Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News cites a few anonymous sources saying Memphis plans on firing rookie head coach Marc Iavaroni this summer if they can replace him with Larry Brown. A Grizzlies fan emailed to note Memphis radio jock Chris Vernon -- who correctly predicted the out-of-nowhere Pau Gasol trade -- can't find any source to refute the rumors.Iavaroni was the prize of the coaching free agent market last summer. Roughly a half-dozen teams were rumored to have interest before the Griz made a bold play to interview and basically hire him during the Suns' playoff run. Brown, meanwhile, has become radioactive. No team will touch him in a coaching role, and new Sixers GM Ed Stefanski even made a point to push L.B. (a Hall-of-Fame coach) away from Mo Cheeks' general vicinity (to prevent any Brute action).
We often rue the incessant instability in the NBA -- teams give up on young players too fast, and franchises give up on coaches before they've gotten much of a chance. Firing a coach with Iavaroni's pedigree after one season -- when he still has his team playing hard, despite a bullet-riddled roster -- would be the most egregious edition of knee-jerk decision-making.
Seriously, would L.B. have gotten this team to the playoffs? Really? Give Iavaroni a frickin' chance.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Marc has a stronger back than most folks think. He was hired because the Memphis situation sucks and he should be given the opportunity to persevere through it. He proved his mettle through four solid years here in Charlottesville against substantial ACC competition, not the watered down variety currently in place.
If they replace him with Brown, they are throwing water on an former assistant coach who has patiently showed his skills and deserves more than one year of evolution of a currently terrible franchise.
Posted at 7:57PM on Mar 27th 2008 by VirginiaDave
2. Hey TZ, if the Grizzlies fire Iavaroni, would you support giving up on Theus and having a supposedly better coach in Iavaroni take over? I think he'd fit like gangbusters in Sac-town, but I'm not sure if Petrie tried for him before and he wasn't interested.
I know it's giving up on one rookie coach in favor of another given-up-on rookie coach, but I think it might be a smart decision. If, of course, Iavaroni is as good as they say he is.
The Kings have done better than they were "supposed" to, but is that because guys like John Salmons are better then people thought, and not because of Theus?
Mortimer
Posted at 8:17PM on Mar 27th 2008 by Mortimer
3. Mort:
No, I wouldn't want the Kings to fire Theus in any reasonable situation. (You know, barring the thawing of Red Auerbach circa 1975.) He's done well enough, and there has to be some continuity at some point. Theus is far from perfect, and Iavaroni might end up the better coach. But the gap isn't enough to throw away the year of work which has gone in already.
Really good question, though.
Posted at 8:21PM on Mar 27th 2008 by Tom
4. I can't say I put much stock in Lawrence's report. He's a great reporter, but until he furnishes some legit sources, I'm not acknowledging this rumor.
Posted at 9:20PM on Mar 27th 2008 by Ryne Nelson