The Clippers have become the latest organization to decide that coaching and running the front office is too much for one man.
The team announced Friday that Lawrence Frank has assumed the role of president of basketball operations, leaving Doc Rivers as a full-time coach. Rivers has held both positions since coming to L.A. in 2013.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer announced the move, explaining that the requirements of each job are too numerous for them to be combined effectively.
“I’ve owned the team for three years now, and I really better understand what an owner’s responsibility is — and it turns out that running a franchise and coaching are two enormous and different jobs,” Ballmer said. “The notion that one person can fairly focus on them and give them all the attention they need isn’t the case.”
Rivers’ input will still be sought on personnel matters, Ballmer said, adding that he believes “healthy discussion and debate” is good for the franchise.
The number of combined coach/executives is dwindling, with the Hawks making a similar move with Mike Budenholzer in May. Travis Schlenk was hired as the GM in Atlanta and is overseeing personnel decisions while Budenholzer concentrates on coaching.
There are now just three NBA coaches who also hold the title of president of basketball operations: Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, Stan Van Gundy in Detroit and Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota. Popovich, with help from ace GM R.C. Buford, has built a perennial contender with the Spurs. Van Gundy has seen moderate success with the Pistons, while Thibodeau rebuilt the Timberwolves this summer after posting a 31-51 record in his first season at the helm.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Are teams wise to separate front office responsibilities from coaching duties, or do you believe there are people who can handle both jobs? Please leave your comments below. We look forward to what you have to say.
coach and gm should not be done anymore, unless your the spurs who somehow master everything. Both jobs are too much to combine
With a good/great GM this can be done effectively, however it’s often hard to find that pairing
It’s stupid. Coach’s can’t think rationally about roster decisions when they work so closely with the players. Like doc and Austin, doc decided against making the team better and chose to keep his son instead. And even if there’s no blood related, there can be a dad-son relationship with coach-player respectively. And it can be the opposite thing where there’s a sour relationship so the coach chooses to get rid of a good player. Their should be someone else who can make the tough and rational decisions. Clippers learned the hard way, and soon the pistons will do the same thing. Spurs are the exception, but RC has just as much power as Pop, and their PARTNERSHIP is what makes them great. If it’s the coach with all the power, they will make stupid moves that make their team worse. They should focus on making the team they’re given better.
I hate Doc Rivera
Separate the roles. Both are full time jobs. It has not worked in most cases. It has worked in only a few cases. Play the odds. Ballmer did a bad job for Microsoft shareholders…can he make the paper Clips winners? Jury is out after the crazy Blake contract. Jordan is offensive liability and is over paid.
The dual coach/gm role isn’t nearly as concerning as the player/coach/gm role that the NBA let’s slide with its stars. Teams shouldn’t let their players dictate who is traded/signed but it happens all the time.
Players, coaches, and GMs all have different jobs. Players put the ball in the basket and asses in the seats, coaches organize and direct the players and make tactical decisions, and GMs compile the players and make strategic decisions. They should definitely work together, but they need to respect the differences in each other’s roles.
When one guy is doing two jobs, I think we’ve seen that they have trouble making the long-term decisions when they’re too personally involved in the night-to-night grind.
And while it makes sense to have your players in on the conversation and making calls trying to recruit FA, they have to know that it’s ultimately not their decision to make. Players setting long term roster construction strategy from the locker room isn’t a formula for success.