Ettore Messina

[Joey]

you, sir, have an outstanding quality:quantity post ratio.. very interesting insight

I know, right? Not to mention the Petrovic avatar. Dude's quality.
Welcome to RR, Eurobasket! I can tell you'll help out with the enormous amount of ignorance toward European basketball.

[heinz57]

Phil Jackson is a great coach, no doubt about it but he had Michael and Kobe (plus Pippen, Kukoc, Shaq, Gasol...) Obradovic was usually building teams from the scratch. Take for example European titles with Partizan Belgrade (Yugoslavia) and Joventut Badalona (Spain), almost unknown teams for people outside Europe, with very low budget compared to the European power houses. People in USA and Canada do not realize how difficult is to win European championship, there's so much pressure on the players and teams, especially when playing away from home. He also won with Real Madrid once and 4 times (!!!) with Panathenaikos Athens, won the Saporta Cup with Benetton Treviso and countless national championships and cups. I followed his career as a player and I could not believe how good coach he became, simply amazing. The only problem is he's been with Panathenaikos since 1999, so I'm not sure if he's willing to leave Athens and come over. He is only 50 years old, he has coached for almost 20 years and played the game on the highest level. Young players like Davis and DeRozan will explode under his guidance, and even with this roster, I would guarantee that the Raptors with Obradovic would made the playoffs this season FOR SURE. He just needs several months to work with the players and get to know them, that's all. There are no communication or "cultural" issues, the guy has traveled the world more than anyone else. If anyone from the Raptors office is reading these forums, I would strongly recommend to check out this guy before anyone else.

you, sir, have an outstanding quality:quantity post ratio.. very interesting insight

[nubreed000]

What about Iavaroni though? That was supposed to usher in a whole new era of Defensive Raps combined with Hustle and Flow Raps.

lol you're kidding right?

[smushmush]

What about Iavaroni though? That was supposed to usher in a whole new era of Defensive Raps combined with Hustle and Flow Raps.
Now obviously he's not on the level of say a Tom Thibedeau or Larry Brown, but we actually GOT WORSE on defense by bringing in a defensive minded assistant to have Jay's ear. I just don't see tooo many of these guys playing OUTSTANDING defense. Whether the coach says to or not. I think we could make certain tweaks that would make us marginally better, but at this point even that won't make us even average.

+1 plus Iavaroni is on the Clippers now(and I have been watching their games) and they have been playing decent defense now(unlike our abysmal defense last year) and Blake Griffin that can`t block shots due to his short arms has started contributing defensively by taking charges.

[Eurobasket]

Interesting. Solid insight.
I'd heard his name in passing a few times, but have never really had much info. the guy.
7 titles with 4 teams? That sounds like a European Phil Jackson.

Phil Jackson is a great coach, no doubt about it but he had Michael and Kobe (plus Pippen, Kukoc, Shaq, Gasol...) Obradovic was usually building teams from the scratch. Take for example European titles with Partizan Belgrade (Yugoslavia) and Joventut Badalona (Spain), almost unknown teams for people outside Europe, with very low budget compared to the European power houses. People in USA and Canada do not realize how difficult is to win European championship, there's so much pressure on the players and teams, especially when playing away from home. He also won with Real Madrid once and 4 times (!!!) with Panathenaikos Athens, won the Saporta Cup with Benetton Treviso and countless national championships and cups. I followed his career as a player and I could not believe how good coach he became, simply amazing. The only problem is he's been with Panathenaikos since 1999, so I'm not sure if he's willing to leave Athens and come over. He is only 50 years old, he has coached for almost 20 years and played the game on the highest level. Young players like Davis and DeRozan will explode under his guidance, and even with this roster, I would guarantee that the Raptors with Obradovic would made the playoffs this season FOR SURE. He just needs several months to work with the players and get to know them, that's all. There are no communication or "cultural" issues, the guy has traveled the world more than anyone else. If anyone from the Raptors office is reading these forums, I would strongly recommend to check out this guy before anyone else.

[Balls of Steel]

Are they putting something in the water in America? He's touted as one of the best coaches in the world. Who gives damn where he's from as long as he speaks fluent English and delivers on his legendary name? Jay does not have the reputation Messina has. There was quite some buzz a few years back when he was considering the NBA.

Not so much the water Apollo but the style of the game (tighter defences, etc. ). I'm not disputing his legendary status but questions his ability to communicate to North American and mostly American players. He can get to Euros, how about other players? I mean Sloan just stepped down because of the friction with Deron. I'm sure that if he comes over, he has a chance to succeed but not with this franchise. They need someone they can trust, someone they're familiar with.

Don't get me wrong, he knows what he's doing. However, will this be another experiment in cultural differences?

[Joey]

If you are bringing a coach from Europe, try to get the best one: Zeljko Obradovic, currently with Panathinaikos Athens. Messina is a good coach, but Obradovic is a living legend. He won 7 European Championships with 4 different teams, which is unheard of. The first one was in 1992 with Partizan Belgrade when he was only 32 years old, without any foreign players, probably the biggest upset in the history of the competition. He also coached Yugoslav national team to gold in European and World championships, and silver in the Olympics. He is phenomenal in the development of young players, great decision maker, and holds players very accountable, even when they are superstars. He was also a solid player (point guard), won silver with Yugoslavia in Seul olympics and gold at world championship in Argentina 1990 (Kukoc was MVP). He won everything there is, if he's willing to take a new challenge in the NBA, he will be successful for sure.

Interesting. Solid insight.
I'd heard his name in passing a few times, but have never really had much info. the guy.
7 titles with 4 teams? That sounds like a European Phil Jackson.

[Eurobasket]

If you are bringing a coach from Europe, try to get the best one: Zeljko Obradovic, currently with Panathinaikos Athens. Messina is a good coach, but Obradovic is a living legend. He won 7 European Championships with 4 different teams, which is unheard of. The first one was in 1992 with Partizan Belgrade when he was only 32 years old, without any foreign players, probably the biggest upset in the history of the competition. He also coached Yugoslav national team to gold in European and World championships, and silver in the Olympics. He is phenomenal in the development of young players, great decision maker, and holds players very accountable, even when they are superstars. He was also a solid player (point guard), won silver with Yugoslavia in Seul olympics and gold at world championship in Argentina 1990 (Kukoc was MVP). He won everything there is, if he's willing to take a new challenge in the NBA, he will be successful for sure.

[Apollo]

Are they putting something in the water in America? He's touted as one of the best coaches in the world. Who gives damn where he's from as long as he speaks fluent English and delivers on his legendary name? Jay does not have the reputation Messina has. There was quite some buzz a few years back when he was considering the NBA.

[Balls of Steel]

Nope. A proven coach that knows ball in this continent is preferable. This will be another Triano international experience BS. They need a coach that can communicate and keep people accountable. We all know that Triano's here for now to continue to babysit Andrea. This coaching situation is embarassing. I find that the other members of this team is smelling the nepotism themselves. Ugh.

[grindhouse]

one of my concerns with a guy who is international is that most of the euros on this team can't play defense so will he follow jay mentality and still play these guys when they need to be sitting.

[Apollo]

What about Iavaroni though? That was supposed to usher in a whole new era of Defensive Raps combined with Hustle and Flow Raps.
Now obviously he's not on the level of say a Tom Thibedeau or Larry Brown, but we actually GOT WORSE on defense by bringing in a defensive minded assistant to have Jay's ear. I just don't see tooo many of these guys playing OUTSTANDING defense. Whether the coach says to or not. I think we could make certain tweaks that would make us marginally better, but at this point even that won't make us even average.

Iavaroni was just an assistant and you have to consider the possibility that he's overrated. Kevin O'Neil is a defensive genius, old school, blue collar type guy. The Raptors hired him to shake things up after passive Lenny was kicked out. He worked wonders with a team worse than this
one but the guy had two problems. First he had a temper and second he didn't know what the word diplomacy meant. Kevin O'Neil is in on a different level than Iavaroni.

[Joey]

That title was a misnomer. Look at Iavoroni's past teams , ie, Memphis, their defense was as porous as ours. That's like buying a Hyundai accent and saying "hey look at my sweet sports car"

So what you're saying is that MLSE is the Dealership, BC is Sketchy Car Salesman, and they been selling us a sh*t box while telling us its a Porsche!?? Bastards! hahah

[Multipaul]

What about Iavaroni though? That was supposed to usher in a whole new era of Defensive Raps combined with Hustle and Flow Raps.
Now obviously he's not on the level of say a Tom Thibedeau or Larry Brown, but we actually GOT WORSE on defense by bringing in a defensive minded assistant to have Jay's ear. I just don't see tooo many of these guys playing OUTSTANDING defense. Whether the coach says to or not. I think we could make certain tweaks that would make us marginally better, but at this point even that won't make us even average.

That title was a misnomer. Look at Iavoroni's past teams , ie, Memphis, their defense was as porous as ours. That's like buying a Hyundai accent and saying "hey look at my sweet sports car"

[Joey]

Kevin O'Neil turned a defensively challenged club into a strong defensive club by the end of a training camp. It can be done... Of course Kevin O'Neal was also a lunatic when things didn't go his way and he didn't have a clue about offense... Still, we shouldn't underestimate coaching.

What about Iavaroni though? That was supposed to usher in a whole new era of Defensive Raps combined with Hustle and Flow Raps.
Now obviously he's not on the level of say a Tom Thibedeau or Larry Brown, but we actually GOT WORSE on defense by bringing in a defensive minded assistant to have Jay's ear. I just don't see tooo many of these guys playing OUTSTANDING defense. Whether the coach says to or not. I think we could make certain tweaks that would make us marginally better, but at this point even that won't make us even average.