Watching Doug Collins as a broadcaster for the NBA, I would often turn to my dad or friends and say, “You know what… I like Doug Collins as a commentator. He’s got insight and some good stuff to contribute.” And it was the truth. I do enjoy Collins’ work and appreciate his knowledge. But that wasn’t a compliment as much as it was double-talk for “I’m glad Doug Collins doesn’t coach anymore.”
Well, so much for that.
The news has not been made official, but the reports state that the Chicago Bulls are “poised to hire Collins” as their next head coach. Upon hearing the news all I could muster was, “Really??” I immediately had questions, so I’m looking forward to the press conference when (I hope) John Paxson, the Bulls’ vice president of basketball operations, steps up to the podium and offers some answers. Unfortunately, I think I’ve already heard them.
The Bulls will talk about Collins’ ability to turn a team around in his first year. The Bulls (circa permed Doug Collins), Pistons and Wizards improved by 10, 18 and 18 games respectively during his first year at each stop. For the Bulls of today, however, this kind of turnaround would be expected of any new coach. After going 49-33 during the 2006-2007 season and making it to the Conference Finals, presumably, Chicago was picked to contend for the Eastern Conference title. Instead, they reversed their fortunes this season, going 33-49. The front office grew so dissatisfied they fired coach Scott Skiles midseason and dumped Ben Wallace for pennies on the dollar. Next season is not expected to be a rebuilding year (especially with the first pick in the NBA Draft), but rather a quick return to recent glory. Simply adding to the win column will not be enough to satisfy fans or the front office. A playoff berth is a must, and so is a convincing performance once there. By the way, Collins is 15-23 in the playoffs and has not coached a team there since 1997 when he took the Detroit Pistons.
Collins is also noted for his attention to detail and is considered to be a great teacher of the game. Along with that approach comes the tendency to ride his players while expecting results. This is undoubtedly a plus as he is about to take over this young and impressionable team, right? Wait, didn’t Paxson fire Skiles because his hard-nosed, no nonsense act had worn thin with this team? That is the way Collins coaches and what he has found moderate success with. At the age of 56 (he’ll be 57 by the start of the season) no one is going to change that. Paxson should know that unless you are Gregg Popovich or Jerry Sloan, it’s almost impossible to coach with that style in today’s NBA. I don’t think I need to explain this, but I will anyway - Collins is no Popovich or Sloan.
Since he prefers the “attention to detail” approach, Collins also prefers working with veterans. His tenure with the Wizards is the prime example of this. He passed over younger players (Kwame Brown, Brendan Haywood) in favor of the team’s “savvy veterans” (Bryon Russel, Charles Oakley). It will be interesting to see this season how he works with Tyrus Thomas and the ever-obedient Joakim Noah. It will also be interesting to see how he can handle inserting the first draft pick into the starting lineup, as a Derrick Rose or Michael Beasly will expect to start almost immediately.
While it is unfair to say that Collins can not coach, I believe this is not the place for his abilities. Truthfully, he’s better suited for the front office where he can use his knowledge and experience to assess the talent of the future, rather than on the bench trying to mold a generation of players he is out of touch with. If Jerry Reinsdorf is so eager to give his old friend a job, he should hire him as vice president of basketball operations. I have a feeling the position will be vacant soon. At least it should be. After courting the run-and-gun style of Mike D’Antoni, Paxson settled on Collins, which not only makes me question Paxson’s judgment and the state of Chicago’s front office but raises at least one more question – Are we prepared to say that D’Antoni made the right decision choosing the Knicks?
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
you lost all crediablity with me when you mention the fact that collins passed over kwame brown and brendan haywood for oakley and russell as a bad thing. do you watch the nba? the problem with if you add those numbers that of wins that collins adds to teams that automatically puts the bulls in the top half of the east. he just coached 4-5 years ago with a 41 year old as his primary weapon and missed the playoffs by 2-3 games. michael jordan said the only coach other than jackson he would play for is collins. so if he earns the greatest’s respect i think he might be able to earn the likes of deng, gordon,etc’s respect.
I agree, those two guys were garbage, what has either one did in the league? I wouldn’t say lose all credibility, though, that’s a little extreme.
E.Jay - I’m sorry for just getting back to you now. I was referencing Collins’ time in Washington and his personnel moves to simply illustrate his reluctance with young players. And while I am not impressed with either Haywood or Brown, Russel and Oakley were way past their prime and were simply taking up roster spots. The only reason they were on that team was because Jordan said so. Which brings me to my next point… Any fan of the NBA knows that Jordan liked playing for Collins because he could tell him what to do. He dictated the terms in Collins’ first stint with the Bulls, and had even greater control in Washington based on his legendary accomplishments. I’ll stick to my opinion that Collins is the wrong man for this job (or any coaching job in the league for that matter), and it appears that Paxson and the Bulls now agree.
Actually, it had nothing to do with Paxson. Collins and Reinsdorf are good friends, and after thinking about the situation Collins decided he didn’t want the job.
Just think of how frustrating this process has become for Paxson then. He’s being cut out while decisions are being made based on an old friendship. Sources also attribute Reinsdorf’s involvement to D’Antoni’s decision to go to New York.
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