Clifford the big magic coach

[Franchero MVP 391]

40 minutes ago, Ibn Battuta said:

It’s an underwhelming hire, I give it a 3/10. 

Clifford underperformed these last two years. He was given a vet team with good players and still couldn’t get them to make the playoffs in a weak conference. After all these years of losing and directionless basketball this team chose the most plain, unimaginative, and uninspiring head coach they could find. This team had a chance to make a statement with their hire, a new, fresh voice to breathe life back into this franchise and they chose...drum roll please...Steve Clifford. 

 

Best post here, even though we don’t agree on most issues. 

[Franchero MVP 391]

19 minutes ago, fan for too long 2 said:

Bleh. Uninspired hiring, not extending Gordon, not extending Mario, trading our first round pick last year for basically nothing. 

This new management team is really bringing it. 

They SUCK SUCK SUCK !!!!

I am with you on this one. I am unimpressed with this new FO. 

[HeHateMe 697]

I wonder who our next coach will be. 

[Mike1989 68]

I think we do need to give Steve Clifford some credit for his time with Charlotte because as the Bobcats they had generally been terrible, but from his first season the Bobcats (now Hornets) improved and became more competitive. In his first season with them they finished with a 43-39 record, which was 22 wins more than the previous season, and they made the play offs. In his third season they won 48 games and took Miami to seven games in the play offs. His first three seasons they finished in the top ten defensively and the past two they have still had positive ratings. So there are positives to his time in Charlotte and I'd argue that their front office didn't do a great job in supporting him, which is why they have cleared house. 

Is he a good hire for us? 

I'm not sure. We have tried the veteran coach the past two times and not had much success. I think this hire points towards our front office's desire to be better defensively, be more competitive and win more games. Hopefully Clifford can get the most out of our existing roster, but how much we can improve with our current collection of players is debatable. In Charlotte his first season was boosted by the arrival of Al Jefferson and in his third I think they acquired Nic Batum and Jeremy Lin. So if we are to see a significant improvement next season i suspect moves will need to be made to get an upgrade at certain positions otherwise we'll continue to see 20-30 win basketball. Fingers crossed this hire works out for us. 

[Mike1989 68]

7 minutes ago, Gordon MVP said:

I am with you on this one. I am unimpressed with this new FO. 

Let's be patient and see what happens. We tried to replicate the OKC/San Antonio method under Rob Hennigan and Jacque Vaughn and it didn't work. Now we have gone down a different route by hiring personnel with experience in Milwaukee and Toronto, so hiring a coach like Clifford fits a more veteran orientated approach, and we'll see what happens because maybe Clifford gets the best out of these players and we improved significantly next season, and the front office nail their draft picks and we get a star. It's not all doom and gloom. Is Clifford a flashy hire? Nope, but let's give it a chance. 

[Magicman28 295]

46 minutes ago, Catalina Maria said:

Ownership is in full rebuild mode. We are going to do Philly style. Playoffs will come in 4 years.

We're repeating the Hennigan era.

Hate this team.

[HeHateMe 697]

23 minutes ago, Magicman28 said:

We're repeating the Hennigan era.

Hate this team.

The issue with the hennigan era was we tried to take shortcuts towards the end. Well that and many other things. 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

No matter who got hired, this roster needs an overhaul.

[Ibn Battuta 127]

6 minutes ago, Mike1989 said:

but let's give it a chance. 

there's nothing else we can do...He's signed for four years. 

I see where you are coming from and I don't think he's a bad coach. It's just not an exciting hire, at all. Judging by this thread, the fan reaction has been lukewarm. We've seen what he can do and it's...okay. It's disappointing in a sense that we had Vogel, waited a year, dropped him, and then picked up Clifford. 

[Mike1989 68]

2 minutes ago, Ibn Battuta said:

there's nothing else we can do...He's signed for four years. 

I see where you are coming from and I don't think he's a bad coach. It's just not an exciting hire, at all. Judging by this thread, the fan reaction has been lukewarm. We've seen what he can do and it's...okay. It's disappointing in a sense that we had Vogel, waited a year, dropped him, and then picked up Clifford. 

Clifford wouldn't have been my choice. I would have been trying to find our Brad Stevens or Brett Brown. Someone that can come in and put in place the philosophy and style of basketball we want to play going forwards while we begin a new rebuild. Stay committed to them and hopefully win with them. I wanted our next coach to be here long term. Maybe Clifford has been hired for that very reason but I can't help but feel this is us going for another Skiles like coach to get us on track to compete for a play off spot next season rather than go all in on a youth development program. 

[MagicFan1234 124]

I remember Evan said Stackhouse is going to be our new head coach, well, he looks stupid now and he should shut his mouth

[Soul Bro 1,419]

I give the hire a C+. I understand it but am not excited about it. That being said, the Charlotte roster situation is worse than Orlando’s.