In June of this year, Kerr resigned as general manager of the Suns, ending his short career as a professional manager.
He returned to his commentary position on the Turner Network Sports Channel, commentating on games as a professional player.
As a member of two championship teams, Cole, who is not very talented, can get the attention of Phil Jackson and Popovich, which is enough to show that he has a high basketball IQ.
It’s just that professional managers test not only basketball IQ, but also a lot of work outside of basketball to deal with.
There was a problem with his strategic thinking when he first arrived in the Suns. He dismantled the team and replaced him with O'Neal, who was past his peak. He wanted to solve the Suns' stab phobia and fight against the Lakers' three top players.
As a result, he was brutally beaten by the Spurs in 2008. Kerr realized that the era of the giant inside was over and immediately transformed.
The Suns were successful in 2010, but the upper limit has been reached. Cole has proven himself in three years, and his motivation to stay is not very strong.
In addition, Suns owner Sarver really did not appreciate Cole. As a nobleman who helped Sarver buy the Suns in 2004, Sarver refused to give him a lot of money to take charge of the team after Cole's contract expired. In order to give him a generous contract and a 10% salary cut for his success, Cole will naturally not stay.
He returned to Turner Television, where he once worked, and continued to serve as a game commentator while waiting for new opportunities.
Cole thought about lying dormant for a while, waiting for the world to change, and then coming out to assist a team to realize his career as king.
Although Cole won a lot of rings as a player, he ultimately won the championship as a marginal role player, not a core member, and the rings were not heavy enough.
And Cole is a man with great ambitions. It can be seen from his temper that he is not willing to be just a supporting role.
When he was playing for the Chicago Bulls, he had a conflict with Michael Jordan during training. He dared to punch the best player in the league and started a fight.
You can tell from his behavior that his spirit is very high and he is definitely not a thing in the pool.
In just three seasons with the Suns, their boldness, connections and abilities can be seen in their massive reforms and transactions.
After making mistakes in thinking, he quickly adjusted, rebuilt the team, and took advantage of Nash's final peak to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Even though they failed to realize their dreams of the finals and championship, they swept the Spurs in the semifinals and vented their anger at being eliminated from the playoffs in previous years.
After resigning from the Suns, many teams offered Cole an olive branch. Cole rejected them one by one and returned to his work as a television commentator. At the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, he observed the changes and changes in the entire league. New trends.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity came quickly. The Clippers, which has attracted much attention in the past two seasons, sent an interview invitation to Cole, hoping that he could come to the team to serve as an offensive assistant coach.
The person who found Cole was Clippers chief coach Kim Hughes. This old veteran was a representative of mediocre characters in his player and coaching eras, and was a typical good old guy in the league.
As a player, he played for small and medium-sized teams like the Nuggets and Nets, and as a coach, he worked for a bad team like the Clippers. He is a figure that Cole can't quite admire.
But the NBA circle is small, and he is an old-timer after all. He still agreed to Kim Hughes's invitation and met with him in Phoenix and talked about the Clippers' recruitment of assistant coaches.
Cole originally just wanted to deal with it, but he didn't expect that what Kim Hughes said aroused Cole's great interest, especially when Kim Hughes said that Smart Min asked the team to implement "everyone has the ball to play." The principle of gradually introducing the pass-and-cut tactical system made Cole's mind light up.
In the past few years, he has been thinking about the future development direction of NBA tactics all the time. Having personally experienced a near-perfect championship team, he has a unique understanding of championship-level teams. He is trying to find a team that can become the new Chicago Bulls or Spurs, and personally Lead them to glory.
The Suns are not the answer. Other strong teams in the league are more or less interested, but the Clippers have always been the object of Cole's attention.
After all, the Clippers impressed the entire league last season, especially their general manager Smart Min. Many people thought he was a lunatic and a sensationalist.
But more and more examples are proving that this guy may be a genius, a person who may subvert the league.
Of course, most people are unable to detect it, and only a few people feel the subversive nature of Min Congda.
Cole is one of these very few people, because Min Congda selected Curry in the 2009 draft.
When Cole was still the general manager of the Suns in 2009, he was very optimistic about Curry and hoped to trade the Warriors' No. 7 pick to win Curry, even using Stoudemire as a bargaining chip.
The Suns clearly have the absolute core point guard Nash, but Cole still wants Curry, which shows how much he values Curry's potential.
It's a pity that neither Cole nor the Warriors were able to get Curry because they were intercepted by the Clippers with the No. 1 pick.
Based on this alone, Cole determined that Smart Min was extraordinary. His series of operations last season gave the Clippers a completely new look.
It's just that the overall style of the Clippers is "stable", and Cole is not sure what the future of the Clippers will be, so he doesn't think much about it.
Unexpectedly, not long after the season started, Smart Min started to act like a monster again, wanting to change the team's tactical system and hire a new assistant coach.
Cole temporarily agreed to Kim Hughes, saying that he still needed to think about it and observe.
After the Clippers lost the game against the Suns, they played away against the Kings on October 27.
The Kings are worthy of being the league's first warm-up team. After using three deadly centers in the last game, this game has changed to one senior and four juniors, with Dalembert starting, Evans, Mo Mo, and Udrih. A three-back lineup.
Sometimes you are big, sometimes you are small. Are you the Sun Wukong Golden Cudgel?
From this point of view, the Kings are even more unreliable than the Clippers. When Min Congda saw this starter, he called him an expert. He wanted to learn from the Kings' head coach and general manager. Can he teach you how to do it? Makes this behavior seem so reasonable.
But even though the Kings have such a weird lineup, the Clippers, who have an absolute advantage inside, still have a hard time with their opponents.
The two sides fought fiercely until the last moment of the game. With the Kings trailing by 1 point at 98:99, James Harden stepped back and hit a mid-range jumper from the top of the arc, beating the Kings at the buzzer!
An opponent that could have been easily defeated relied on a decisive victory to escape the danger. The Clippers will really increase the popularity of the NBA.
At the same time, it also shows that the Clippers' pass-and-cut tactics have taken on a little more shape, and are no longer as performance art as they were at the beginning.
Then on December 29th and January 2nd, the Clippers lost to the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks.
Both games were very intense, but the Clippers still had an offensive problem. They scored less than 100 points in the two games. Their excessive obsession with passing and cutting led to more mistakes and low offensive efficiency.
Cole narrated these two games and looked at the videos of the Clippers' previous games. He came to a conclusion: "The Clippers have made a little progress in every game, indicating that they may have found some practice." tips.”
However, when Cole called Kim Hughes and asked if the team still needed an offensive assistant coach.
Kim Hughes said: "Of course, of course we need it. We are still inviting assistant coaches from other teams. Of course, if you are willing to come, you will be your first choice."
Cole said: "But I see that your team's offense has improved in these games, and you are getting better and better. You know, how difficult it is to suddenly change the tactical system in the middle of the season. .”
Unexpectedly, Kim Hughes' answer shocked Cole.
"Forget it Steve, we old guys can't find a clue to design a new tactical system. Their progress comes from their own exploration after the game and training. It is their own progress. But this is not the way, You have to find an assistant coach who understands the pass-and-cut offense."
"What? You said the players figured it out on their own?"
"Yes Steve, they are the hardest working group of people I have ever encountered."
(End of chapter)
