Opinions of the Floyd hire--HR.com archive thread to be closed 6/16 @ midnight

[Harvey Hornet-x]

I've heard so many opinions about the Floyd hire. From doom and gloom to blind support. On this board, we are free to lash out, be right, be wrong, be overly supportive, etc., and it's all forgotten later. No more!!! Lets hold ourselves to our initial opinions and reactions. Maybe we can keep this thread open for a week and then archive it.

After next season, we can revisit our posts and see if our opinoins were accurate. Lots of crow and humble pie could be served. No escape from your own words. No matter what happens, the I told you so crowd would have proof and those that were wrong would be exposed. I always hear people saying I thought this or that after the fact. This thread could serve as our chance to prove what we know or don't know.

Lets give it a try. Everyone gets one post only. Don't engage in cross talk or debate. Have a "take" and live with it. Let your take state your cause. You can edit your post for up to a week. After it is archived, editing will not be possible. Everyone gets one week to post their opinion and then they have to live with it. Mods can it be done? Can we close this thread one week from today (June 16 at midnight) and archive it? I don't want any of us to forget our individual words of wisdom as we react to the Floyd hiring.

If you guys are for participating and the mods can archive the thread as suggested, I'll post my opinion shortly. You guys in? If you think it's a good idea, just post your take. No need to even respond to this intro to the thread. Who is first?

Remember...
1. One post only.
2. No cross talk, post your opinion regardless of what anyone says.
3. Be willing to live with what you post whether you are right or wrong. We are keeping score on this thread!!!
4. Deadline to post or edit your one post is Monday June 16 @ midnight.

[spongey]

Horrible move. We'll squeak into the playoffs or just miss them. The players will revolt privately and HH will be the first to report on it.







Of course, I hope I'm completely wrong

[West Coast Hornet]

Instead of rewriting everything that I have written elsewhere on the boards, I'll just go on record here saying that I am and always have been opposed to the hiring. I remain opposed to it. I don't think it was a good decision and I suspect we did it on the cheap as well as for the local angle. Floyd's hiring doesn't "appear" to be a step up from Silas as was promised to us by management. I fear bad things will befall this franchise in the next 0-5 years. I only hope that I am wrong and that Tim and the powers-that-be at the Hornets all prove me wrong. I remain a fan, but a disheartened one tonight!

Edit: Since the posts below mine are giving predictions, I'll go onto add that I see the gradual decline of the Hornets with this hire. I don't see a free fall. I think they'll make the playoffs in their last year in the EC, but may hit the wall pretty hard when they move to the west. This assumes the status quo in both conferences, which isn't exactly likely. Even if the WC weakens, I fear that we could be a lottery team within a few years at the latest.

[alon504]

I'll bite....An interesting, yet smart move on the Hornets part as far as local PR. Take out the NBA debacle in Chicago, and we've just hired a proven winner in every team he has coached before then. Hornets are taking a gamble, yet obviously have confidence in the move. So, we'll all take a look at this next year, huh?!...I say we'll go further next season then we did this past season.

[BsktbllTrav24]

I'm in favor of the signing and think it was a great move, I see us advancing farther in the playoffs than we did with Silas and winning more regular season games. I'm putting 100% trust and support to management and the team!!










GO HORNETS!!!

[St. Rock]

In favor of the signing, but I think it will take the better part of next season before the team comes together. They make the playoffs, win a playoff series, then lose in the second round (but in a seven-game squeaker).

[hornetsfan4life]

I remain opposed to the move because this clearly is not the upgrade many of us had in mind when Paul Silas was shown the door. While the Chicago debacle was obviously a terrible hand that he was dealt, I still think the Hornets should have pursued the services of more high-profile candidates such as Dunleavy or (my pick) Rick Carlisle. But it is unfair to judge him solely on his Chicago days, because after he was hired Jordan and Pippen and the other playmakers left and the team was essentially relegated to lottery status. Jerry Krause moved 93 players through the team in 3 years, the team forced the triangle offense down Floyd's throat, and Floyd was stuck with a bunch of young guys that he had to coach like college players and that only served to do him in even more. I hope he has learned from mistakes like these, as he'll quickly have to gain the respect and trust of his players, especially his playmakers in Baron and Mash, who spoke so highly of Silas before and after he was fired.

Moreover, the move comes off as cheap because of not only the contract, but Shinn's touting of the hiring as a move that would sell tickets here in the metro area because of his local ties. He really needs to earn the respect of his players (respect like what Silas had) to be successful. People speak of his intense work ethic and commitment, and he's gonna need every ounce of that to improve his NBA coaching record, and I hope that his miserable experience in Chicago also motivates him to success. I look forward to the positives that Floyd can offer, namely his fiery sideline demeanor and the uptempo offense that has been promoted along with his hiring. Both these traits were not present in Silas. I hope his X's and O's abilities and player rotations exceed Silas'.

To repeat, I was NOT happy with this move. I am somewhere between the positions of NYKF & WCH and HH, with a closer lean towards HH. If we really meant for an upgrade we should have looked at a high-profile guy like Carlisle, not an upgrade as far the money that is left in Shinn's wallet after he's paid everyone (which is what we get in signing Floyd to a meager contract). As far as the national media slamming us, I really can't say I mind it because we do deserve it in a sense, because we replaced the winningest coach in franchise history with a coach that has the worst win pct. in NBA history to a cheaper contract than what we were paying the last guy. But I am willing to give him a chance and my full support next season. I agree that the team needed a change as keeping Silas would have been detrimental to the team. I WANT to be proven wrong and will eat my words IF the Hornets are more successful than last season. Now the team is under my microscope like never before, and time will tell whether this hiring is an "upgrade" or not. If we don't increase the number of wins next season, and if we don't make the playoffs or we don't go deeper than we did under Silas, he MUST be fired. No excuses.

As far as my prediction of Floyd's first season: I don't think the Hornets will suddenly go 16-wins on us, and seeing as how we were really only 3 games out of first place this past season, I'm going to be optimistic. We clearly underachieved under Silas last season, and there were plenty of games (such as the Jan. OT games against POR and DET and some games against ORL) that had we won, we could have been #1 seed in the conference. So I'll go ahead and say that Floyd gets us over the hump with his passionate style of coaching and his "uptempo" schemes, but we won't hit the NBA Finals next season. ECF maybe, but we'd lose that series if we got that far. Still, it would be an improvement over Silas.

[Harvey Hornet-x]

I wanted Brian Hill to be hired. I would not have hired Tim. I'd have hired Hill or Fratello ahead of him. I'd have hired Mike Dunleavy ahead of all of them.

Nothing personal against Tim Floyd, but he doesn't have the kind of NBA experience I was looking for. Though what happened at Chicago was not his fault, his NBA experience is still on the short end of the score. I was looking for what the Hornets promised. An experienced coach who could hit the ground running and get us to the next level. That train of thought had Brian Hill written all over it as far as I'm concerned.

In the end, this could (and I believe it will) be a very good hire. Tim has a great basketball mind, a resolve to win and is a relentless worker. He is fair and genuine. He is totally professional. He is a class act on and off the basketball floor. He just lacks the experience I had hoped for in a new coach. Here's what I like the most. Tim got his dream job. I don't believe he is using us as a catapult for his career. He really wants to be here and do well.

I'm hoping and guessing that Tim will use the bad experiences he had in Chicago as a driving factor in his desire to win. Bad experience isn't always a negative. If Tim learned valuable life and/or basketball lessons from his time in Chicago, it can work in the Hornets favor. Tim is feeling humble right now. He is happy with this opportunity. If he fails, he'll die trying in my opinoin. He is hungry. Of the three finalists, I think his hunger for the opportunity may have been the greatest. Thats a plus.

I believe the Hornets and Tim will come out on the good end of this. The Hornets always seem to land on their feet. I see the Hornets as a 2nd round playoff team in the 2003-2004 season at the very least.

While I'll always wish they had hired Brian, I think Tim will do a fine job. Championship? No way I'm going that far. In the next 3 years (the length of Tim's contract), only between 1-3 teams out of 29-30 will achieve that level. No one can guarantee a champoinship, but I think we'll be much more competitive.

I think the Hornets will play smarter offense and defense. I think the players will enjoy playing for Tim while working hard at the same time. It's not about being a players coach or a disciplinarian. It's about being fair, working hard and having an intelligent approach. It's about being prepared and accepting challenges. These are qualities I think Tim brings to the team. Qualities I believe we lacked this past season.

[NYKF Hornet]

I won't be as short and sweet as WCH or spongey, and really want to take advantage of my one time chance. By the way, I'm prepared to eat crow, admit I was wrong, be tarred and feathered, and to have people bring this up over and over once Floyd proves me wrong. Here it goes:

From day 1 of the coaching search I have been against the Hornets hiring Floyd. There were too many good coaches out there for us to get, and by hiring Floyd we settled. We settled on the local angle, hoping to sell a few tickets through homerism and memories. He was the cheapest option available to us. From the start, we were told that Shinn wanted to hire an upgrade from Silas . . . "someone who could hit the ground running" with this franchise and continue winning. I have never felt Floyd is that coach.

I do base my opinion on Floyd's time in Chicago. Fairly or not, his record can not be ignored. He begged Krause for the job, and promised he could win. He was under a lot of pressure, much the way he is taking this job. I agree, the Bulls had a terrible roster and would have been horrible no matter who coached them. But, how much worse were they b/c of Floyd? They averaged 16 wins a season in an 82 game season format. Surely, if Floyd was a "great" coach, he could have done better than that. While in Chicago, Floyd reached 190 losses faster than any coach in NBA history. After 3 years of constant losing, in his 4th season Floyd quit. Most of all, it is the excuses of Floyd not having any talent that worries me. And who will take the blame here when we don't "improve from Silas". We based all the other coaches on their NBA records, it seemed to me Floyd was given a free pass b/c of his address.

The T-P has been preparing us for this moment for weeks with the endless Floyd articles. We read all the articles on how this would be the guy we really wanted all along, even though we really knew who the top level coaches were. To the T-P it seems Floyd can do no wrong, nothing in Chicago is considered his fault. Coaching matters, it takes more than talent to win in the NBA, but the T-P won't tell us that (only that Floyd is the right man for the job, and they have plans on all the former ex-La players on other teams). I can't wait for all the "let's trade so and so for Swift/Livingston/etc" articles. Under any other situation the T-P would have gone nuts had the Saints or Hornets hired an outsider with the worst coaching record in that particular sport.

I do not think we will make the playoffs this year, and we will have a losing record by All Star break. We will be lucky to reach 40 wins, which would double Floyd's all time wins. I think most of it will be blamed on talent, and how Shinn is too cheap to give Floyd enough talent to win. I just don't feel we made an upgrade today, and in the process of looking for a new coach we actually got worse. It happened at the wrong time: last year in the EC, and one year away from the WC. Tim Floyd has no grace period, that is the deal he accepted. Which is the way we would treat any coach we hired today (be it JVG, Carlisle, Brown, Hill, etc).

All that said. I'm glad I have a place to rant, rave, vent, and be heard. I will continue to be a fan of this team and support this franchise, following them through thick and thin. I look forward to Floyd proving me wrong, and I plan to watch every game with my new league pass. To question him, as much as we did Silas. And eat crow if I am wrong.

*************************

Added: Someone needs to archive these two articles:

"Floyd quickly will get better" by Smith (6/15)
"Floyd was set up to fail in first NBA coaching stint" by Derry (6/15)

These are possibly the most biased sports articles I have read since the CLT days. Only Chicago questions this hire?

[Angus]

This was a totally predictable sign by the frugal minded Shinn and Wooldridge. Floyd was the most signable coach as he has virtually no leverage as a NBA coach. Ask yourselves one thing. Do you feel any better with the Hornets with Floyd as the coach than you did with Silas? My answer is a resounding NO! This coaching change had nothing IMO to do with taking us to the next level, rather this move was based SOLEY on economics. Cheap

[CC_Hornet-x]

Although there were more successful NBA coaching "candidates" available, I think Floyd was always thought of as a wild card here. Anyone in New Orleans that follows hoops knew of his past successes here. But, unfortunately the Chicago "3 year debacle" is the bad taste that most NBA fans remember most about him everywhere.

Money has been mentioned as a motivating factor in hiring Floyd, and that may be partly true. What I think really blew Shinn, Bass, and Wooly's skirts up was Tim Floyd, the person and coach. He is dynamic and an incredible tactician, motivator, teacher, friend and speaker. All of these things plus his humbleness as a human being led to his second chance here. He will be more popular here than he would have been in any other city in the country, and that can't hurt at the ticket windows either.

So in closing even though we may all agree there were better coaching candidates, I don't think there is a doubt in anyone's mind in New Orleans who would get the most fan support among all the candidates. Like it or not New Orleanians love their home grown athletes, coaches, musicians, etc. The jury is out for a while on what he will mean to this franchaise on the court, but it is certain that he will put butts in the stands. Plus he will give every ounce of energy he has to put the best team on the floor with the best chance to win each night. He may make some mistakes and he will need to learn his players strengths and weaknesses, but I think it may just turn out to be a fun ride for all of us. I'm looking forward to this season with no regrets. I like Tim Floyd and I have no problem giving him a second chance. I think he deserved one. Who better to give it to him than the city that cares the most for him?

49-191 only in New Orleans would someone with that kind of record get a second chance at a new lease on life. Good luck, Tim.
You got my unwavered support.

[D-BO]

I'll keep this to the point.

Tim Floyd will be the NBA coach of the year within 5 seasons. He will instantly gain the trust and respect of the players by paying incredible attention to detail. There will be a clear difference in the team's defensive intensity, as well a more efficent offense. Under Floyd's leadership, Baron Davis will take the next step in his career and become a perennial MVP canidate.
Bottom line: The Hornet's will take the next step toward the NBA championship. Will it be a big enough step, only Miss Cleo knows the answer.

[Unknown Poster]

Just because Floyd is "local," doesn't mean he doesn't have coaching ability.

I believe Floyd will win somewhere between 45 to 50 games and progress at least to the second round of the playoffs.

Unless he performs at a significantly lower level than Silas, e.g., thirty to forty wins, he shouldn't be fired.

Silas had four to five years, and his supporters were willing to give him another three at least since his contract expired and he wasn't about to sign a one-year extension.

I don't see why Silas-groupies would demand Floyd's head when they didn't demand that Silas be fired for the same performance. The only answer is that there was a clear "homerism" to Silas.

[bullsman]

As a LONG time Bulls fan, I really feel for your guys! The guy can not coach on the NBA level....I can't understand why Brian Hill (a coach that has been to the Playoffs, and Finals) didn't get the nod!!

When he coached in Chicago, It wasn't all bad players the reason they were so bad, it was also bad coaching.....Hope the vets don't clash with him, and I hope that you guys have no young players to develop either....

When he left Chicago, our young players at the time Artest (before the trade), Chandler, Curry, and Crawford responded better to Cartwright. The team calimed they didn't understand there role under Floyd.
He had them totally lost.

The same players that he coached, this year had the 4th best home record in the league, and a promising young center that led he league in FG%. Fizer coming off the bench was being mentioned as a possible runner for the 6th man of the year award, before he went down with the season ending injury in Febuary. These same young players that he choose to bench and not play and develop.

.......and being I live in Charlotte, NC I'm not suprised at this move...Floyd and upgrade for Silas????? Sounds more like Floyd=less money vs Silas=more money.

There were alot of quality coaches avaliable.....alot better than Floyd.

Good Luck....your gonna need it!

[svtran79]

Come on guys.

Paul Silas was a PROVEN coach. He always had a winning season when he coached the Hornets with multiple playoff appearences. He gets fired for Tim Floyd who has a 20 percent wnning (losing rather) record. You CAN NOT justify that. It is his fault that they didn't improve while he was with Chicago. Look at what Rick Carlise had to work with when he started to coach the Pistons.

You put an unproven coach in the west division, no matter what you guys say...the odds are against you.

[say-what-x]

To avoid simply agreeing with what everyone else is writing, I have not read any of the opinions expressed above (except Spongey's) prior to writing my own.

Hiring Tim Floyd is a big risk. I have not been supportive of hiring Tim as the head coach and still feel that it is a mistake. But I also feel that the team will succeed despite this mistake. As long as Tim does not screw with the chemistry of our starters we will make the playoffs - I don't know how far we will get, but I don't expect a drop off. That said, I feel that Tim is not the right fit for this team. We needed a proven NBA experienced coach to help get us over the playoff hump - this is not Tim. Tim is a fine person and a knowledgeable coach, but he is still a risk and not because of his humbling experience in Chicago, but because he is at best an unproven NBA commodity and the type of coach you might rebuild a team around rather than try to get to improve a seasoned team.

Parting ways with Silas was the right thing to do. He had become to complacent with the team and the players responded accordingly. This combined with his inability to manage the bench is reason enough to make the change. I thank Paul for his years of success with the Hornets, but in my mind it was clear that he took them as far as he could. Tim will definitely bring a fresh perspective to the team and hopefully will be able to re-energize the players. As for me, I'm uncomfortable with this decision and there is definitely a lot of hope (rather than confidence) that it turns out to be a good move.

I do predict that Tim's every move and decision will be highly scrutinized throughout the season and that he will have little room for error when it comes to avoiding the backlash that is bound to occur when the team experiences it's first losing streak. This season is going to be an even wilder roller coaster than last and I think that could have been avoided by hiring a coach with more NBA experience or NBA success than Tim.

As much as I opposed the hiring of Tim, what's done is done and now I can only sit back and watch and continue to support the team. I hope this works out.

Good luck Tim, you will need it.

[Southpaw]

I support the hiring of Tim Floyd. I believe he will surprise the naysayers.

I did not advocate for the hiring of Tim Floyd, however. I believed that this team, at this stage, needed a seasoned, successful NBA head coach to get it to the next level.

Initially I wanted Jeff Van Gundy. I questioned why Mike Dunleavy wasn't even being mentioned. When Rick Carlisle was dumped in Detroit, I openly advocated for him.

However, I have always had confidence in Tim Floyd's coaching abilities. The qualities that made him a rising star among college coaches and ultimately landed him the Bulls job are still there.

I watched Tim Floyd up close for six years as a UNO season ticket holder. I understand when people like Bass and Shinn talk about his potential...his drive...the fire in his eyes...his desire to win.

He was not who I wanted to be the next Hornets coach.

But the move is easy for me to accept. And Tim Floyd's bandwagon is an easy one for me to jump on.

So count me among the Tim Floyd fans.

[TimDuncan]

Bad move......silas is a pro who the players liked. They will play early for Floyd and then quit....they'll finish about 6 in EC....they are getting older and I don't see them making a run again....he'll be outcoached in the first round of the playoffs.....Does anyone think thatFloyd could have outcoached and won the 1st round against Larry brown? No way..

I'll support him for one year....will give him a chance...will review his status at all star break..if baron or mash go down, i don't want any excuses out of him.....he'd better jsut win and win more than silas!

[AGHF]

worst coach hire in HORNETS history, it shows the cheapness of ShinnRidge!!!

Floyd will have a heaven-like situation in contrast to the Bulls hell-like situation!!! he has the talent to prove us wrong!!!

he will guide the HORNETS into the post season, his record depends on BD's back and knee, on Mash's overall health and on DW's ankle!!!

because i'm a die hard fan i'll support him, but he has to prove me wrong, i hope he can take the HORNETS further than Silas!!!

GO FLOYD!!!

GO HORNETS!!!

[dream34]

You asked for a take, so a take you will get. Just remember there rules to a take. Speak your mind; don’t be afraid to call people out, cut thru the “spin” and most of all it better not SUCK. Like I said you asked so here is my take.

George Porgy pudding n’ pie: You better hope this hire pays off, because if not your credibility as an owner in your new city could suffer irreparable damage. We welcomed you with open arms and agreed to give you a clean canvas, devoid of the allegations of severe mismanagement, reported in neck racing country. You started the tenure with a move, which led us to believe that the naysayers in Charlotte were not right in the dome, in signing Davis. You said that he would be the franchise player and the contract was a part of your commitment to win. Then you turn around and fire Silas, a proven playoff coach. Yea we understood we too saw Silas faults, and agreed we needed an upgrade to become the boat race of the NBA. Yet with a multitude of proven NBA playoff caliber coaches available in Van Gundy, Dunleavy, Carslile, and Brown you choose to limit your search to three candidates. What was really troubling was one of these coaches has the worst record in NBA history. We were told this was all about winning yet the candidates were contrary to this theory. Given your list it seemed that the search was now more about bank and less about winning. Your dilemma seemed to be more financially than performance driven. “ Hmmmm how can I save the most bank yet still put butts in the seats, even if I offer a mediocre product” “Hey a local boy, that’s it, well get a local, these novice fans will surely overlook his debacle in Chi-Town and buy tickets in droves”

With that thinking you made the Pink hire. At the press conference you should have said

“ Since the decision not to renew the contract of Coach Silas we have executed an exhausting search for the candidate we feel was most qualified to lead this franchise into the future. During this exhausting search we considered many coaches, however of all the available, high profile coaches, we felt the guy with the WORST record in NBA history is the man best equipped to take us to our ultimate goal”

Gee Georgie, that’s great. Now tell me what’s our goal, the lottery. You have your eye on the potential wealth of talent coming out of the college and high school ranks. Heck lets just draft a middle school kid, bet he too could help our franchise. Sorry dude but this whole thing reeks of the “el-cheapo” mentality neck racing types warned us of. And hey I hope you know you have now put yourself in the hot seat either way. If Pink is a success after 3 years, guess what you have to shell out. I know you don’t want to hear it but its BANK baby BANK. The one thing it seems you are truly not willing to part with. Guess what happens if you don’t and decide to “release” the local hero. That backlash will be worse than that felt by the engineers of the Titanic. As such your franchise will become a sinking ship in New Orleans. Now if he fails you also run the same risk. You now have to run out and hire a PROVEN NBA caliber coach and guess what that takes Georgie? BANK baby BANK. Either way you have set yourself up to part with the Bank one way or the other. Sorry Championships don’t come cheap. If you think they do just ask the Clippers what cheap gets you. In all of this you have not only put yourself under the microscope but a friggin electron at that. You better hope this works and you better be willing to part with the bank when the time comes. Sorry but the City of N.O. does not need another owner that does things on the cheap and is more concerned about the bottom line than the finish line.

While we are on this issue of “SELLIN TICKETS” lets talk attendance and growing the fan base. Seems that it has come high time for you to start “banging the collective monkeys” at Charter, Cox Sports Television, and TIX. This kind of garbage coverage is not going to win you many new fans throughout the metro market. If you think that dudes that can’t even watch the games on TV are going to be inclined to buy tickets you are living in a dream world. We deserve better local coverage in and YOU have the pull to make it happen. If any decline I’m sure you have some creative ways to twist their arms. Hey why not deliver TIX an ultimatum, “Better, expanded coverage or no renewal” Bet that will get their attention.

Either way this works I’m sure you’ll put butts in the seats on Friday and Saturday nights, just hope those butts are not in the seats of the Palace Theater.

Pinkie: You got your second chance little buddy, time to prove your worth as a NBA coach. Sorry dude but based on some of your post press conference comments I still don’t believe you have a clue about coaching in the NBA. First lesson X’s and O’s are important but learning to massage egos is more important, just your predecessor Philip in Chi-Town. Also contrary to your statement to the media “This is not about money, it’s about winning. It should not be about money to the players either” Wake up guy it’s all about money, or did Georgie neglect impart you with this knowledge. If it had nothing to do with money you would not even be on the list, much less the head coach. Your words still reek of a “college” mentality when it comes to coaching. Sorry to shock you but this is not collegiate hoops and it’s not a “coach’s” league. Believe me if it comes down to a choice between you and the all star, you are out buddy. You though you had pressure in Chi-Town, well that was a walk in the park compared to what you have now. You have no excuses for failure here aside from lack of ability. Get rockin dude and remember an “improvement” on your performance in Chi-Town ain’t gonna cut it. Only “winning at the highest level” will redeem you in my eyes. You may be able to sway these homer types with your humble attitude and “classy” demeanor but those are not the most important attributes of a winning coach. I also know that some feel that "just because you are local does not mean you dont have coaching ability" True, but just because you are local does not mean you were the best choice either, just the cheapest. Still you have my support, but dont think for a minute I'll give you even a centimeter of slack. Congrats Timothy, it is up to you to prove me wrong and force Georgie to pay up at the end of three. Good Luck, but remember, just like Georgie I’ve got the friggin electron on you.

Rack Me,
I’m out

[Superfluous_Nut]

bad move. based soley on the money angle -- cheap coach and trying to sell seats by bringing in a local. seems like they're counting on attracting non-NBA fans (which may be a smart business move).

floyd's first big hurtle will be to get players to accept him as the coach. we've got a pro squad, but some of the younger guys may object to this new guy. if there's any trouble in paradise, you know they'll blame him for it and that could be big trouble. if the players' confidence in him gets too shakey, the hornets end up going south big time.

uptempo? is that really what we should be playing? courtney and baron are certainly uptempo kinda players, but mash? pj? jmag? lynch? i dunno. we'll see. of course "uptempo" = exciting = ticket sales.

everybody knows this wasn't what we were expecting given the "coach with experience" and "take us to the next level" and "hit the ground running" comments.

my predictions are two-fold. next year, i don't see any drastic improvement or slippage. i suspect we'll end up at about 40-45 wins, still enough for the playoffs, but still not enough for home-court. there's a slight chance we'll do better than that, and a much bigger chance we'll do worse. silas had to deal with something major each year, so it's hard to factor that in. let's just assume something major will happen this year and call it even. for the playoffs, i agree we underachieved this year. our two best players being injured didn't help a lot, tho. unless we make the EC finals, this would not be an upgrade over silas (silas has twice lead us to the EC semi-finals).

the second part of the prediction relates to the WC move. good f'n luck. i see the hornets BARELY making the playoffs. maybe not even. utter chaos and major personel changes. po'd players.

i also predict that there will be floyd fans that will refuse to see anything wrong with his coaching. his first year will be a "just getting used to them" series of excuses. the next will be "hey, it's a new conference" set of excuses.

i don't see him coaching here more than 2 years. probably will leave early in his third. maybe that's the plan all along. Bass sets him up with Lucas as his assistant and eventually Lucas takes over after floyd walks.

[cool_hand_luke]

I seriously believe he was hired because he was the cheapest coach they could find. I also believe there is a reason for that. I find it an insult to knowledgable fans to try and justify it any other way.
I will be surprised to see him make it more than two years before being fired.

My predictions for next year are we barely squeak into an eight seed and go out in the first round.

[Joe Horn(ets)]

I hate the move honestly. Will I support him? Yes, I don't blame him from the Chicago fiasco.

But I was a Silas fan and I knew Silas had to leave, so I was a little dissapointed, but then Shinn said, "Were gonna bring a coach who can win a championship NOW. With that, I was excited, I knew this would be one of the best coaching carasouls(sp?) in NBA history. We could pick from Larry Brown, Van Gundy, Mike Fratello, Brian Hill, Mike Dunleavy, Rick Carlisle, and possibly, if they are fired, Don Nelson and rumors say maybe Bryon Scott.

So first I was happy that we atleast went for Van Gundy but for some reason he declined. I atleast knew we were gonna bring in a great coach and not a cheap one.

So then Fratello drops out, not bad to me, atleast we were considering him.

Then Carlisle becomes available, WHAM BAM, there should be your coach right there Shinn and Bass.

But nope, they went the cheap way and hired Floyd, and it helped that he is a local.

So Im mad, Shinn says he wants to bring a championship now and you have great coaches to choose from but "Were gonna bring a coach who can win a championship NOW." to me was a translation of "Were gonna bring a coach who is cheap and won't make us shed the green because we know we're not gonna pay tons of money for a filthy coach".

So, yes, I think this is a stupid move and Shinn knows he will be the laughing stock of the NBA, but he's used to that by now.

I think Floyd will bring us to the playoffs but it will be more of BD, Mash, Magliore, Wesley, and maybe PJ that will bring us there, not Floyd's coaching.

BD and Mash will save Floyd this year, but next year in the West, we're gonna be a lottery team.

Oh and championships, do I think we're gonna get one? No. I don't even think we will defend for the East, I have pretty much given up on that. We're either gonna make it pass the first, or just lose in the first round.

Sorta like Silas. You know Silas the one who was gonna want more money but c'mon, Shinn pay money to a coach? That's impossible.

[West Coast Hornet]

Holy Toledo, the lights have been turned off...

RACK the Dream34!!

Rack him, baby, rack that guy.

[Dr. Sting]

I would have hired Carlisle, but given the situation I do support the hire. Floyd in my opinion will be a better bench coach than Silas. There were times last year that Silas had me pulling my hair out with his substitution patterns (or lack thereof) and his inability to draw up a decent play when we absolutely needed to get a good shot. Also Silas' staff was an absolute joke. An emasculated Brian Hill, his son who had no real experince except a brief stint in the CBA, and Donewald who for the lifeof me I still can't figure out what his job was (give half time interviews I guess).

I know that Floyd is a better X's and O's coach than Silas. I base this on having watched both in person on many occasions (was a student at UNO during Floyd's tenure and saw about 30 Hornets home games at the arena).

Prediction: we win 48 to 51 games, finish no lower than 3rd in the Central and advance to at least the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs.