April 1996: Brendan Malone "Steps Down" Because of "Philosophical Differences"
We've kept mum about this until now but The Flagrancy officially declares Brendan Malone the best coach in Raptor franchise history. How does a coach who goes 21-61 be the best in team history? By playing every game to win, by turning a team of castoffs into giant-killers, and by making the team the very embodiment of his never-say-die attitude. Malone wrenched more effort out of this team than any other Raptor coach since. It was a great record for an expansion team and the fans filled the SkyDome because the Raptors had the potential to beat anybody (as division champion Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics and World Champion Chicago Bulls found out).
Dare to question our assertion? What's the first thing that comes to mind when I throw out the names of other Raptor head coaches?
Lenny Wilkens = ZZZZZZZ
Kevin O'Neill = The worst offence is a good defence
Darrel Walker = Championship-level coach (wait, that's what Byron Scott thinks)
Butch Carter = Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Sam Mitchell = He has some very nice suits
Of course the other big reason to love Brendan Malone was that he actually stood up to Isiah Thomas. Thomas complained about over-playing the starters. He complained that the team might actually win too much and cost the team a high draft pick (oh, the irony). He planted stories in the media about Malone purposely throwing a game (a 40-point loss to Orlando) by playing the rookies too much to prove a point to the GM. Malone responded by using only 6 players two nights later in pushing the Los Angeles Lakers until the final minute.
At the end of that first season Isiah announced that Malone was "stepping down" because of "philosophical differences." Unfortunately, Malone was too interested in winning. <sigh>
i actually went to that magic game at the skydome when shoppers drug mart sold raptors seats. we also brought two pairs of binoculars to tell who was who.
Posted by: juantonio | October 13, 2006 at 02:53 PM
So you were there for greatest night in Donald Royal's life: 16 points, 8 rebounds versus the Raps. You'll probably tell your grandkids about it.
Posted by: B-Huge | October 13, 2006 at 04:02 PM
I would take Butch Carter if talking only about coaching. He led the team to a winning season for the time. He had Vince playing with passion and aggression. It was only his crazy talk away from the court that led to trouble.
Posted by: AJ | October 13, 2006 at 10:58 PM
Faced with the first playoff series in Raptor history, Butch Carter pretty much imploded. I think he ranks below Lenny.
Posted by: B-Huge | October 14, 2006 at 07:09 PM
...in fairness to Sam Mitchell, while I don't like his coaching, I love his player development...see Bosh, Villaneuva...
Posted by: | October 20, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Also see Joey Graham, Rafael Araujo, etc. Mitchell's a motivator, not a teacher. He got the best out of players like Bosh and Villanueva, because they had talent and needed someone to push them. When it came down to teaching Joey Graham how to dribble or play off the ball, or Araujo how to box out, Mitchell came up empty.
Posted by: PD | December 03, 2006 at 07:48 PM