Lenny Wilkens

Rick Carlisle: Can You Go Home Again?

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The Pacers recent hiring of Rick Carlisle as coach fascinates me.  By all accounts, he’s a pretty good coach and, divorced of any backstory, his hiring by the Pacers is totally rational.  He’s a seasoned professional on a team that has struggled to get the most out of relatively solid talent.  What interests me is the fact that Carlisle is a prodigal son returning to town. By way of quick backstory, Carlisle had an interesting prior reign in Indiana.  In 2003, he was hired … [Read more...] about Rick Carlisle: Can You Go Home Again?

Revisiting the Manning-Nique Trade

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The trade deadline has come again and this year’s relatively mild events had me thinking back to, perhaps, the biggest late season trade when the Atlanta Hawks traded franchise icon Dominique Wilkins to the Clippers for Danny Manning in February 1994.  Even 27 years later, it still seems odd that this deal happened.  Let’s take a look back and see if things make more sense now than they did then… 1993-94: Atlanta Surprises in a non-MJ World Before we get into the specifics of the … [Read more...] about Revisiting the Manning-Nique Trade

Revisiting DJ for Robey: How Did It Happen?

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Nearly 38 years ago, the Celtics made one of the great trades in the history of the franchise when they got Dennis Johnson a strong starting point guard from Phoenix for Rick Robey, who was a solid backup center, but nothing more.  Boston would go on to make the next four NBA Finals, winning two, while Robey was out of the NBA by 1986.  After the runaway success of the Celtics, the trade was widely seen as an obvious fleecing by Red Auerbach of Jerry Colangelo and the Suns. This … [Read more...] about Revisiting DJ for Robey: How Did It Happen?

Is Lenny a Loser?

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Last night, Lenny Wilkens became the losingest coach of all time in the NBA.  The game which Wilkens lost, a blowout by the Spurs, was fitting for the accomplishment.  He passed Bill Fitch with 1,107th loss.  Of course, Wilkens is also the all time winningest coach too.  Opinions have ranged about how good Wilkens is as a coach.  Some consider him a top coach who gets a lot out of his talent.  Others think his longevity is a tribute to mediocrity and not … [Read more...] about Is Lenny a Loser?

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