Tom Izzo is still considering the Cavs job, per ESPN…
Izzo told reporters late Thursday night that “it won’t go on forever, I can tell you that.”
The coach had just arrived back in East Lansing, Mich., after traveling to Cleveland on Thursday afternoon with his wife, daughter and son.
Izzo said: “I feel bad that I can’t talk. I feel good that I did what I had to do.”
Izzo is apparently closer to saying yes to the Cavaliers than previously thought, a source told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz on Thursday.
That source discussed Izzo’s future with a close confidant of Izzo’s who is coaching in the NBA. The source told Katz that Izzo, who talked to his team earlier this week about his interest in the Cavaliers, is leaning toward taking the job if it is offered.
Byron Scott appears to be Izzo’s main competition (or the Cavs’ backup plan?)…
Wednesday night, an NBA Eastern Conference executive with knowledge of the Cavaliers’ thinking told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard that Byron Scott is a strong candidate to be offered the job.
The executive told Broussard that Scott is on equal footing with Izzo.
Scott, a former Los Angeles Lakers guard who has coached the New Jersey Nets and the New Orleans Hornets, has spoken with members of the Cavaliers’ front office the past few days. Late Wednesday night the talks took on a more serious nature, the source told Broussard.
Izzo is 55 years old and is making $3 million a year coaching 30-35 games at Michigan State. He is basically untouchable in East Lansing, but if he goes to the NBA, he becomes just another head coach. Like Dick Vitale said earlier in the week, he’s eventually going to get fired. Seemingly everyone gets fired in the NBA, no matter how good you are. Hell, Mike Brown just got fired in Cleveland after the Cavs had the most wins during the NBA’s regular season.
I understand that Izzo’s ego (or any top college coach’s ego, for that matter) might convince him that this is a challenge that he should undertake, to succeed where so many others have failed, but in the NBA, head coaches just don’t have as big of an impact on the game as they do in college.
The players are far more stubborn and are often paid more, and it’s difficult to steer the ship when there are that many egos on board. Izzo’s fiery nature works well with unpaid college kids who are only in school for 3-4 years, but when you’re talking about $17 million-a-year prima donnas, that in-your-face bit isn’t going to fly.
I presume Izzo knows this, and will attempt to adjust his style, but that aggressive approach is what makes his style so effective. The best NBA coaches — Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich — are successful because of their ability to manage their roster, specifically their stars. Izzo knows the X’s and O’s, but can he talk to LeBron in the same way that Jackson talks to Kobe or that Pop talks to Tim Duncan?
Speaking of LeBron, if Izzo signs on, it’s a clear indication — to me, at least — that he has assurances from the Cavs’ camp (presumably with confirmation from LeBron’s camp) that LeBron will re-sign if Izzo is named the coach. Otherwise, why would he agree to take over a roster that might be mediocre at best? Would he really leave a cush job at Michigan State to coach a team whose two best players are Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams?
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