30 teams reside in the NBA and 16 make the playoffs every year. The reality, like any sport, is only one team can win a championship.
Winning a championship is never easy. It takes hard work, dedication, talent and luck. A championship team also has great chemistry. The players and coaching staff all have to be in sync or you can’t win a title. It also takes plenty of experience to win. Most teams or players have suffered losses in the playoffs in past years before they get back and actually hold up the trophy when it is all said and done. With that said, front office management needs to be patient.
A championship team isn’t constructed in a day, a week, or even in a year. It takes time and growth and an impatient management is always the path towards failure.
Chicago Bulls
The fans of all teams in the NBA are probably shocked that the Chicago Bulls are 30-30 this year, sit at 10th in the Eastern Conference and are in danger of missing the playoffs since 2007-2008, the year before they drafted Derrick Rose. Should the basketball world be shocked about this team’s performance though?
In the off season the Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau after six seasons with the Bulls. In those six seasons Tom Thibodeau went 255-139 in the regular season. He won coach of the year in the 2010-2011 season after tying the record for most wins, 62, ever by a rookie head coach. In his tenure in Chicago he never missed the playoffs, led the Bulls to two number one seeds and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Management decided it was time for a change because Tom Thibodeau was 23-28 in the playoffs. That change has doomed the Bulls to a team who currently is .500 and most likely going to miss the playoffs. There is no telling how good the Bulls could be if they had just stuck it out with Thibodeau, but now it looks like the once powerful contenders are heading for the lottery and a possible rebuild.
New York Knicks
Mike Woodson took over the Knicks coaching job during the 2011-2012 NBA season in which they made the playoffs for the second consecutive year. In his first full season after that he led the Knicks to a 54-28 record and they were the two seed in the Eastern Conference. He lasted just one more season and was fired after missing the playoffs by one game. In his tenure with the Knicks, Mike Woodson went 109-79 in the regular seasons and 7-10 in the postseason.
The Knicks management unrealistically expected championships right away. Derek Fisher then got hired for his first ever coaching job following the firing of Mike Woodson. His first season was horrible as the Knicks went 17-65 and had their worst season in franchise history. This current season was his just the start of his second ever season as a head coach and he led the Knicks to a 23-31 record through 54 games. There were 28 games remaining in the season and the Knicks had six more wins than they did in his first year.
He was showing signs of improvement, but it still wasn’t enough and he was fired. What was the Knicks front office expecting from him in his second year? A playoff appearance? A championship? The Knicks are impatient and it is hurting their chances of growing into a championship contender.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings provide the best example of any of impatience leading to failure. Since 2006 the Kings have had eight different head coaches with only 4 of those coaches lasting more than 100 games. I could list all the names with their records but can any coach be successful with such little time at the helm? There is no chance for the players because of the ever changing staff. Different philosophies and styles coming in on average every two years. The Kings management has no patience and that is why they haven’t made the playoffs since 2005-2006 and might not playoffs for another 15 years.
Patience is required in sports if you want to build a successful organization. There needs to be stability or a team can’t be good. There are so many more examples that can be listed and it isn’t just in the NBA. I know owners care about making money from their team and nothing brings in money like a championship. That’s why teams like the New England Patriots, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Lakers are some of the most valuable franchises in the world. Impatient management means failure.
