Should Nate be fired?

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, kg01 said:

Them "missing" Hunt because Prunty is trassh is like me preferring an alligator bite because getting mauled by a lion is worse.

Or a game where my demented friends and I played at the pool back in the day called “would you rather drown or burn ?”

 NEEEEEEEEETHAAAAAAA!!!

(as someone cannonballs into the pool screaming NEVEEEEERRRRRRR)

[kg01]

5 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Or a game where my demented friends and I played at the pool back in the day called “would you rather drown or burn ?”

 NEEEEEEEEETHAAAAAAA!!!

(as someone cannonballs into the pool screaming NEVEEEEERRRRRRR)

To be fair, there are some here, who's opinions I trust, who genuinely believe Hunt is a good coach.  It just so happens that I have a much lower opinion of him.  I think there's a reason every place he lands ends up firing the HC and positions him as the interim.  Mgt outmaneuvered him here by hiring McMillan as asst.

[macdaddy]

Our improved reputation from last year's playoff run just went out the window.  It maybe worse now that everyone thinks Trae is overrated.  But i think making roster changes is our only option.

[Spud2nique]

2 minutes ago, kg01 said:

I think there's a reason every place he lands ends up firing the HC and positions him as the interim. 

Missing racks of lamb ? 
 

(my bad I’m obviously still a lil upset about the skHEAT skHEAT). 

[Spud2nique]

Just now, macdaddy said:

everyone thinks

I could give a crap less what “people think about us.” I have that up in 1990 when I knew the media hated Atlanta. 

F BSPN they only like the Celts anyways due to Bristol. Everyone has an agenda. 

[macdaddy]

4 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I could give a crap less what “people think about us.” I have that up in 1990 when I knew the media hated Atlanta. 

F BSPN they only like the Celts anyways due to Bristol. Everyone has an agenda. 

Yeah but it matters a lot.  It's why we never signed a big free agent.   It affects revenue.  It affects player awards which affects revenue which affects free agency and on on on.  

[FrankWhite]

Nate seems like a good guy, so it brings me no joy to say this, but that was the type of season, capped off by that performance in the playoffs, where you have to make a change. We’ve watched this team struggle to inbound the ball, handle any type of pressure, box out, etc. All year other teams, regardless of talent level, were just quicker to the ball than the Hawks.

Whether that’s a personnel or a coaching problem, I’m not sure, but it’s the coach’s job to make adjustments when things aren’t working, and Nate never did. On top of all that, it just felt like our players regressed. I honestly can’t think of a worse outcome from the end of last season to today.

[Dnice]

Looking for the Breaking News notification.

[Atlantaholic]

we are 70-50 and 11-12 in the playoffs under Nate. Dealing with a myriad of injuries. I hate the way Nate coached this year, but he deserves another season. 

[JeffS17]

I want to change my answer.  I think the answer is not to fire Nate but to get an offensive-minded assistant coach to take the reigns.  It's very clear Trae does not respect Nate as an Xs and Os coach (probably rightfully so), and I think we need someone who can focus on that end.  LPs offense was much much better than what Nate had us doing this season.  

[Diesel]

10 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

I’m gonna say give him another year. If we don’t go quite far next year and max on our potential then fire him next summer.

I believe he should get another go at it next year. It would be a surprise to see Travis give him the axe this early into signing him. 

 

We also have to remember that the clock is ticking on Trae's window.  In Atlanta. 

[Diesel]

Where is our Tex Winters?

[SalvorMallow]

12 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

I want to change my answer.  I think the answer is not to fire Nate but to get an offensive-minded assistant coach to take the reigns.  It's very clear Trae does not respect Nate as an Xs and Os coach (probably rightfully so), and I think we need someone who can focus on that end.  LPs offense was much much better than what Nate had us doing this season.  

Can we get an assistant coach that will make Nate play the rookies too? One thing I always remember about coach Bud is he was extremely proud of his player development regimen. There were tons of articles about it in the news and he would bring up "vitamins" in casual conversation (over a beer of course *burp*). I haven't seen anything resembling that from Nate, and the results seem to be obvious in the regression of the majority of our players.

 

He might need to get an assistant coach of timeouts and ATOs as well, as he has been abysmal at both all season, most notably in this playoff series.

 

Now that I think of it, he needs a defensive assistant coach too, since the defense was awful all year, up to and including the playoffs.

 

[JeffS17]

11 minutes ago, SalvorMallow said:

Can we get an assistant coach that will make Nate play the rookies too? One thing I always remember about coach Bud is he was extremely proud of his player development regimen. There were tons of articles about it in the news and he would bring up "vitamins" in casual conversation (over a beer of course *burp*). I haven't seen anything resembling that from Nate, and the results seem to be obvious in the regression of the majority of our players.

 

He might need to get an assistant coach of timeouts and ATOs as well, as he has been abysmal at both all season, most notably in this playoff series.

 

Now that I think of it, he needs a defensive assistant coach too, since the defense was awful all year, up to and including the playoffs.

 

Fair -- I just think there is no one better available, and I also think getting a new coach for a second straight year isn't going to be good optics if we're trying to get star players to come here.  I don't want to call for Nate's head and then end up with Doc Rivers

[macdaddy]

5 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Fair -- I just think there is no one better available, and I also think getting a new coach for a second straight year isn't going to be good optics if we're trying to get star players to come here.  I don't want to call for Nate's head and then end up with Doc Rivers

Yeah.  I don't think it can be done.  He's been here one full season and about 15 months?  What head coach wants to come in here other than inexperienced ones. 

[NineOhTheRino]

do we blame Nate for NBA players not being able to inbound the basketball?  real question

[JayBirdHawk]

3 hours ago, kg01 said:

Prunty is trassh is like me preferring an alligator bite because getting mauled by a lion is worse.

...reading this on a zoom call is no Bueno.

[JayBirdHawk]

Don't want us on a coaching carousel but this grates my nerve. He needs better assistants.

 

 

[macdaddy]

1 hour ago, NineOhTheRino said:

do we blame Nate for NBA players not being able to inbound the basketball?  real question

No but i have no idea what the play was.  Contrast it with Minny's inbound to tie the game.  Granted a better location to inbound but they had an actual plan.

 

 

[lynred]

I'm conflicted on Nate - part of me wants him fired and part of me thinks he deserves to come back. My gut tells me he will be back on a short leash - so if they bring in a high-profile assistant - that could be telling.  I get the feeling that Nate would be too stubborn and resist that and it could turn into a very contentious play for the organization.  At the end of the day, I guess I would probably be inclined to bring in a seasoned coach - if available - who is strong with game management/strategy and focused on player development - perhaps Kenny Atkinson or Dave Joerger. Or really almost anyone from the Pop tree - you can't go wrong there. Otherwise, just let it play out one more year and things will probably be more clearer. Gotta admit I'm jealous of Boston and the Pelicans with what they are doing with ROOKIE head coaches - who seem to know exactly what they are doing - and we are stuck with an unimaginative, rigid, stubborn coach like Nate. Maybe that's unfair, but it's how I feel right now.

The optics of letting him go after one year are going to look bad, but his shortcomings - which have been well innumerated in previous posts - are VERY concerning - and may cap this teams ceiling. Many of which we heard from Pacer fans when he took over last year. I don't blame Travis for the contract - he almost had no choice, but I believe SOME consideration should be given to a coaching change this off-season.

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by lynred