PJ Carlesimo speaks with Brett Brown (back to camera) as Greg Poppovich looks on
PJ Carlesimo's tenure as Seattle coach does not read well in the record books - but was it poor performance or poor timing that saw him exit with a .244 winning percentage?
Carlesimo was appointed to coach the Supersonics prior to the beginning of the 2007-2008 season. That same off-season on draft night, Seattle traded it's best player, Ray Allen, for Boston's 5th pick. They also let Rashard Lewis, coming off a 22ppg campaign, leave for Orlando as a free agent. The roster was effectively gutted, giving Carlesimo a clear brief: rebuild from scratch. The Sonics used their own 2nd overall pick on Kevin Durant and the 5th on Jeff Green. The two were brought in to play heavy minutes on a team that would likely struggle to compete. While it's not on record that Carlesimo was ordered by Seattle management to lose games, he was clearly put in a position where he couldn't do much else. Amid the backdrop of their mooted relocation to Oklahoma, he was expected to provide minutes for the Sonics' youth and land another high draft pick.
And that's exactly what he did, "leading" the team to a 20-62 record. Carlesimo took a developmental approach, as evidenced by him starting the 6-10 Durant at shooting guard and asking him to defend point guards to improve his all round game. Wins were not his or the organisation's priority and for their non-winning "efforts," they were rewarded with the 4th pick of the 2008 Draft. The soon-to-be Thunder used it to select UCLA shooting guard Russell Westbrook - a raw athlete who started for the Bruins alongside star pointman Darren Collison. In another "short term pain, long term gain" move, the team decided to move Westbrook to point guard, arguably the toughest position to learn in basketball. Later in that same draft, they chose another unpolished athlete from the Spanish ACB, via the Congo, in Serge Ibaka.
The foundations were set for another year of teaching and patience, with expectations arguably even lower given the introduction of a rookie starting point guard who was learning on the fly. Low expectations didn't save Carlesimo from getting the axe just 13 games into 2008-2009, after the Thunder started 1-12. His replacement, assistant Scott Brooks, guided the Thunder to a 22-47 record for the rest of the season - numbers not dissimilar to the win total Carlesimo had posted a year earlier. The Thunder were again blessed with a top pick, using the 3rd selection in the 2009 Draft to select James Harden (pictured wearing a suit Craig Sager would regard as "too ridiculous.")
The tipping point arrived for Oklahoma in 2009-10. Brooks took the team to a 50-32 record and the Thunder became the darlings of the NBA. To completely discredit Brooks' contribution to their huge improvement would be unfair, but just how much of the Thunder's meteoric rise can be attributed to their young roster of top prospects simply growing up and maturing? Last season Carlesimo took the struggling 14-14 Nets to a 35-19 record after being promoted to replace Avery Johnson (and we'd suggest he'd be welcomed back with open arms at the moment). He also had several winning seasons in Portland during the mid-90's. It's apparent that he can coach, providing he's put in a position to win - something he was not afforded at Seattle and then Oklahoma. Effectively, he babysat that franchise while it stockpiled high draft picks, then handed the keys over to someone else just as those players began to fulfill their potential.
PJ, pictured with Deron Williams, during his successful stint with Brooklyn last season
Carlesimo is one example of a coach who was hired to oversee a rebuild - hired to lose games, to put it bluntly - then moved on before he could reap the benefits of his sacrifices. The "investments" he made to secure talent via the draft and develop youth were not realized by him, but by Scott Brooks. Again, it's too glib to suggest Brooks' did nothing but sit back and wait while the Thunder inevitably improved, because not all young players reach their potential. It is, however, fair to ask if Carlesimo was treated poorly in being expected to put aside personal gain - winning games - to lay the groundwork for a new roster, then not getting to stick around until it prospered.
Fast forward to 2013-14 and we find Baseline Leaner favourite Brett Brown in a similar position to where PJ was prior to 2007-8. The 6ers, in an attempt to acquire as many Lottery balls as possible, have done everything but trade the entire roster for that of the 1994 North Melbourne Giants. The decision to jettison Andrew Bynum, it's star recruit only 12 months earlier, set the tone. That move was followed by another which sent All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for the rights to 6th overall pick Nerlens Noel and a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. As if trading their best player for a 19 year old project wasn't enough, the team promptly shut down Noel and his surgically repaired knee for the entire season. The 76ers care so little about winning this season that they are actually spending less on their roster than the NBA mandated minimum.
Brett Brown helps Nerlens Noel with his form
Despite starting 7-16, a pace that would blow away the 16.5 wins Vegas projected, all of the above points to Brown finishing the year with a win total of 20-25 (the 6ers are currently on a 4 game losing streak). Philadelphia management, like the Sonics management who oversaw their late 00's rebuild, haven't publicly admitted to wanting to lose this season. However, it doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines to gather that they expect Brown to do just that: lose a lot. At the end of season 2013-14, the 6ers should be well placed to land a high pick due to their own poor record, as well as another Lottery pick due to the Pelicans - who are without Anthony Davis for 6 weeks - missing the playoffs. Additionally, they project to have around $12.5 million in cap space to spend on free agents. All of this bodes well for the 6ers future but unless that cap space is used to sign a veteran superstar or there is some sort of blockbuster trade, both of which are unlikely, Brown will oversee another roster of young prospects in 2014-15. He will be asked to teach and develop again (read: not win), just as he was this season.
Upon hiring Brown, 6ers GM Sam Hinkie noted: "We went through an exhaustive search to find the right head coach for our organization—one who had a passion for developing talent, a strong work-ethic to help create the kind of culture we hope for, and a desire to continually improve." Brown has already started to show a knack for fostering potential. Michael Carter-Williams, regarded by many as a hit-or-miss NBA prospect, and Tony Wroten, given away by Memphis, are blossoming under his stewardship. He's also made individual skill development a priority, taking it upon himself to rework Nerlens Noel's shot.
On paper, Brown's first 2 seasons will probably net him very little - 50 or so wins. In practice, they will put the Sixers in a position to compete at a high level in 2016 and beyond. Here's hoping that Brown's willingness to buy into the Sixers long term strategy pays off, but unlike PJ and the Thunder, he's still there to enjoy it when it does.
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