Brooklyn Nets should hire Becky Hammon as next head coach
The Brooklyn Nets are in need of a new head coach next season to lead the franchise, and maybe it’s time to also break a barrier in the NBA.
69.
What do you think of when you hear the number 69?
For New York Mets fan, 1969 was the year the team won its first championship.
For New York Jets fans, 1969 was the New York Jets won Super Bowl III.
69 years ago the NBA completed its first season.
69 years ago, April 15, 1947 at Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and became the first black player to play for a Major League team.
69 years later, Brooklyn has the chance to be the place where a female is hired as the 1st full time Head Coach in NBA history.
That is, if the Brooklyn Nets are smart enough to hire Becky Hammon as their next Head Coach.
The mess that has become the Nets finished the season owners of the third worst record in the NBA (21-61.) With nothing to gain from it (their potential top 3 pick is owned by the Boston Celtics,) and little cap space, new General Manager Sean Marks has his work cut out for him.
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His 1st job is to select a Head Coach who he can work with to turn the team around.
Names of head coaches like Jeff Van Gundy, Brian Shaw, and Mike D’Antoni will have their names thrown around as candidates. All three are experienced head coaches who have had success coaching in the NBA.
For the Brooklyn Nets, this philosophy hasn’t worked out to their benefit. Avery Johnson, P.J. Carlesimo, and Lionel Hollins were head coaches who came to Brooklyn with similar resumes, and didn’t have much success.
The results: Another search for a new Head Coach.
So who should they hire this time?
The Nets should hire Becky Hammon as their next Head Coach for the following three reasons:
- She is an assistant coach who has had success at the NBA level.
- She knows the General Manager,
- She has worked for a Head Coach (Greg Popovich) who has had assistants go on to be successful NBA Head Coaches.
Hammon is a former All-Star point guard who played 16 years in the WNBA. In 2014 she was hired by San Antonio Spurs’ head coach as the first full time female coach in NBA history. Last summer, she led the Spurs to the Las Vegas Summer League title.
She has gained the respect of players and coaches for her basketball acumen, leadership skills.
In speaking about her, Popovich said.” We think she’s a star as far as understanding the game.” His praises of her continued
““She’s got great ideas, got a great way about her, guys respect her. I think we’re lucky to have her in the program.”
.
Players agree. Kyle Anderson, who played for Hammon in the Las Vegas Summer League was quoted as saying,” She puts us in a great position to win the game.
In addition to praise from coaches and players, she already has a relationship with Brooklyn Nets’ general manager, Sean Marks. Marks previously served in the San Antonio Spurs front office as an Assistant General Manager. He also served as an assistant coach under Greg Popovich.
The fact that both individuals have experience working for the same organization puts them in sync instantaneously. There is no doubt that Marks wants to make the Nets as contender by using the Spurs blueprint. Who better to coach a team then someone who has experienced firsthand what that blue print is?
A third reason to hire her is due to the success of former Spurs assistants who became head Coaches. Former assistant Mike Budenholzer has had success as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. The team has qualified for the playoffs every year since he was hired. Most notably last season the Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
For these reasons alone she would be an excellent fit as the next Head Coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
69 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, baseball is a mixed sport with players from all over the world who are judged by their skill level, and not their skin color. Robinson’s success in proving that all athletes can be successful regardless of their background is one of the many legacies he leaves behind.
The hire of Becky Hammon would be the first step in showing that woman should be treated equally in the coaching ranks of Professional Men’s Sports just as Robinson did in baseball.
Perhaps 69 years from now, she too will be talked about as a pioneer, a trailblazer who opened the door for women to be coaches in men’s sports, and be treated as equals.
That is if the Brooklyn Nets are smart enough to hire her.