway, and the sooner the better. We are quickly running out of time.

Wallace is obviously coasting at this point. Either that, or he's the biggest headcase in the NBA, who turns into a passive 'fraidy cat on the road for some reason.

LMA seemed about ready to start punching people in his quotes from today's Oregonian, and Batum basically echoed my words from last night.

At least Batum seems to get it.

Batum was asked if the players disrespected the coaching staff with their performance Friday night. He took it one step further.

"Not just the coaches," Batum said. "The organization, the city, everybody. The fans watching us, supporting us. Because what we showed today, we disrespected ourselves, disrespected everybody around this team who likes and works for this team. That's unacceptable."

I suppose he could solely blamed it on Nate, like all of the experts on this board, but it was obvious that the players quit on themselves. That doesn't happen when it's just coaching.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Isn't Alex Kennedy the same dumb ass from Hoopsworld that said sources from other teams wanted to talk trades with the Blazers but were not sure who to call?

If it is the same guy then he has no credibility. That was a Canzano type statement. Totally absurd. Really, a GM from another team is not resourcefull enough to just dial the number and ask?

Although I don't doubt Nate has no idea what to do with this mess, because there is no solution. Do any of you know what to do? I don't. Players always look for excuses instead of taking the blame themselves. Batum seems to be the exception here.

 

[Rhal]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

If McMillan is canned it wont be tell after the road trip. Has a coach ever been fired in the middle of a road trip?

 

[oldguy]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Wallace is obviously coasting at this point. Either that, or he's the biggest headcase in the NBA, who turns into a passive 'fraidy cat on the road for some reason.

LMA seemed about ready to start punching people in his quotes from today's Oregonian, and Batum basically echoed my words from last night.

At least Batum seems to get it.



I suppose he could solely blamed it on Nate, like all of the experts on this board, but it was obvious that the players quit on themselves. That doesn't happen when it's just coaching.

I'm a little surprised to see you showing (at least tepid) support for Nate, after the way you dogged Dre for not taking any teams out of the first round in his career. Nate took a team (Seattle) out of the first round once in 11 years. Other than that he missed the playoffs altogether six times, and lost in the 1st round four times. Add in this year, and it will be either another complete miss, or a one round and out.

Dre missed the playoffs six times in 13 years, and lost in the first round seven times. Why so hard on Dre, but give Nate the benefit of the doubt.

Btw, I've never been a Nate basher. I think he's a good guy and an ok coach. Trouble is, this team is lost in the wilderness, and Nate has to shoulder a lot of that blame. I still don't dislike him, but it's just time for him to move on to a fresh start.

Go Blazers

 

[PapaG]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

I'm a little surprised to see you showing (at least tepid) support for Nate, after the way you dogged Dre for not taking any teams out of the first round in his career. Nate took a team (Seattle) out of the first round once in 11 years. Other than that he missed the playoffs altogether six times, and lost in the 1st round four times. Add in this year, and it will be either another complete miss, or a one round and out.

Dre missed the playoffs six times in 13 years, and lost in the first round seven times. Why so hard on Dre, but give Nate the benefit of the doubt.

Btw, I've never been a Nate basher. I think he's a good guy and an ok coach. Trouble is, this team is lost in the wilderness, and Nate has to shoulder a lot of that blame. I still don't dislike him, but it's just time for him to move on to a fresh start.

Go Blazers

I was hard on 'Dre because I felt he wasn't the PG that was going to get the Blazers to elite status, and because he was a sieve defensively. He's found a nice bench role in Denver, though, which is where he probably belongs at this point in his career.

You should note, though, that after the All-Star break last year I announced I was going to stop dwelling on 'Dre's limitations, and start enjoying his strengths. From that point forward, I didn't bash him, because I knew what he was, and it wasn't worth typing the same things about his negatives over and over. It actually made games enjoyable.

My thought now is that unless there is a change in ownership, it's not going to matter who is coaching the team, or who is the GM of the team. I think Nate's ready to move on, and I'm quite sure the longknives in Seattle are making things miserable for him. I hope that sufficiently explains things for you, honestly.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

I was expecting to see him s**t canned today after that disaster yesterday as well. I have a bad feeling he's going to get a chance to survive until after the trade deadline at the very least.

Although I personally think he'll last out the year, if we go 0-7 or 1-6 on the road trip with multiple double digit losses he may have to be let go before open dissension sets in.

 

[Sinobas]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

It's hard for an outsider to tell if the coach is a problem. Is it the players or the coach? But sometimes a change does wonders for a team. Nate's only success was riding the coat tails of Brandon Roy's 1 on 1 prowess. And even at that, all we could muster is 1st round exits.

There are teams that obviously get the most out of their talent, and play diciplined ball on both sides....I think the Jazz and Rockets are a good example of that. Nates teams succeeded more on getting more shots than the opponant due to conservative play calling and out rebounding....and this team in particular seems to really be under-achieving.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Isn't Alex Kennedy the same dumb ass from Hoopsworld that said sources from other teams wanted to talk trades with the Blazers but were not sure who to call?

If it is the same guy then he has no credibility. That was a Canzano type statement. Totally absurd. Really, a GM from another team is not resourcefull enough to just dial the number and ask?

Although I don't doubt Nate has no idea what to do with this mess, because there is no solution. Do any of you know what to do? I don't. Players always look for excuses instead of taking the blame themselves. Batum seems to be the exception here.

You think it's really that absurd? "Not sure who to call" doesn't really have anything to do with phone numbers and the actual mechanics of making a phone call, it has more to do with other teams not being sure if the person they are talking with has the authority to make deals because there are so many people with input and no HMFIC -- except Allen and I have a hard time believing he ever directly negotiates with another team's GM.

Regardless, it doesn't really matter if Nate is at fault or the players are at fault, the ship is clearly taking on a lot of water and no matter who the true culprit is, Nate's ultimately responsible and he's going to take the fall for it.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

You think it's really that absurd? "Not sure who to call" doesn't really have anything to do with phone numbers and the actual mechanics of making a phone call, it has more to do with other teams not being sure if the person they are talking with has the authority to make deals because there are so many people with input and no HMFIC -- except Allen and I have a hard time believing he ever directly negotiates with another team's GM.

Yes I would say yes it is absolutely absurd to think that a GM who wants to inquire about a player, does not call because he is not sure who to talk to. As someone who make a living in sales, I would be totally embarrassed to say to the owner of my company, "yeah I really wanted to do business with them, but I wasn't sure who the decision maker was. So I didn't inquire".

That is what he insinuated in his article. You would have to be totally incompetent to let that stop you. Its not like things have changed in the last 8 months in the Blazer front office. There are only 29 other teams. You don't know who you are dealing with for each team?

Of course the final decision has to be run by the owner (as with most teams) or even a group of decision makers, but to imply that GM's who are interested in Blazer players are not inquiring because they are unsure who to call is ridiculous. It's a small club. Someone was trying to be take a shot at the Blazers for not having a GM. And although they deserve the shot, it is still absurd to think it is true.

 

[RR7]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Yes I would say yes it is absolutely absurd to think that a GM who wants to inquire about a player, does not call because he is not sure who to talk to. As someone who make a living in sales, I would be totally embarrassed to say to the owner of my company, "yeah I really wanted to do business with them, but I wasn't sure who the decision maker was. So I didn't inquire".

That is what he insinuated in his article. You would have to be totally incompetent to let that stop you. Its not like things have changed in the last 8 months in the Blazer front office. There are only 29 other teams. You don't know who you are dealing with for each team?

Of course the final decision has to be run by the owner (as with most teams) or even a group of decision makers, but to imply that GM's who are interested in Blazer players are not inquiring because they are unsure who to call is ridiculous. It's a small club. Someone was trying to be take a shot at the Blazers for not having a GM. And although they deserve the shot, it is still absurd to think it is true.

I agree with these. Even if there is turmoil, if you're interested, even if Chad isn't the final decision maker( and really, what GM doesn't get approval from ownership?), he is still interim GM. You call him and you kick around ideas. If he doesn't have the authority, and you need to call Miller, then next time you call Miller. I'm sure it's not AS smooth as some other front office, and I agree it's a clusterfuck that needs a head guy, but I don't buy someone just not calling because they don't know if Chad has authority to make a deal.

 

[MickZagger]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Its how the NBA works, coaches get fired long before executives. This isn't new.

I thought better out of this group though, they seem to have quit. I thought there would be more pride with the veterans.

 

[MARIS61]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Nate McMillan is easily the most qualified Blazer employee for just about any position even remotely related to running an NBA team, from coaching to scouting to selecting player personnel to to arranging trades to promoting a good public image.

Before anyone points a finger at him for this pathetic team's record they need to look at the garbage lineup he has been given to work with. It's a 10-win team under anyone else.

I'd much rather see a new owner, a new president, a new gm, a new roster...

As for Alex Kennedy, he's Canzano's bastard son.

 

[MARIS61]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Its how the NBA works, coaches get fired long before executives. This isn't new.

The Clippers did it for decades.

 

[MARIS61]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Yes I would say yes it is absolutely absurd to think that a GM who wants to inquire about a player, does not call because he is not sure who to talk to. As someone who make a living in sales, I would be totally embarrassed to say to the owner of my company, "yeah I really wanted to do business with them, but I wasn't sure who the decision maker was. So I didn't inquire".

That is what he insinuated in his article. You would have to be totally incompetent to let that stop you. Its not like things have changed in the last 8 months in the Blazer front office. There are only 29 other teams. You don't know who you are dealing with for each team?

Of course the final decision has to be run by the owner (as with most teams) or even a group of decision makers, but to imply that GM's who are interested in Blazer players are not inquiring because they are unsure who to call is ridiculous. It's a small club. Someone was trying to be take a shot at the Blazers for not having a GM. And although they deserve the shot, it is still absurd to think it is true.

That cracked me up too.

A scenario that could only be imagined by someone who's never had a real job.

 

[OddEnormous]

Re: Hoopsworld: Source within team says Nate "has no idea what to do," and is on hot

Hi everyone

Miss me?

Blazers will never win a playoff series with McDillon as head coach? CHECK
Brandon Roy will be out of the league within 3 years. CHECK
Rich Chow: L O fucking L. CHECK
Blazers = Titanic. CHECK
PER is a fraud.... Is the last one we're waiting on

What else would you all like to know?