Before Hansen’s crossing, the Lakers dared to appoint J.J. Redick as the head coach directly because the Warriors had already done so before them.
Cole’s resu before this was quite impressive; as a player, he achieved a three-peat with Jordan and later won two rings with the Spurs—five championships in hand. After retiring, he thrived as a TNT comntator and even squeezed in three years as the general manager for the Phoenix Suns, but he had no coaching experience.
Moreover, by comparing with Mike Malone’s contract, it was evident that Cole’s contract was not small either.
The characteristic of this type of head coach is not tactical detail, but rather tactical philosophy.
That’s why they usually surround themselves with a highly capable assistant coach—for instance, when the Warriors hired Cole, they also brought in Alvin Gentry as the chief assistant coach.
Though Gentry was not very famous, his coaching experience was extrely rich; he beca an assistant coach with the Spurs alongside Popovich in 1989.
His most brilliant record was during the 2009-2010 season when he unexpectedly led a declining Suns team to the Western Conference Finals.
If you’re an old basketball fan, you might rember that when Hansen was trying out for the Suns, Gentry gave him a very high evaluation and even voiced injustice on his behalf when Hansen didn’t get much playing ti with the Cavaliers.
His coaching style was unclear in the early years, but he beca an inheritor of the run-and-gun tactics following Antony.
So, if one does not understand why the Warriors hired Cole, seeing Gentry would reveal that they were gearing up for a strong offensive play next season.
However, this piece of news was of extra concern only to Hansen, because such a model had mostly ended in failure in the past and likely would in the future too.
For instance, Jide, Nash, Billups—these historical level playmakers of the NBA, theoretically the most tactically skilled, had mostly started with failure or simply ended in failure.
The Warriors were an exception; they were the product of Curry encountering the rule changes.
Rondo appeared puzzled after hearing what Hansen had said.
No one believed that the coaching change in the Warriors would make any difference, and it was mostly t with mockery.
After all, the Warriors under Jackson’s tenure were not weak, and Cole, by comparison, had nothing to show for himself.
Even just after the news broke, various rumors erged in the Warriors, with anonymous players expressing their dissatisfaction with Jackson’s firing.
Thus, of course, Nike didn’t expect the Warriors to pose any threat.
But after the season started, the reality was truly "what the heck is this surprise."
While they were talking, Griffin dropped by for a visit.
He ca to discuss so matters with Hansen.
The main topic was the press conference a few days later.
There was Hansen’s return, along with the people the Cavaliers traded and signed this season, making the press conference likely a lively event.
He also ntioned Jokic’s situation.
After drafting Jokic, the Cavaliers had contacted him and even sent scouts to Serbia to assess the specific situation.
It was during these assessnts that they discovered Jokic, at the mont, wasn’t even fit for the NBA G League, let alone the NBA.
He was seriously overweight like a gas tank, and his technical skills were still very raw.
Although not without rit—his height at 2.11 ters and wingspan of 2.21 ters, along with a rare big man passing ability akin to that of Sabonis.
But to put it bluntly, if not for Hansen’s insistence, the Cavaliers would never have used a first-round pick on him.
So, the team’s plan now was to assign a trainer to follow him, help him control his weight, and polish his skills, before letting him join the NBA next year.
"Can we sign him first and then let him train over here?" Hansen suggested.
"If the team doesn’t have any specific goals this season, I think that might work, but if we’re aiming for a championship, then it’s probably not a good choice."
A team with fifteen players may seem plentiful, but the season is long, and no one can predict what will happen.
Once injuries occur, which are highly probable over a season, bench players have to step up.
For instance, if Bargnani gets injured, Jokic would need to step in, but according to what Griffin said, currently, he’s clearly not able.
If Jokic then shows no capability to play in the NBA, the team might trade or release him, replacing him with soone else to fill the roster spot.
Like the case with Milicic—who would have fared much better if he had honed his skills in Europe for another year or joined a team that wasn’t aiming for a championship.
After listening to Griffin, Hansen didn’t insist any further.
If he rembered correctly, "history" suggested Jokic also took an extra year before joining the NBA.
Though he had the advantage of foresight, if history changed and led to Jokic failing to adapt or being ruined, it would be a loss too great.
While Hansen and Griffin were talking, the Lakers held a press conference in Los Angeles for Jas and the new additions.
Jas, Frye, Varejao, Bozer, Wayne Ellington... the Lakers had many newcors this year.
Of course, in the 23 24 season, Jas was the focus of the journalists’ questions.
"I’m a fan of Kobe; he’s one of the greatest players of this era, and it’s very interesting to beco his teammate."
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