They're a collection that includes former bosses who are starting over in a new location, long-time assistants who are finally getting their chance and one popular figure who can't ever seem to find fulfillment simply by sitting courtside behind an analyst's microphone.
With the Warriors opening the door for the exit of the NBA's all-time winningest coach and replacing Don Nelson with Keith Smart, eight professional basketball franchises are opening training camp with new coaches. That means, in theory, eight teams going into the season with a new attitude and a different approach to the game.
From the youngest -- 39-year-old Monty Williams -- to the oldest -- 59-year-old Doug Collins -- they'll face an assortment of challenges. So as the first batch of two-a-day camp drills begins, Fran Blinebury takes a look at the road ahead for the new men in charge:
It's been more than seven years since his last coaching gig in Washington as part of Michael Jordan's fanciful comeback. At this stage of his career, can the leopard change his spots and be something other than the guy who tended to burn out late in the season in previous stops in Chicago and Detroit? He insists that he's mellowed and just wants to cap off his coaching career by getting the franchise where he once performed as a four-time All-Star back on the right track. There is a collection of young talent on hand that could benefit from Collins' extensive knowledge of the game and ability to draw up the Xs and Os. He'll still be hard-charging and driven and, if he can make the emotional connection, could make the Sixers fun to watch again.
In the end, he had plenty of critics in Chicago, but they could look back and would probably be forced to say that he had the Bulls playing hard, even if they questioned his strategy. If he gets credit for the development of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, then he has to take ownership of not getting the most out of Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas. So now the free-and-easy Del Negro takes his very thin resume to a Clippers' organization that is crying out for an authority figure. Will he be able to keep a tight rein on veteran Baron Davis and not let him run wild all over the floor while getting the most out of young players such as Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin? He has to prove that the Clippers aren't building their annual house of cards on a foundation of sand.
This move could turn out to be like one of those old time movie Westerns where the hero cowboy changes from one horse to another in the middle of a chase scene. There's no reason to think the Hawks won't keep right on galloping down the road to another 50-plus win season. In going from Mike Woodson to Drew, the Hawks made a switch without upsetting what they already have and now they're not asking their players to change the fundamental way they play the game. It was simply time for a new voice in the Atlanta after getting swept out of the playoffs in the second round for the second year in a row. He's spent 14 years as an assistant preparing for this and there's no reason to think he isn't ready.
When a franchise is coming off a horrible 12-win season, the first thing that's got to be changed is attitude. And if there's anyone who has an abundance of attitude it's the Little General, who never walks softly and always prods with a big stick. Johnson has been overcoming doubts all through his playing and coaching career, winning a championship in San Antonio as a point guard and coaxing Dallas into the NBA Finals as a coach. Johnson will surely clash with point guard Devin Harris, an old whipping boy with the Mavs. Of course, he'll rub some of his players the wrong way occasionally with his intense, in-your-face style. But he will get the Nets' attention, he will get them to play defense and he will lift them out of the standings cellar. Loudly.
One hour on one July night changed everything about the job that Scott took on. But there's a good chance that he's just what the doctor ordered for a Cavs team and a Cleveland fan base that will need to generate enthusiasm and look to the future. After learning some lessons about how to handle his stars in his first job in New Jersey, he moved to New Orleans, got Chris Paul firmly on his side and got the most out of the Hornets in 2008. Of course, now the biggest of stars has left the building and the challenge is to instill pride and a sense of defiance up and down the roster. Everyone will understandably write the Cavs off, but Scott's got the kind of chip-on-the-shoulder attitude that could rub off and become infectious. It will have to if they are going to survive the rebuilding process.
Does this mean we don't get to see Stephen Curry play center or David Lee handle the ball as point guard this season? Does the end of the Don Nelson Era mean the end of the weird lineups, the end of the moodiness and maybe the start of the Warriors returning to Planet Earth and try to become a team that contends for a playoff berth more than once every decade? It's hard to know at this point whether Smart is prepared and ready to go off in a new direction or whether he's simply Nellie 2.0. He was 9-31 during a stint as interim coach in Cleveland in 2002 and suffered through a woeful 1-4 road trip while pinch-hitting for an ailing Nelson last season. There's a lot to prove here.
To hear some tell it, it's as if the genius professor has finally been let out of the laboratory to unleash his invention on the world. Look, Thibodeau knows defense and how to coach it, maybe as well as anybody in the league today. So if he can make defense part of the Bulls' DNA, they could be ready to jump up and challenge Boston, Miami and Orlando in the top half of the East. The questions will be about his ability to juice the offense and, not so insignificantly, handle the switch from being in the shadows as an assistant to living in the spotlight as the head man. He's always been as thorough and exacting as they come in his preparation, but at the same time down-to-earth and a players' favorite.
The greatest unknown quantity among the new coaches is also likely the one facing the most immediate and difficult challenge. Having cut his teeth under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and Nate McMillan in Portland, there is no question that Williams values tough, hard-nosed defense above all else. He also learned the beauty of simplicity from his two mentors and the importance of not standing way of your talent. Williams says he wants to put the ball into Chris Paul's hands and turn the Hornets into a foot-on-the-gas running team, but not at the expense of defending. His challenge is to succeed early to cut off any speculation that an unhappy CP3 will be looking to bolt.
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