From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:
Pistons lead assistant Terry Porter met with Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr Thursday in Birmingham.
Porter, the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach, is the first candidate to formally interview for the Suns’ head coaching vacancy.
Porter and Kerr were teammates in San Antonio in the 1999-2000 season.
The fact that Porter and Kerr were teammates might lead some to think this was a courtesy interview, much like how Isiah Thomas “interviewed” Bill Laimbeer for the Knicks job in 2005. But considering Kerr had to jump through at least two hoops to make this happen (asking permission from the Pistons as well as flying out to Michigan), I think it’s safe to assume the Suns have genuine interest.
Bucks fans generally agree that Porter got a raw deal in Milwaukee, getting canned after just two years on the job despite advancing to the playoffs his first year. But that experience, as well as his last two years on the Pistons bench, can only help make him a better head coach the second time around.
Back in March, Henry Abbott asked Porter point-blank about his aspirations to be a head coach again and Porter artfully dodged a direct answer.
So, when are you going to be a head coach again?
Well, I don’t know. I’ve been very blessed, you know, Flip [Saunders] and Joe [Dumars] have given me an opportunity to be a part of this organization and this team, and it’s been great. Hopefully we can, you know, zero in on what we have to try to get done for this franchise first, and that’s to get back to the Finals and try to win a championship. That’s what this organization is all about. Joe has done a great job of putting together a roster and bringing Flip in and allowing me to come in and be a part of this staff. So I’m thankful for that, so right now, just zeroing in on just trying to get this team back The Finals.
Those other things as far as being a head coach, they will take care of themselves if we continue to play well and have success.
Some fans may be upset that the coaching staff isn’t 100% committed to preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals, but the timing of this interview doesn’t bother me one bit (and not just because the Pistons don’t even know who they’ll be facing yet). The coaching ladder should be a meritocracy, so assistants on winning teams should get the first crack at available jobs. It just seems wrong to penalize a guy’s career prospects because he happens to be good at his job, which is helping his team play deep into the playoffs.
(That said, I’m curious if/how this affects Michael Curry. The Bulls are said to have interest in him, but the prevailing thought is that Detroit may deny Chicago an interview. If the Bulls do seek permission and are turned down, the rumors of Curry being groomed as Flip Saunders’ heir apparent would appear to be true. Stay tuned.)
terry is a great coach and i think the suns are going to benefit from him..
Mlive’s Full Court Press has a link to a pretty cool article about Rodney. I think the part about how his college coach thought he was a wing player and then found he was a natural at point guard is really interesting.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/percyallen/2004418155_allen16.html
Good for Porter-he certainly deserves another chance. I once worked for the Bucks organization and they were a nightmare in the pre-John Hammond days so it wasn’t that surprising they would’ve made a boneheaded move like throwing TP under the bus because players were injured and that of course is the coach’s fault.
The real question now is for the Suns. Have they either a) come to realize that their former Ratboy coach was wrong and they really weren’t a better team than the Pistons or b)they’re ok with their decay (to quote Grandaddy)?
I will be in Phoenix all weekend for the Tigers series and look forward to getting an answer to this question.
Dear God, please let the flat-chested (or Daniel Gibson-less) Cavs win tonight and have this go seven so I don’t miss Game One of the ECF’s
“the flat-chested (or Daniel Gibson-less) Cavs”
WTF?
On that note, however, I do think losing Gibson will be a big blow to the Cavs. Wally & Delonte can nail some open threes off Bron-Bron kick outs, but Boobie is really their specialist on that front, and he’s shown himself to be wicked in the clutch too.
Then again, if Doc Rivers plays 296 year-old Sam Cassell for twenty minutes or so again, as he did in Games 3 & 4, the Cavs will probably push Game 7. Also, I don’t expect Rondo to nail to huge 3-balls again, as he did in Game 5. Christ, the kid was 5-19 *all year* Those two huge shots on back-to-back possessions late in the 2d quarter were what really got Boston back into the game in Game 5.
Flat-chested=Boobie-less
ah, nice one
+1 to SMPLR.
+1 to SMPLR for having a midlake reference as his name.
i’m happy for terry porter. but i’m more happy that there’s a position open for lindsay hunter so he can STOP taking one of our roster spots.
I never thought I’d say this, but I don’t think the Cavs can win without Chesty Gibson.
By the way, I think all pivotal young scrubs on opposing teams should be referred to as Boobie. “Boobie” Rondo, for example.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AlSxa5w09.cH4N88ak8hR_68vLYF?slug=ap-pistons-prince&prov=ap&type=lgns
Great article on Yahoo about Tayshaun
I’m glad that the Cavs-Celts are going to a 7th game, but I honestly don’t know who I want to face. Boston looks really beatable and hasn’t won on the road, which now has got to start being a mental thing with them. Cleveland is somehow in this thing with LeBron playing pretty crappy for the first 3ish games. The block that Delonte West had at the end of the game on Ray Allen (where he’d been fouled) I think is indicative of that Cleveland’s role players are playing with a ton of energy. I don’t see that at all with Boston’s guys. So maybe we want to play them? I dunno.
KG with another melt-down. I thought his blown open floater followed by the travel was the key down the stretch. You make that it’s down to four with maybe 2 mins to play (or so) and Cleveland has to play under pressure. As it was they never got it to one possession until they had to intentionally foul…and Wally nailed em.
This is awesome. EVEN IF Boston gets past Cleveland, when we face ‘em, we’ll have a great line up facing the Celtics: Prince, Billups, Roscoe, Rip, Antonio, and a little-known sixth man named “Doubt.” And I think Doubt’s gonna be a huge factor. Doubt’s gonna tell the Celtics: you can’t win on the road. You struggle to close out teams. You have three main guys but no identity. You have a weak bench. You have a weak coach.
Doubt for ECF MVP.
Rob, that Lebron guy might have a shot at it too
I think Cavs in 7 and then we jump out 2-0 on them…then we’ll see if we can avoid a repeat of the past…
It’s definitely the Pistons year to get back to the NBA Finals. I like our chances to win the whole thing, but I know that neither of those two teams have what it takes to beat a 100% healthy Pistons squad in the ECF; you may as well raise the Eastern Conference Championship banner already. With Flip’s confidence in the much-improved bench, and the true emergence of Stuckey after Chauncey’s injury, we’re all set. Whether it’s the mental midgets in Boston, or the Jekyll & Hyde Cavaliers (where we’d have the aid of homecourt advantage again), neither has what it takes to topple us this year. We may be a little rusty in Game 1 (we may not), but we’ll win Game 2 whether it’s in Detroit or Boston. If we play Boston, I see us going up 3-1 after taking Games 2-4, and if we play Cleveland I actually think they may push us to seven, whereas Boston (in my mind) has no shot at lasting more than six against us.
Plus, SIX days’ rest (eleven for Chauncey) will do wonders for this squad over the course of the ECF. As I mentioned in my previous post, it may cause some rust in Game 1, but it’s exactly what we need and something that will help put us over the top.
i feel optimistic. and i will leave it at that.
PS: I think if Boston loses on Sunday that Matt should definitely lift the ban on the Perk Is A Beast folk.
come on l.a. eliminate the team we fear the most!
Are Utah fans chanting “Ref you suck! Ref you suck!”? If so, dude, seriously, it’s not college ball. What’s next, “Hey Ref! Get off your knees! You’re blowing the game!”? Lame.
Also, I think we want to play Boston, and I nominate Doc for ECF MVP.
I’m getting sick of all the people saying Charles Barkley has a gambling problem based on the $ amount of his gambling losses. His gambling losses as a % of lifetime income are probably pretty average for most gamblers. And as for this recent debt thing - what’s different about this than if he had maxed out a credit card? We’d never know about the latter, this is just in the public eye. I say Chuck was just levering up his balance sheet a little. We focus on it b/c it’s $400K, but I’m guessing the mortgage on his house is a slightly larger debt…by a factor of 10. What the hell does anybody care if a multimillionaire owes someone a couple hundred grand?
@LB: “PS: I think if Boston loses on Sunday that Matt should definitely lift the ban on the Perk Is A Beast folk.”
I think if Boston loses on Sunday that Matt should definitely get a real Rasheed Wallace jersey tattooed to his back.
yes we can now officially beat every team remaining in the tournament!
I was mentally comparing the Pistons’ previous ECF foes to Boston.
Boston seems most like the Indiana team that lost in six. That Indiana team was probably better. A big three of O’Neal/Artest/Miller is better than what the Celts have. Plus, some decent role players in Foster, Harrington. Rondo is probably more stable than Tinsley.
Still, I think I’d rather have home court and a chance at revenge.
QD: Neither Tinsley nor Rondo are stable players in terms of production, and in Tinsley’s case, in terms of health.
“I’m glad that the Cavs-Celts are going to a 7th game, but I honestly don’t know who I want to face.”
Cleveland. Sorry, but the Cavs haven’t done anything the Hawks didn’t do, and Boston still hasn’t LOST at home.