"We'll do it my way next year" (and thoughts on today's coaching changes)...

The Rocky Mountain News' Chris Tomasson continues to do a great job covering the Nuggets, while never delivering good news for readers of this blog. Tomasson apparently interviewed George Karl today, and Karl said (as he did in his interview with Mike and Sandy earlier) that he will be more of a disciplinarian next season.

Karl's 3-16 record in the playoffs coaching the Nuggets notwithstanding, this reminds me of when parents spoil their kids rotten until they're teenagers, and then wonder why their kids don't work hard in high school.

Meanwhile, my old sparring partner Professor David J. Berri of the "Wages of Wins Journal" is serving up what he calls a "Zen-like vision" for the Nuggets. As he does better than anyone in the business, Professor Berri crunches the numbers to produce his conclusions (whereas I just watch the games and yell at the coach and players the whole time). I may not agree with Berri's assessment, but I can't fight the numbers. And remember, Professor Berri, you'll have a job on my staff when Stanley Kroenke ousts Mark Warkentien and brings me on board to run the Nuggets!

My two cents: what does an NBA coach have to do to get fired in Denver these days? Earlier today, Avery Johnson got canned in Dallas after two straight first round playoff exits, three years removed from taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. And while it's not 100% official yet, word out of Phoenix is that Mike D'Antoni is also gone after one first round playoff exit, three years removed from back-to-back conference finals appearances...after revolutionizing the way basketball is played in the NBA for the benefit of all of us.

I strongly disagree with these coaching removals.

Both Johnson and D'Antoni - while far from being perfect coaches (who is?) - give more than 100% to their profession. Pregame, in-game and postgame, you'd be hard pressed to find two more passionate coaches. They were both sandbagged by bad trades imposed upon them by impatient ownership and management, and did the best they could. In Johnson's case specifically, he really got screwed with Jason Kidd: the poor man's Fat Lever and a notorious coach killer.

I'd welcome either Johnson or D'Antoni in Denver.

To all my detractors that think I'm a "can the coach" kind of guy, that couldn't be more untrue. I applaud Kroenke for being patient and giving a coach and a group of players time to gel. But there's a healthy medium between patience and going 3-16 in the playoffs over four seasons.

And until this blogger is proven wrong, I will continue to demand a coaching change and recommend personnel "adjustments" once we know where the lottery picks fall into order and how the free agent market shakes out.