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NBA coaches walking the tightrope

Is Jason Kidd to blame for the Nets' mediocre performances?
Roar Guru
9th January, 2014
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As the NBA All-Star weekend approaches it’s just about time for the league to again blow up with personnel movements. Some coaches are already skating on thin ice, and another wrong move or backwards step could see their names on the unemployment list.

Using the new ‘going, going, gone’ format, let’s take a look at how close these coaches are from a trip to the American equivalent of Centrelink.

Mike Woodson, New York – Going, going
Mike Woodson did well to get the New York Knicks back on track after the firing of Mike D’Antoni, but he may have reached his limits.

Yes his team is damn well near broken, but with Carmelo Anthony itching to leave the Big Apple, this championship drive appears to have ended before it began.

Methinks if New York do anything but ace this upcoming off-season, it’s time for the team to go in an entirely new direction. Tough luck, Woody.

Monty Williams, New Orleans – Going
I’ll be the first to admit that this team is a team for the future. They have a fantastic stating line-up, a productive bench, and will only get better with time.

However, even prodigy projects such as this show at least something in their infancy stages, and for a line-up this talented, 15 and 19 does not count as ‘showing something’.

No playoff berth in a stacked Western conference can be excused, but ending the season under .500 may put Monty one foot out the door.

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Rick Adelman, Minnesota – Going
The Minnesota Timberwolves are finally stringing together games with their best five on the court, but still, the season is not going to plan.

Even with Kevin Love’s MVP-esque play, the Wolves are just on the wrong side of .500, and like the Pelicans, if they don’t end the season at least breaking even, the command for next year may be handed over to someone else with more playoffs experience.

Tyrone Corbin, Utah – Going
It is unlikely that Tyrone Corbin will be the man the Jazz want to lead them to their next playoffs berth.

His horror start to the season, despite the mercurial play of most improved candidate Gordon Hayward, cannot be ignored, and whilst they have recovered, and won some big games since, such as Wednesday’s victory over Oklahoma City, 12 and 25 can not be where they want to be (or can it?).

Either way, once the Jazz get their hands on Joel Embiid/Andrew Wiggins/etc and charge towards the playoffs, expect someone new to be the top man.

Jason Kidd, Brooklyn – Gone
As Lenny Leonard once said on the Simpsons: ‘Everyone makes mistakes. That’s why they put erasers on pencils’.

It’s time for Brooklyn to man up and admit their largely ambitious one, and go on the search for another coach.

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Whether or not the Truth and KG play next year, the Nets could possibly look into David Fizdale of the Miami Heat, or one of Doc Rivers’ assistants, as they all have experience managing egos into a championship outfit.

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