NBA legends frequently retire from the game after having successful careers as players for a team. Numerous players have become coaches or assistant coaches in NBA history.
Not every change has been positive. It is not for everyone, even though there are plenty coaches who were once players who have won a title in their role as head coach.
NBA superstar Larry Bird is regarded as one of the greatest players to have ever played the game. While Bird did attempt teaching a few years ago, he should steer off of the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
The Cleveland Cavaliers recently extended an invitation to Bird to resume coaching, but Bird was promptly fired. Here are five reasons Bird should turn down any more coaching opportunity.
5. Not the Correct Fit
In the NBA today, coaches continue to be underappreciated professionals. Aside from luminaries such as Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Jerry Sloan, among others, NBA family members solely concentrate on player quality and cohesiveness rather than coaching style.
A coach gives a team a certain mindset, just like any basketball player, and this mindset must be taken into consideration when a team wants to maximize its output. For instance, Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t be a very good coach in Boston or Detroit. It would be difficult for a coach like Doc Rivers to manage Golden State or Phoenix.
The team that thrived in half-court offense and had a formidable defense benefited from Bird’s good offensive and defensive combination. The ball movement was the main source of the offense’s poor tempo.
In the unlikely event that Bird decides to return to coaching after his relationship with coach Jim O’Brien does not work out, it would be a significant stylistic shift that may potentially regress the Pacers’ team identity growth.
4. Family and Friends
Bird, who is 53 years old, most likely does not want to be required to travel the country from game to game. Coaches need their family’s commitment to support them along the process in order for them to do it.
Although it is not implied that the Bird family would not support it again, Bird’s lack of interest may be interpreted as an indication that this is not something he wants to subject his family to.
In the NBA, coaching is also not a very secure job, even with family responsibilities. Great coaches with enormous accomplishments have been fired many times due to a lack of success after one or two seasons. Bird does not want his family to be impacted by an unfavorable circumstance.
