Published: August 24, 2009
After talking with countless coaches around the NBA, it’s become clear the bonds formed on the practice court far outweigh any bitterness when those players become opponents.
You’ll have to excuse me if I was shocked when this realization first set in.
Maybe it was the jaded and cynical part of me, but I assumed it would be tough for an assistant coach to spend countless hours in the gym working with a young player only to see them leave for more money and playing time. Instead of spending valuable time chasing their child around their house they gave up their time to chase a basketball around a gym for a rich young athlete.
That scenario would make me more than a little grumpy when I saw that player next.
When hearing about players bolting once their rookie contract ends or when they become free agents, in my mind, the quick and easy analogy is a guy in high school who dated a girl for a couple of years only to see her leave for college, grow and mature into a great woman who he plans to marry, only to get dumped shortly before she graduates. Sure, there’s a part of you that feels good for her happiness and you appreciate the time you spent with her, but an even bigger part of you wishes she stuck around so you could enjoy your happily ever after with her.
It turns out most of the coaches around the NBA aren’t bogged down but this kind of animosity or regret.
“When you help somebody achieve their goals and help achieve some of the fame and notoriety they have, and sometimes even some of the contracts that they have been able to sign, then you feel a sense of pride,” Jay Triano informed the media prior to a game last season.
“There have been so many players over the years that you’ve rebounded for and spent the time in the gym throwing the ball back to them. A select few are very appreciative of it and Matt Bonner is one of them. He’s just one of genuine great guys of all-time, as is Roger (Mason Jr.). He had a bit shorter time here, but we still spent endless hours in the gym.”
It’s not just Triano who feels this way, as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown broke into an ear-to-ear grin when asked to talk about his time as an assistant coach in Indiana and San Antonio.
“You’re just happy you had a chance to work with certain guys,” Brown explained to Hoops Addict. “There are plenty of guys who I have felt blessed and lucky to have been able to work with, but shoot, they were great players before I got with them and great players since I got with them. You do feel a sense of joy when players you’ve worked with in the past have been associated with have success.”
At the end of the day the NBA can be a cold and cruel business. Players need to make as much money as they can before injuries or age slow them down while coaches need to win games at the expense of developing younger players because if they don’t they’ll quickly find themselves unemployed. Even when players and coaches do enjoy success, fans and members of the media suffer from short term memories and are quick to cast them aside when things start to turn in a negative direction.
However, for coaches who invest countless hours into players either on the court or during video sessions, these relationships stretch past a being business relationship and turn into something that forges a bond between the player and coach. Just like when you or I would spend hours sweating in a high school or college gym playing the game because we love it – not because our next contract hinged on it – we formed lasting relationships with our coaches and teammates.
It turns out that players and coaches at the NBA level are no different. Well, except for the fact they are cashing pay cheques that we all envy.
Maybe it’s that humanizing aspect we need to hold onto instead of all the other garbage that goes on which taints our perspective on the game.
Not only that, but this could be a healthier perspective for fans around the NBA to take up.
The perfect case in point of this are fans in Toronto who still haven’t gotten over Vince Carter asking to be traded nearly five years ago and boo him mercilessly each time he returns. This type of behavior only serves to get their blood boiling while helping Carter to elevate his games to new heights due to the adrenaline burst it provides. In fact, you could easily make the argument it was their pent up hostility which helped to fuel Carter to a game last season where he scored 39 points and helped his team steal a victory in overtime.
If anything, fans needs to learn a lesson from coaches around the NBA. Sure, it may hurt when a player bolts town, but it’s a much healthier approach to revel in what they meant to the team while they were then rather than to jeer them each time they return to town.
I know this approach will go a long way towards making me less cynical and jaded.
