At least Sam Mitchell is no longer on the hot seat. Less than two years after he was named the NBA's Coach of the Year, Mitchell has been dumped into the same fire-pit that has so recently scorched the coaching careers of P.J. Carlesimo and Eddie Jordan.
Mitchell now joins the not-so-short list of guys who have been canned after being honored by the league's writers and broadcasters as the best coach in the league. Indeed, of the past five COY winners, Hubie Brown (2004) was forced to retire 12 games into the following season, Avery Johnson (2006) is unemployed, Mike D'Antoni (2005) was forced to change his address, and only Byron Scott (2008) has held on to his job.
Dipping even further in the record book, Doc Rivers was COY with Orlando in 2000, only to be dismissed four years later. Rick Carlisle won the same award with Detroit in 2002, and was pink-slipped one year later.
Why, then, is this coveted award the kiss of death?
Primarily because the majority of the writers and broadcasters have little idea what transpires in practice sessions, video sessions, in-game huddles and in the locker rooms. The specifics of offensive and defensive systems are likewise beyond their understanding. So they cast their ballots on several suspect principles:
If the NBA media has projected a specific team to finish among the cellar-dwellers and the team greatly exceeds these expectations, the media convince themselves that the coach of said team must be a genius, rather than question their own misjudgments. This is exactly why Rivers won the award in 2000 after the Magic went 41-41.
Even when he was relatively healthy, Jermaine O'Neal was not the savior that the front office expected him to be. Mitchell was originally hired by the since-departed Rob Babcock, and Bryan Colangelo ached to bring in a coach who would be beholden only to him.But there's another reason why Mitchell was dismissed, and it has to do with the identity of his replacement.
Jay Triano is Canadian-born, coached his country's national team from 1998 to 2004 with considerable success, has been affiliated with the Toronto organization for the past seven years, and has been overtly and covertly angling for the Raptors head coaching job for quite some time. And because of his citizenship, Triano is also the people's choice.
For sure, the Raps will undergo a surge of enthusiasm and all-around hustle while the honeymoon lasts. And if O'Neal ever returns to full-health — a doubtful scenario — the team will be somewhat tougher than they are without him. But, they still lack an adequate backup at point guard and center spots, and there's nobody on the second unit who can create makeable shots on his own.
Look for the Raptors to be slightly better than they have been thus far this young season. But the worst thing that could happen to Triano would be to win this season's Coach of the Year award.
