How Phil Jackson's Retirement Could Affect Kurt Rambis in Minnesota
Before the Minnesota Timberwolves hired Kurt Rambis, he was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was supposed to be the successor for the NBA champion Lakers when Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson retired.
Instead of being patient and waiting for the Laker head coaching position to be vacant, he decided to jump on the opportunity to be the head coach for the dismal Timberwolves.
As soon as he was brought to Minnesota, he decided to install the triangle offense, the same one that the Lakers ran in L.A. But it wasn't immediately successful due to the Wolves not having the correct pieces in place like the Lakers do.
In Rambis' two years as the Timberwolves head coach, he hasn't gotten this team to the record they should be at in their rebuilding process. His coaching record, all with Minnesota, is a terrible 32-132.
Rambis has two years remaining on his original four-year, $8 million deal he signed in 2009. The amount of years was vital in getting that deal done to get Rambis in Minnesota.
According to 1500espn.com:
""I didn't want to be the individual who put in the work, and put in the time, and then somebody else comes in and takes it to the next level," Rambis said at his introductory press conference. "I feel I am that coach to not only help this team develop and grow, but to take it to the next level where we are winning playoff games."
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The thing is, though, Rambis hasn't taken the team to a higher level since he took over. In fact, the team's amount of wins have gone south ever since he took over. A different coach may need to come in and put in more work and time just to get this team to the place it should have already been at.
This team has undeniable talent with young stars Kevin Love and Michael Beasley on the roster. It's not like the Wolves gave Rambis a bunch of sub-par players to work with.
The Timberwolves need to make a decision on whether or not to fire Rambis this offseason, preferably before the NBA draft that takes place on June 23. Wolves general manager David Kahn is currently overseas trying to convince former lottery pick Ricky Rubio to sign with the team and play during the 2011 NBA season, if there is one.
When Kahn returns, the correct move that needs to be made is firing Rambis. He hasn't done any good for the team with the two years he's been in Minnesota.
With Rambis being fired and without a job, he would have a second chance at taking over the Lakers head coaching position. It seems very likely that Phil Jackson will retire now that his team has been eliminated from the playoffs. He will go down in history as one of the best coaches—if not the best—in NBA history.
His successor would then be Rambis and the Lakers situation would end up as everyone thought it would.
Having Rambis out of the picture in Minnesota means that Kahn would be on the lookout for a new head coach. There are many names he could pursue such as Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Brown and Mike Fratello. He could even look at the current coaching staff and give former NBA champion Bill Laimbeer his opportunity to be an NBA head coach.
For the Timberwolves and Kahn, firing Rambis is the best thing to do for not only the team in Minnesota, but the team in Los Angeles as well.
