I rarely do the "breaking news" type of story, but I found this interesting. The Phoenix Mercury have won the WNBA championship. In her blog, Diana Taurasi notes that head coach Paul Westhead apparently now has some sort of offer on the table from Seattle:
And I know the Sonics have a lot of money, but I think Paul Westhead should stick around and be the highest paid WNBA coach in the history of the league. He deserves it.
If Westhead goes to Seattle as an assistant coach and develops a run-and-gun offense with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, the NBA just got a lot more exciting for the upcoming year. It's a great fit for Seattle's young team, if Ridnour can run the point correctly. And don't think I'm not envious that the Cavs aren't going out and doing a similar deal with Westhead. We need an offensive coach badly.
Definitely newsworthy. That would absolutely have to be the first recorded instance of a coach moving from women's pro ball to men's, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou know, you may just be right. I was trying hard to remember; I think one WNBA coach went from the WNBA to being an assistant coach in the pros, but the name escapes me. So this may be the first. You have to think, too, that Laimbeer will get a shot in the NBA sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteOh, and ESPN also has this story; they posted it about 8 minutes before I did. Rats! But they don't have the Durant analysis (attempts to look smug about this). ha.
Michael Cooper - former Lakers great
ReplyDeleteHe was named Sparks head coach in November 1999, and the Sparks' record skyrocketed, as they finished 28-4 in their 2000 campaign. Cooper was named the WNBA Coach of the Year for his efforts. The Sparks followed with two consecutive WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002, but were denied a third straight WNBA title by losing to the Detroit Shock in 2003.
After the Sacramento Monarchs ended the Sparks' run in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Playoffs, Cooper took a job as an assistant coach under Jeff Bzdelik with the Denver Nuggets. 24 games into the season, Bzedlik was fired, and Cooper was named the Nuggets' interim head coach. He remained interim head coach until George Karl was brought in to coach the team about a month later and served as a scout for the Nuggets the remainder of the season