I no longer want Carlisle as coach of the Hawks.

[Diesel]

I want Fratello.

But first, here's why I don't want Carlisle. It's being suggested that the timing to get Larry Brown is not the only reason why Carlisle was fired. It's being said that he rubbed everyone the wrong way and that he has as big an ego as any player? Read what Greg Anthony reports (I trust Anthony being that he's not so disconnected from the game). I think behind the scenes, Carlisle lacked people skills. So instead of being like Larry Bird, he was more like PJ Carlisimo and his coach of the year title may have made him worse.

I can just imagine him coming to town and alienating all of our players. There would be left....Theo/Hendu/Ira/Dion/ and some PG because Carlisle would probably oversee the exile of JT, Big Dog, and SAR.

I also believe that Fratello is waiting on this job. He wants to be coach of Atlanta again. I think he's a good match for our personnell. I think he knows how to develop players and he has experience in defining roles. If he is still as fiery as he used to be, the Czar could come back and make this a 50 win team easy.

Stotts, I have no problems with but this.... He's not experienced enough as a head coach. He coaches like Karl. Karl is a good coach when he has the right mix of players but Karl's shortcomings are the lack of a definite style. The same is true of Stotts. What's his aim? I mean, Stotts did a good job of teaching fundamentals to this team... However, I think that there's a definite ceiling for Stotts and it's because of style.

Dunleavy. I think Dunleavy would be an excellent motivator. He's a good coach as well. The problem with Dunleavy is this.... Control. While Dunleavy is excellent with the X's and O's, and he's a good motivator, I think that he lacks control over the team. I think Dunleavy would be very good where he had a strong veteran presence. In LAL he had Magic. IN PTL's best years he had Pipp and Smitty. However, here... We have no identity because we have no veteran presence. I mean, SAR is a vet, but he doesn't exhibit the leadership quality of a Magic or Pipp or Smitty. In short, if we brought in Dunleavy, we'd have to make moves to get strong voices like Smitty and Kenny Anderson on this team. We'd be like that Bucks team that never got above 34 wins. Their big three was Big Dog, Vin Baker, and Sherman Douglass. Douglass was an awesome floor leader but they lacked good veteran leadership.

[Gray Mule]

It's said, sometimes the best trade of all is the one that

didn't happen. Meaning, sometimes it works out that the

player you didn't get rid of turned out to be better than

the one that was going to replace him.

Fratello would be a very good choice for the Hawks, I think.

Some of these great coaches that are running loose right

now have flaws, just like the rest of us do.

The reason they are no longer with their former team is

because someone was unhappy. Some coaches wanted

to be somewhere else. Some of the front office people

wanted to make a change. Sometimes, the players on

a paticular team just didn't like the head coach.

What makes a coach great? The players he has and his

ability to work with them to produce a winning combination.

Most of the coaches who are out there right now could

not or would not be able to work with the players that

the Hawks have and produce a winner.

Fratello could. He meets our needs more than any other

coach out there. He has the ability and the knowledge to

get it done. If he is not available, keep what we have.

Stotts has been around long enough, now has some very

valueable experience from last season and won't cost the

Hawks an arm and a leg.

What the Hawks desperately need right now is an upgrade

in the scouting department. If I was the owner, this would

be my first priority. Add more people. Strengthen the

entire scouting department. That is the weakest link in

the chain of the Hawks orginization.

[Vol4ever]

Diesel, I agree with you on selecting Fratello. If you remember though, when Fratello left that was one of the things people in this organization said "He couldn't get along with the players and was too rough on them"

[Diesel]

Fratello has always been a fiery coach. I like that about him. However, what I'm hearing about Carlisle is more like PJ than MF. In Cleveland, Fratello took a team and did some good with them even through bad trades and NO fans. I don't recall anybody saying many bad things about Fratello..

[beav]

certainly over Dunleavy! But still not over Van Gundy and at least even with Fratello.

First of all, there are two sides to every story and the fact that all of this comes out about Carlisle now smacks of Detroit leaking a bunch of crap to justify them 86ing a guy that took a team that barely had business in the EC playoff field to the conference finals and 50 wins. If they wanted Brown fine, Brown is IMO the best coach out there, but I take a lot of these stories with a grain of salt.

He shoved an executive trying to highfive players? Was this during a game? At the end of a game that was still in question? Did some jackass in a suit run over to the bench while he is still trying to ensure that his players get back on defense to cement the game?

He yelled at a secretary? Don't get me wrong this is not really great behavior, but wow! run him outta town! I mean we only put up with players that beat their wives on certain teams. Once again, all of this comes out *after* Detroit has brought Brown into town. I would have a lot more respect for them if they had let him go before Brown was available, or put the kibbosh on all of these rumors about him being hard to work with *after they had fired him*.... I like Dumars but have absolutely zero respect for that organization.

Now in regards to the players. Yes, communication is important. But the Hawks have had enough IMO of the Bob (not Sam) Weiss, Lenny Wilkens, Lon Kruger nice guys.

I want to see a coach put his god&amn shoe up a players butts for loafing!

I want to see the Hawks play defense like their ass*s are on fire! When JT effortlessly and sloppily makes another errant pass I want to see his ass chewed out! I want to see Robinson and Glover buried back on the bench for being horrendous defensive players.

Bottom line guys, some coaches actually *insist* that players play defense. Look at Donyell Marshall before Sloan in Utah. This guy was close to the worst defender in the league! He was at least average there after Sloan was through with him.

Whether it is Van Gundy, Carlisle whatever, I want a tough coach, than takes no BS and makes this guys earn their money!

*rant off*

[Diesel]

Oh how Beav long for the days when PJ returns to the Blazers!

[beav]

I'd rather have PJ than Dunleavy any day of the week.

But as I've said many times before I'd rather have Van Gundy than all of them (including Carlisle).