Woj: Juwan Howard gaining traction as NBA head coach candidate
ESPN Sources: A possible NBA coaching candidate whose name is gaining traction within front offices: Michigan coach Juwan Howard. Howard has an obviously strong resume as a player and later an assistant under Erik Spoelstra. He interviewed for Lakers, Cavs before taking UM job.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 24, 2020
August 24th, 2020 at 11:12 AM ^
I mean, Howard seems really happy at UM. But, as we saw with Beilein, the allure of the NBA is strong. You don't have to worry about recruiting or growing good people. You just need to manage egos and win.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
Easier said than done as Beilein found.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:42 AM ^
Yeah, but Beilein had never been at the NBA level in any capacity (player or coach). Juwan spent a quarter of century there as a player and coach and by all accounts his best attributes are probably best suited to managing those egos, whereas Beilein was a detail guy that best operated when his authority couldn't be questioned.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:40 PM ^
I love have Howard as our coach at Michigan, but I have a hard time disagreeing that I think he could be an exceptional NBA coach. Weber used to talk about how he came in to UofM with a Professional attitude, and seems like one of the most respected guys in the NBA. Guys who command that type of respect seem to do well as coaches in the NBA.
As others have stated, I'd only accept this news if we get Beilein back. Losing both in such a short time would really suck.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
If that happens can we bring John Belien back?
August 24th, 2020 at 12:37 PM ^
Teams kept hiring Larry Brown. Don't see why not.
Can't believe I am saying this - but all things equal (excluding the chaos caused in recruiting if Howard left), I would still take Juwan Howard over John Beilein. Juwan just seems to be taking things in an interesting direction for our program.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:43 PM ^
I loved watching the team play in the Atlantic tournament, and was excited to see them play healthy in the tournament. I loved watching Beilein teams too, but it was cool to see a more uptempo team do similar stuff with spacing. Both were great ways to watch basketball.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
While I don't think that bringing a 67 year old coach back would normally make any sense, swapping Beilein back for Juwan definitely wouldn't make me mad.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:12 AM ^
2020!
August 24th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
This fucking year...
August 24th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
Good thing for us that neither Oakland nor Mark Davis are in play for Juwan Howard.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
I have to believe he'd be willing to stick around until after his kids come through. He seemed so happy to be Michigan's coach that if he leaves in 1-3 years he's gonna take a hit from Michigan fans. May be worth it, but he'll still have offers in 3-5 years anyway I would think.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:14 AM ^
He will certainly be coaching in the NBA at some point.... but you gotta believe he wants to put a few banners in the rafters at Crisler Center first.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
can we root for the goddamn asteroid now
August 24th, 2020 at 11:17 AM ^
You weren't already?
August 24th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
oh i'm imploring others to do so now
August 24th, 2020 at 12:37 PM ^
Asteroid? Too quick.
One of those big coronal mass ejections that takes down the energy grid and we all eventually starve to death or murder each other trying to stay alive over the next 5 years.
August 24th, 2020 at 5:42 PM ^
Can't spell coronal mass ejections without CORONA
August 24th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^
The guy wants to coach and who knows if there will be a college basketball season.
I wouldn't be mad at him at all.
If he leaves I think I'm on the LaVall Jordan train.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
Didn't he just sign an extension at Butler? Might be a big enough buy out that with the revenue loss we can't do it. If not, I'd just hire Saddi.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
Didn't Howard just sign a contract with Michigan?
August 24th, 2020 at 11:46 AM ^
Didn't Tommy just sign a contract for half a million brake pads?
August 24th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
Underrated comment +1
August 24th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
I mentioned because cash is likely to be tight in the AD. Not that he wouldn't leave if offered.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
John Beilein, come on down.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:22 AM ^
Hahaha.
Eh, even if JH left in a few years, JB probably only has a few years left in the holster to coach.
There are always going to be good candidates to grab.
This is why I NEVER mentally attach to anyone in athletics.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
With the state of college sports, and with the NBA being the trendsetter in post-Covid protocols, I wouldn't blame him at all for going to the NBA.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
Oh for fucks sake.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
He's not leaving with Jace and Jett coming in
... I hope
August 24th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
I like this angle. Let’s go with this.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:37 AM ^
Did I miss something? I don't think he got Jett to commit yet.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
Jett's not committed, but other schools have barely been recruiting him and he's also been recruiting people to Michigan soooo...
August 24th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
This is what Michigan signed up for when they hired him. He had a ton of assistant coaching experience with a very good, very well-respected organization in the NBA. He’s young (as far as coaches are concerned) and has a lot of runway left in front of him. This is going to be an annual occurrence for Michigan until either:
A) He actually leaves. Or:
B) He signs a contract extension that makes it financially irresponsible for an NBA team to buy him out for at least a year or two. So it would be just a temporary fix. But I suppose if someone wants him bad enough they’ll pay up one way or the other.
I don’t think Howard is ready to leave yet but I’d be surprised if he’s still here in 3-5 years. Michigan may be a special place to him, but it’s not the top of the food chain. There’s things the NBA can offer that no college basketball program, let alone Michigan, could ever offer.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:39 AM ^
I guarantee that MSU, Indiana, OSU, etc. are already using this tweet to negatively recruit against UM.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:40 AM ^
Sam says calm down (at least right now):
https://twitter.com/SamWebb77/status/1297921065793052672?s=20
August 24th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
I highly doubt he jumps after 1 Year. Now ... year 3 or 4 - get back to me.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:48 AM ^
I have a hard time believing he'd jump after 1 year for any of the teams likely looking for a coach. I guess Philly is intriguing but I sorta doubt they'd go for an unproven coach to try to manage that situation. Otherwise it's the same couple of garbage teams that will just chew you up and spit you out.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:52 AM ^
It makes sense to me. College sports has shown they're not willing to play while the pros are on the court, ice and fields. Why hang around in limbo? I'd hate to see him go, but the splintered reactions by leagues/the NCAA has got to be frustrating. Right now he's got to think "what am I recruiting for?" There could be one and dones who never play a single game.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
NBA presented by China
August 24th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
Underrated comment. That incident was eye-opening.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
So, Howard "is gaining traction within [NBA] front offices." The question is whether NBA teams are gaining any traction with Howard. If we don't have any information on that, all we know is that NBA teams recognize that Howard is a good coach.
There was always a risk that someday Howard might return to the NBA. However, I don't think this tells us anything we didn't already know and only serves to cause anxiety.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:12 PM ^
As others have stated I wouldn’t blame him. But selfishly......WTF?!?!
August 24th, 2020 at 12:15 PM ^
There's gotta be a shitty pro sports city where Jim and Juwan can go together one day. Oh yeah, Detroit!
August 24th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
What type of shit is this???? We can’t buy a break!
August 24th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
Let me know when Tim Kawakami chimes in. Until then, no one can be trusted.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:43 PM ^
If only Oakland had an NBA team, then we better worry!
August 24th, 2020 at 12:47 PM ^
Coach says no. (Someone that can embed please do the thing, thank you.)
https://twitter.com/JuwanHoward/status/1297937836231008256?s=20
August 24th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
— Juwan Howard (@JuwanHoward) August 24, 2020
August 24th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Ah, crud. How do I do "the thing" better so the image shows?