When you speak of the Pat Rileys, the Phil Jacksons, you have to speak of Don Nelson and the success that he has had in the game.
Scott Skiles is one of the best coaches in the NBA, someone I observe and learn from on a day-to-day basis.
I kind of like the idea of just coaching, nothing else. But I just think some coaches are better suited for college than the NBA. I believe I'm one of those guys. I think Tom Izzo is one of those guys. Mike Krzyzewski. I think they found the right jobs and they've stayed with them.
That's a dream of mine, to be able to coach at the NBA level.
In the NBA, you're taking a bunch of different talents, and you're managing them. You have to give them a system; you have to give them a belief. That's why coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich are so great: because they gave the team confidence in the system and in their ability to execute night in and night out.
Mike D'Antoni is one of the best offensive coaches in the whole game of basketball, by far.
There's no such thing as a longtime Magic coach.
What I would say is every assistant coach in the NBA wants to be head coach.
I need a coaching job in the NBA. I'm restless and I need money.
I've been around a lot of great coaches in college and the NBA, and I knew Erik Spoelstra three months, and I told my wife, father, and brother that this guy is going to be a helluva coach.
The one thing that young coaches should do is if there is an NBA team in your area, get to training camp and see the coaching that goes on.
Coaching in the NBA is not easy. It's like a nervous breakdown with a paycheck.
I think the only thing to consider is do you want to try to coach in the NBA and for me it never was an issue. I never really had that desire.
When I'm older and my children have grown up, I would like to coach in the NBA.
Stan Van Gundy is a top-five coach.
Coaching in the NBA is a tough trick.
I don't think I was a good enough coach to help an NBA team win a game when I first got to that league.
Jeff Bzdelik is one of the smartest, most knowledgeable, hardest working coaches I have ever worked with. His teams in the NBA and college have achieved beyond their talent levels. Recruits to Wake Forest will play for a coach who was successful in the NBA for a long time and will teach them what they need to know to make it to the NBA.
I didn't realize the difference between coaching college and coaching the NBA. It's a totally different animal.
All I wanted to do is coach in the NBA. I didn't want anything to do with college basketball.
My heading was NBA head coach. I didn't want to be back in college for a lot of reasons.
Dealing with LeBron is like a friendship. Coaching, but he understands that I am the boss, and I am going to call the shots, and he is fine with that.
I said it when I got hired. I said, for five years, I had a 1,000 people telling me I was going to be a head coach in the NBA. And when I got the job, those same 1,000 people were shocked.
I loved going to the Knicks because we won the Atlantic Division championship. We went from winning 21 games or 19 games to winning 52 games in a short period of time. I loved coaching Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and all those guys.
