TreyMachine

We haven't talked about this at all: Do you think Kyle O'Quinn is on our team at the beginning of next season? I do not think he will command too much money from other teams, but I do think the Magic will resign him. From my understanding, he's a veteran-like leader amongst our young guys (even though he is young as well), and is a clear locker room presence you want on a young team.

How many more years do we have Marble?

Marc Stein reports the Magic could sign Skiles as early as today: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12974356/scott-skiles-orlando-magic-talking-contract-terms

I think it all depends on the players you have honestly. Thibs got Rose, Jimmy Butler, Noah, Taj Gibson, etc. Granted, he helped make them into such great players, but there is a certain element of the players fulfilling expectations that doesn't happen under every coach not named Greg Popavich.

Story on Magic's potential hire this afternoon of Skiles: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12974356/scott-skiles-orlando-magic-talking-contract-terms

Looks like it's all but official with Mark Stein reporting the Magic could sign Scott Skiles as early as today. With how he turns around each team in year 1 from mediocre to playoffs, I'm excited for next year. Go Magic!

I feel as though the interview with New Orleans was just to get the Magic to sweat and perhaps come back with an "I could walk away for another team" message. He was ours all along, as we have his type of team and he lives here in the off-season. Just makes sense in all sorts of ways.

I'm excited for next season with either of these two. I think we don't have a shot at Thibs, but Skiles I think we have if we want him. Pumped either way.

No way he asks for a 2 year deal. With how injuries work in the NBA, he'll be looking for (and will be paid) well for these next two years and moderately (on the scale) over another 3. No way he doesn't sign the most lucrative deal over the most number of years.

Reddit in general tends to be a lot more reactionary. I just think the hot name is Tom Thibedeau right now because he's never had a losing season. You can ALSO argue that he's never had a team that didn't have the talent of a winner. The "my way or the high way" attitude only goes so far with professional players.

Skiles was fired with the Bucks because he didn't want to coach the team anymore and stepped down (even with the Bucks apparently having an offer on the table to extend his contract). He was fired with the Bulls because his teams stopped doing well and stopped listening, but still were generally in the locker room. Whether it is true or not, the rumors swirling around about players wanting to not be in the same room as Thibs, his refusal to hire an offensive-minded assistant (stubbornness), not wanting to have limits on player minutes, etc. makes me much - much - more hesitant with Thibs. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually more on the Skiles bandwagon after doing my research on both coaches.

For those who are still complaining, please see the research I present on page 68. The findings are pretty much the exact opposite of what has for some strange reason become popular speculation about Skiles.

Can it be the NBA Draft already? I'm seriously ready to go.

While we are talking about some fantastic young players, I'm just saying: OKC 08 - KD's rookie season - 20-62 OKC 09 - KD + Westbook + Ibaka - 23-59 OKC 10 - KD + Westbook + Ibaka + Harden's Rookie Season - 50-32 While this is a dramatic example, you don't think people just assumed the OKC Thunder after 2009 would be lucky to have 30-35 wins with "only adding" a #3 pick draft pick? Player growth and development in the first 3 years is HUGE. This year we have: Nic Vucavic - Year 5 Tobias Harris - Year 4 Victor Oladipo - Year 3 Elfrid Payton - Year 2 Aaron Gordon - Year 2 __________ - Year 1 With a good, accountable coach like Scott Skiles at the helm, I expect this team to have at least 40 wins in the East and make the playoffs. I would be shocked if we didn't win more than 35 games.

Can we please, please look at the character of the guys who were on the Bulls and Milwaukee teams that "quit" on him? I've found some articles from way back when that discuss his feuds with players: Ben Wallace - http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2006/11/27/1214840/headband-gate-ben-wallace-and --> Cliffnotes: Ben essentially didn't like the team rules (some fair, some a little over the top) and essentially mutanied / became a cancer in the locker room. Ben Gordon - http://www.chicitysports.com/forum/showthread.php/5678-Scott-Skiles-Comments-on-Ben-Gordon-GOOD-STUFF --> Cliffnotes: Bulls fans recall the Ben Gordon and Scott Skiles era back in 2009 (2-3 years removed from Skiles being there) and every one of them have excellent things to say about Skiles. Chicago Tribune writer talks about Scott Skiles the Coach - http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/fullcourtpress/scott_skiles/ --> Cliffnotes: Despite public perception, he was "a coach who had learned from his tenure in Phoenix and perhaps had become too loyal to players." He never yelled, taught well, and was very direct. He kept players accountable, but was very honest about what expectations were of every player and kept them to that standard and pushed them. Why Scott Skiles left the Bucks - http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/scott-skiles-milwaukee-bucks-agree-part-ways-effective-170538871--nba.html --> Cliffnotes: Ownership reportedly still wanted him (didn't love him, but wanted him) and he was the one who left because he "hated the team" he had been given by the GM. Ownership was fond of him, but the players he was given was just something he didn't enjoy coaching in the least. From what I've just read of these four articles, I'm not sure how you can make the exact claim that he burns out players and people don't like being coached by him. I bought into the notion when I heard it, but now - I just don't buy it.

I mean, the athletic ability does get me fairly excited... but what about his attitude / personality? Magic are so high on character I don't think they would ever go for Cauley-Stein.

If the Lakers like Mudiay, I wonder if they would look to trade back with the Knicks, who clearly would want Okafor. OR Let's ask this question: do you think the Magic are at all looking to trade up to get Okafor? Or do you think they'd be fine with Justice Winslow / Mario Hezonja?

I think this is an excellent post that highlights the fact that you can make a distinct correlation between Skiles and Van Gundy in terms of "players don't want to play for him." Remember how Shaq got him kicked out mid-season? Yet we would all LOVE to have Van Gundy back. When I was against Skiles a week ago, I only thought of his firings in CHI and MIL and his reputation as a hardass on his players. However, the more I dig into his past, the more I realize how overblown this perception was.

This. Either that, or we've truly given up on the Thibs waiting game. I don't think Brooks was ever an option. He's a good mentor, but has never been known for his X's and O's. He just happened to get a stud roster and did nothing but win with it.

He's been screwed twice by getting me-first shooters traded to his teams (MIL, PHX). I don't really know what happened with Chicago, though the core he had to get 50+ wins is quite impressive.

If we're going to compare Thibs and Skiles and say they are different ("Skiles is a poo man's Thibs"), let's at least acknowledge the rosters each had to get where they were. Thibs and Skiles both did excellently in Chicago, with Thibs have far superior talent compared to Skiles (yet their records were similar). Then, Skiles had to work with a core of Ellis, Jennings, and Larry Sanders in MIL. That has .500 written all over it, no matter who coaches them. Who's to say that Thibs is a great coach with a not-so-talented roster? Why does he get so much credit when he's had a number of great players?

Let's talk this for a second: Should Scott Skiles become the new Orlando Magic head coach, do we change the way that we draft at all of does the culture we're building remain completely the same? We all should have seen this for a while: Skiles and Thibs are similar coaches, and if we couldn't have Thibs, we were going for Skiles.

Out of every coach, he is the for sure most credible, as pointed out. What's the one thing we have against Skiles? The fact that he burns out his players, to the point where they don't hear him. People who are able to step away for a time usually have time to reflect on "What could I have done differently?" Somehow, with two years away from the game, I wonder if he's realized and fixed his relationship-building tactics. If he's done this, I do believe he'd be a great coach for the job. Positive thinking makes me believe he's grown in this aspect and would therefore be a stellar coach... if he hasn't changed it, as Payton4TheWin points out, history WILL repeat itself.

I'm sure this is one of the reasons why Henny is reportedly looking to trade the pick. In the eyes of many, after the reported top 4, it is pretty up in the air for 5-10 or so. We seem to always be just outside of the "elite" group that each rookie class is named for - this class being a top 4; last year being a top 3. However, this got me thinking: do you think Henny would have taken Embiid last year with the #3, or do you think he would have shocked the world and gotten Aaron Gordon with #3 (or perhaps traded back?).

This brings up a good point. Even without the Skiles hire, I don't know if I see Tobias fitting into the team. However, I think that Tobias is more seasoned and I'm sure that both, as men, would be able to talk over their differences. Tobias doesn't strike me as a man who holds grudges and in the end, like Skiles, is more worried about helping his team win games.