Has a good rep and is coaching the West all stars this season. Question though: If the T-Wolves flame out in the first round of the playoffs again, is his job in jeopardy? What about the second round?
You would think he would be safe if they made it out of the first round. I think he and McHale are good friends...not sure about him and the owner though. If they lost in the first round again, there would probably be pressure to make a move. I wouldn't fire him, as I tend to blame the players first always, but you would think he might be gone if they lost in the first round. Garnett is the one with something to prove here as far as I'm concerned. Not much, but wanted to get the thread going...
Interesting question. He has this great reputation, but never gets his team out of round 1. This year, he has no excuse. He has plenty of talent. In previous years, maybe he didn't have the talent, but how many times have they gotten beat in round 1? Is it 6 in a row? If they lose in round 1, something has to change. I don't think it will be KG. It would be a tough call to fire him, as he has been so successful in the regualr season. If they lose in round 2, I think he is safe, especially if they lose to LA, San Antonio, or SAC.
Another example of why those people that expect the Rockets to make the Western Conference Finals (*cough Fran) are so ridiculous. Teams face years of playoff misery before they can crack the later rounds. I hope people don't expect too much in the Rockets' first ever playoff experience this year.
Interesting question... Seems like Flip has extened his career...The addtion of Spree and Cassell has done this. Because of the "Joe Smith" fiasco, I think the fans are a little understanding of the situation that Flip is in. McHale couldn't bring in talent because of the fines on the Wolves. So, Flips hands were tied and the fans knew this. KG was going to have to do it alone until they could make some moves. KG was in limbo until this happned. Because he wasn't going to get out of the first round alone. He needed help (Just like T-Mac now). So, lets say that this year they don't make it out of the 1st round. Will he get fired? I say no. I think the fans would want to give him another year with this big three line-up (KG, Cassell and Spree). But I have to believe that if the Wolves are 4 up and 4 down...then Flip might get blamed for that. But who here thinks that the Wolves wont win at least 2-3 games? It's a 7 game serise now. They will make some noise. I just hope it's not on the Rockets heads!
Look at Minnesota's roster turnover since 1997. Not so much losing the Marburys and Googs, but the parade of one-year wonders that come and go. LaPhonso Ellis and Kendall Gill and Reg Slater and Troy Hudson and Sealy and Sam Mitchell. No way those guys should have contributed as much as they did. McHale has no draft picks, loses cats like Bobby Jackson and Billups because he has money tied up in Terrell Brandon's rotting corpse -- and yet they're right there ... every ... year. Also, he's surpassed Larry Brown as the coach who gets the best execution out of a dead ball or timeout.
