You must not remember all those morons who said Shaq would never win a title, back when the Lakers got swept out of the playoffs every year.
He said "SOME of his GREATNESS " It seems that he's not arguing against Jackson being one of the greats of coaching---
kidrock8, again, as you say, it is difficult to compare eras, but let me point out few things. One of the problems here is, back then, the coach pretty much WAS the GM, as well as the coach. Even when they began the GM spot, they had no power for about a decade; the coach and owners were still making personel decisions because that's how they had done it in the past. Actually, he did have a salary cap: how much the owner would pay. The NBA didn't make much money back in the day. It was only by the mid-sixties that the league was financially secure. Even then, the chance that a team might lose it was still evident. It wasn't an official cap, but it amounted to the same thing. This really and truly saddens and angers me. Did Jackson ever have to deal with racism? It was no simple thing to convince the Celtics organization that they wanted a black man to be the center, literally and figuratively, of their team. Egos? Auerbach dealt with a huge ego: Russell. He was very stuck up and would not sign autographs at all. He was deeply resentful of being considered inferior to Wilt by many people. He demanded a six-figure salary, unheard of in those days where you might make 4 figures, not 5. Jackson never had to deal with fans like those in Syracuse, where the refs learned to stand by the home bench during time outs so they weren't pelted by full beer cans, programs, and batteries. Draw up a play then. Jackson never had to deal with fans that also sometimes rioted, where it would take an hour to start the game again. Jackson never had to send his bench players back to the locker room because the fans were seriously injuring them. He never had to deal with home-town police that encouraged such beatings. Jackson never had to find people to tape ankles, because there were no traveling trainers. Jackson never had to do the laundry, because there was no one else to do it. Jackson never had to drag his team to two games that were in the same day, then get delayed on a plane, and show up two hours late, where the fans waited. Lastly, Jackson never had to be a GM because the actual GM was just a drinking buddy of the owner. Rodman? A Kobe-Shaq feud? These were the least of Auerbach's problems. 'Coaching a team back then was much easier than coaching a team now?' You obviously have NO IDEA what the early coaches went through. It was FAR harder to coach a team in the early days. Your cigar comment is WAY out of line. I'm not taking anything away from Jackson. He is a very good coach. But in my opinion, Auerbach could have thrived in today's NBA, while Jackson would have been hard-pressed in yesterday's. I still think Auerbach is the better coach.
Drexlerfan22 - Again, well done. I was going to respond, but I've had enough disagreements/discussions here with kidrock8 to have the impression that he feels basketball was invented around 1982 or so.
I will never dis Red Auerbach as a coach and GM here or anywhere. He is basketball's great original, and the game would not be what it is without him.<p> His remark, however, was ill-considered in the extreme. Larry Brown and Lenny Wilkins can be fairly contrasted to Jackson, but Pat Riley cannot. Riley inherited his dynasty no less than Jackson did; the way both came to be head coaches was, in fact, almost identical.<p> (Though I saw internet gossip to the effect that Doug Collins was fired, not at the instigation of Jordan, but because his sexual addiction was affecting his work, including banging Bulls cheerleaders).<p> <i>Auerbach dealt with a huge ego: Russell. </i><p> Russell had rocky relations with fans, no doubt due to the racist cowards who vandalized his house and crank-called him when he first moved to Boston. But the Celtics of that era really loved one another. On the ESPN Sports Century Russell profile, Bob Cousy began to weep as he discussed some of the racial incidents. This was forty years after the event, and Cousy still breaks up recalling it.
Red Auerbach was not only the greatest coach in the history of the NBA, he was/is the best ever at evaluating players. Phil Jackson is the most overated coach in NBA history. Just look at his history of drafting players. Pathetic.
You are, of course, absoltuely right. I just got a little worked up there, you know ? I like Riles more because of his sheer commitment to team defense, and he has had slightly more success GMing. But, as you say, he cannot be contrasted with Jackson. No kidding. Who else would trade 2 Hall-of-Famers (Hagan and somebody...I'm drawing a blank) for 1 (Russell) and come out ahead? That's like trading Robinson and Duncan for a rookie and getting the better of it. Can you imagine getting an owner to go for that? That is simply amazing, even among all the other magic tricks Auerbach has performed. There is only one obvious mistake I can think of that Auerbach made that keeps him human: he didn't want to sign Cousy, or even draft him. Cousy was a hometown favorite, and Red thought he had plenty of guards, and knew Cousy couldn't shoot. The fans actually forced Red to draft him, and he told Cousy that he would "have to earn his spot in training camp, like everybody else." Hmm... that might have been embarassing. Cousy only led the league in assists 8 times in a row.
I don't know much about the old Boston days, but Phil's assistant coaches are pretty much the best you can get in the modern game.
