Nate McMillan
This guy has been around the league for a while. He did make it to the playoffs, but he has never gotten out of the first round. So, why did Larry Bird fire Frank Vogel for him? Beats me. But, he has a talented Pacer team which should make the playoffs in a weaker Eastern conference. His head coaching experience is a plus, but I’m not sold on the guy. Meanwhile, even though he was an assistant, Fizdale has been around for championship runs. He understands what it takes out of the coaches and players to come together for that ultimate goal. He learned this from Pat Riley and plans to bring it to Memphis. Per the Aldridge interview:
"After going through what I had went through, just the whole idea of organizational accountability to winning a title, that felt good to me. We’re all going to wear the same colors every day. Coaches, we’re not going to be wearing random shirts. That’s something that I’m going to be taking to Memphis. We’re not going to wear a random uniform. We’re going to be connected through what we wear. Just everything, every detail. It was like Pat [Riley] went through every aspect of the organization with a fine tooth comb and said, ‘is it about winning or not winning?’"
David Fizdale has winning ingrained in him and has the understanding of how to make a playoff run. Even though he has less experience, this gives him the edge.
Result: Fizdale and his matching shirts
Next: Earl Watson