One of the beautiful things about the Internet, other than the instantaneous access it gives us to an endless supply of 38 DDs, is that you are able to find past stories and quotes from people that you can then use to call "BULLSHIT" on them when they try to rewrite history. Today, former Mavericks Head Coach is gonna get the business. The Little Private(s)' (BMFS came up with that one) press conference yesterday was so full of self-admiration and revisionist quotes that I just had to fire up the intersearch and reveal what a two-faced weasel he turned out to be.
On the Jason Kidd Trade:
From February 19:
"He's going to help us," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said, "because at the end of games, he just knows how to win."
"We've got somebody who when you are in the red zone can help you get touchdowns," said coach Avery Johnson, going all football on us. "We feel this inches us a little closer."
From May 1 Dallas Morning News Mavericks Blog:
Avery was asked whether he had everything in place to be successful here. His answer: "No, not this year." He followed that by mentioning that the Mavs had the best record against the Western Conference before the Kidd deal, and that he'd told Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson that he wanted to develop Devin Harris. He hinted that the Mavs made a panic move despite his protest after Harris was injured and the West picture was changed with other blockbuster deals.
"The team was changed," Avery said. "We never really got back on track."
Avery then said that he didn't want to drag the names of Harris or Kidd into his firing. Funny, that's exactly what he had just done without being asked about the trade.
"I'm on record as what my feelings were," Avery said. "Hey, it's over with now. It was something that was tried, and it didn't take us anywhere close. We were struggling to make the playoffs, so it didn't nearly bring us the rewards that we wanted."
He obviously was on board for getting Kidd when the trade went down. According to this, and this, it was widely known that Avery wanted to make the trade. But then, after the team stumbled down the stretch, he pulls the rug out from his owner and GM by implying they screwed up his team. Douchey.
On Devin Harris:
From the December 8, 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
When Avery Johnson made Devin Harris his starting point guard, the coach relinquished much of the play calling to Harris. But, that will change some in tonight's home game against Utah as the Mavs try to stem a two-game slide and Harris tries to end his own four-game slump in which he's averaged 7.0 points and 3.4 assists.
Johnson said he'll be calling more of the offensive play sets, at least for now.
"I'm going to call a few more plays now and help us get better in some of the sets I know we need to be in and make sure the ball gets in the right places," Johnson said after Saturday morning's shootaround. "We tried to not do that that, but we just need to kind of do that a little bit more because I always pretty much know where I want the ball to go and it doesn't always get there."
From yesterday's press conference:
“We had Devin Harris knocking on the door to be an All-Star,” Johnson said. “He was going to be an 18 (points) and 8 (assists) player for us. I invested a significant amount of time in him. If we just hold on a little while … The team was changed and we never really got back on track. The deal was made. Hey, it’s over. Something was tried, but it didn’t take us nearly to where we wanted.”
One, 7.0 PPG and 3.4 APG is not close to being an 18/8 player. Not even if you convert his numbers to the metric system.
Two, Devin Harris was not close to being an All-Star. To be an All-Star point guard in the Western Conference, you have to be better than Stave Nash, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Baron Davis. Harris, who has tons of speed and talent, would never be better than any of those players, especially under the controlling micromanagement of The Little Private(s).
Three, if he was so confident of Harris' abilities and future, he never would've allowed him to be traded. In a radio interview yesterday, Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said the Mavs' decision-making panel of Mark Cuban, Avery and himself voted unanimously in favor of making the blockbuster deal.
"There isn't a decision made that three people didn't check off on," Nelson said. "Period."
And I love this take from DallasBasketball.com.
Johnson went on to say that the Mavericks even making the playoffs this year was a "miracle." Really??!! A MIRACLE? The team that won 67 games the year before, and was a few coaching blunders and Bennett Salvatore calls from winning the title in 2006, needed miracle work from its head coach to be a seven seed? Nice work.
Bottom line, Johnson inherited a perennial 50+ win team and was a fresh voice that pushed them to the Finals. Since game 3 of the Heat series, this thing has been on a steady decline, with the rift between the coach and players reaching Grand Canyon width by the middle of this year. The real judgment of The Little Private(s)'s coaching abilities won't be known until he takes over a middle-of-the-road team and attempts to coach them up to the lofty heights he seems so sure he can achieve. As long as those around him don't fuck things up.
On the Jason Kidd Trade:
From February 19:
"He's going to help us," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said, "because at the end of games, he just knows how to win."
"We've got somebody who when you are in the red zone can help you get touchdowns," said coach Avery Johnson, going all football on us. "We feel this inches us a little closer."
From May 1 Dallas Morning News Mavericks Blog:
Avery was asked whether he had everything in place to be successful here. His answer: "No, not this year." He followed that by mentioning that the Mavs had the best record against the Western Conference before the Kidd deal, and that he'd told Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson that he wanted to develop Devin Harris. He hinted that the Mavs made a panic move despite his protest after Harris was injured and the West picture was changed with other blockbuster deals.
"The team was changed," Avery said. "We never really got back on track."
Avery then said that he didn't want to drag the names of Harris or Kidd into his firing. Funny, that's exactly what he had just done without being asked about the trade.
"I'm on record as what my feelings were," Avery said. "Hey, it's over with now. It was something that was tried, and it didn't take us anywhere close. We were struggling to make the playoffs, so it didn't nearly bring us the rewards that we wanted."
He obviously was on board for getting Kidd when the trade went down. According to this, and this, it was widely known that Avery wanted to make the trade. But then, after the team stumbled down the stretch, he pulls the rug out from his owner and GM by implying they screwed up his team. Douchey.
On Devin Harris:
From the December 8, 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
When Avery Johnson made Devin Harris his starting point guard, the coach relinquished much of the play calling to Harris. But, that will change some in tonight's home game against Utah as the Mavs try to stem a two-game slide and Harris tries to end his own four-game slump in which he's averaged 7.0 points and 3.4 assists.
Johnson said he'll be calling more of the offensive play sets, at least for now.
"I'm going to call a few more plays now and help us get better in some of the sets I know we need to be in and make sure the ball gets in the right places," Johnson said after Saturday morning's shootaround. "We tried to not do that that, but we just need to kind of do that a little bit more because I always pretty much know where I want the ball to go and it doesn't always get there."
From yesterday's press conference:
“We had Devin Harris knocking on the door to be an All-Star,” Johnson said. “He was going to be an 18 (points) and 8 (assists) player for us. I invested a significant amount of time in him. If we just hold on a little while … The team was changed and we never really got back on track. The deal was made. Hey, it’s over. Something was tried, but it didn’t take us nearly to where we wanted.”
One, 7.0 PPG and 3.4 APG is not close to being an 18/8 player. Not even if you convert his numbers to the metric system.
Two, Devin Harris was not close to being an All-Star. To be an All-Star point guard in the Western Conference, you have to be better than Stave Nash, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Baron Davis. Harris, who has tons of speed and talent, would never be better than any of those players, especially under the controlling micromanagement of The Little Private(s).
Three, if he was so confident of Harris' abilities and future, he never would've allowed him to be traded. In a radio interview yesterday, Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said the Mavs' decision-making panel of Mark Cuban, Avery and himself voted unanimously in favor of making the blockbuster deal.
"There isn't a decision made that three people didn't check off on," Nelson said. "Period."
And I love this take from DallasBasketball.com.
Johnson went on to say that the Mavericks even making the playoffs this year was a "miracle." Really??!! A MIRACLE? The team that won 67 games the year before, and was a few coaching blunders and Bennett Salvatore calls from winning the title in 2006, needed miracle work from its head coach to be a seven seed? Nice work.
Bottom line, Johnson inherited a perennial 50+ win team and was a fresh voice that pushed them to the Finals. Since game 3 of the Heat series, this thing has been on a steady decline, with the rift between the coach and players reaching Grand Canyon width by the middle of this year. The real judgment of The Little Private(s)'s coaching abilities won't be known until he takes over a middle-of-the-road team and attempts to coach them up to the lofty heights he seems so sure he can achieve. As long as those around him don't fuck things up.
2 comments:
I hope Avery navigates the NutzBus straight to MSG. We'll see what he's made of there.
That bus may just be the greatest thing ever in recorded human history.
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