Sam Vincent Press Conference Q&A

On Friday, May 25, Sam Vincent was named as the Charlotte Bobcats second head coach, replacing Bernie Bickerstaff who stepped down at the end of the 2006-07 season. The following their opening statements, Vincent, Bobcats Majority Owner Bob Johnson, Managing Member of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan, President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Whitfield and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bernie Bickerstaff fielded questions from the media.

MANAGING MEMBER OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS MICHAEL JORDAN
(On what he says to the critics who say one year of NBA experience is not enough)
Everyone has an opinion. Obviously I looked at the credentials of this individual, and his track record speaks for itself in terms of him putting in the hours to be a solid, hard-working coach. You can look at a lot of examples in the league where guys have come from the bench and some guys have never really coached before, and yet they have been very successful. There are many ways to achieve and be successful. No one has a patented way to find success.

When I look at Sam, I don’t see an inexperience guy who doesn’t know how to use timeouts or draw up plays or pull a team together. This is a great opportunity for Sam to do it on this level. He’s done it on different levels. He’s paid his dues, and that’s one of the things I looked at and totally understood about him. I think he’s ready to make that big jump, and what better way to do that than here in this city when we’re trying to continue this progress. We have a bunch of young players who are going to learn about Sam and understand his philosophies, and hopefully that’s a new beginning for them too – to go out each and every day and do the necessary things it takes for us to win.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS BERNIE BICKERSTAFF
(On how difficult it is for him to see someone else as Bobcats head coach after building and coaching the team the past three seasons)
It’s not difficult at all. I’m sleeping well (laughter). After the question that was just asked of Mike, I've noticed that Sam has already gotten some people out that I haven't seen in the three years that I've been here (more laughter). He just came from a situation with a guy that I love and brought into the league (Avery Johnson in Dallas) who won 67 games this year and who had only one year as a head coach.

I have no problem at all (not coaching), and the dialogue that I had – the work ethic is the thing that is important. Everybody has a starting point – no one starts off with experience. No one in this room started off in their job until they had experience because that’s the only way you can get better.

What I like about Sam is his desire to work at his occupation – that’s what is important.

JORDAN
(On the pressure to make the right hire as the face of the franchise)
It was easy. The thing about Sam that I truly like is that this is a beginning. His heart and his dedication are going to be for this franchise. The most unfortunate thing is, but real fortunate in a matter of time, is that you guys are going to get to identify that and see what we saw and what his capabilities can be as a coach. At the end of the day, no matter what I say, no matter what you say, no matter what Bob says, we don’t win. That’s going to be his defining moment no matter what. That’s going to be anybody that we could have brought in here. If they don’t win, you get someone else. You try to get that ingredient that can help you win.

We feel that this is a good beginning because of his work ethic, and we feel that what Bernie has done with this team is progressed with this team over the last three years, and we feel Sam can continue to move it. We want the fans to understand who Sam Vincent is – not because of what he used to do or what he did before, it’s what he is doing now with this franchise. That’s all this city basically wants to see at this point, especially with this re-born, re-generation of this franchise. They’ve been there already – they’ve been in the playoffs, they led the league in attendance and been very supportive. They want to see that come back, and they want to see that on the basketball court, not in what I’m saying, Bob’s saying or anybody else is saying. They want to see it on the basketball court.

MAJORITY OWNER BOB JOHNSON
(As a follow-up)
Let me address the notion - this decision was made by Michael in his capacity as head of basketball operations, but it was made with no restrictions and no limitations on his ability to use the finances of the organization to make that decision. That will be the same as we follow through in acquiring the best players that Michael in his wisdom deems necessary.

I go back to where we started from before. If you look around at this beautiful arena we are playing in and what this means to the city. The Bobcats as an organization are part of that commitment to create a dynamic entertainment venue, be a dynamic contributor to the economic development of Uptown Charlotte and be a vital force in the social and cultural life of the people who live and work in Charlotte. For us, that’s why we’re here – to win and be a part of Charlotte.

As Sam pointed out, we have some of the brightest and most competitive minds that you could put together in an organization, and an organization that has a commitment to continuity. This franchise, and most successful franchises, have that long-term sense of continuity of ownership, management and a philosophy, and we definitely have that here with the Charlotte Bobcats organization.

HEAD COACH SAM VINCENT
(On what strengths he brings to the Bobcats)
I share Michael’s sentiments and also Coach Bickerstaff’s. At some point, every coach has his start. Nate McMillan had a start at some point. Avery Johnson had a start at some point. Pat Riley had a start at some point. There was no history when they started. So the fact that people talk about “How much experience does he have?” I would prefer to talk about, “Defensively, what do you like to do?”

Defense is what I consider one of my strengths. If you go back and look at all the teams that I coached in the D-League, we were always No. 1 in team defense, and that’s because we established a very tough, aggressive, physical style of play.

If you look at what we did offensively, we like to create a lot of fast-break opportunities and like to run the ball, but we play that with some control and some half court if we have to. So, I would prefer to talk more about how do you coach vs. how many years have you coached?

When you look at the history and some of the things that I’ve done, I’ve been successful. I’ve had good coaching seasons and have had players developed. Last year while I was with the Dallas Mavericks, Kelenna Azubuike with the Golden State Warriors is one of my player from the D-League. Rafer Alston, who is a starting point guard with the Houston Rockets, is one of my players from the Mobile Revelers. Ime Udoka with the Portland Trail Blazers is one of my players from the Fort Worth Flyers. Anthony Johnson is one of my players from the Mobile Revelers, so I’ve got about seven players who are currently playing in the NBA that have come through my minor league system and were at some time either overweight, or not working hard enough defensively, or needed to improve upon ball-handling skills or shooting skills, and we spent the extra time developing those skills. Bobby Simmons, when he left Washington he came to the Mobile Revelers. We put some time into him and he came back (to the NBA) and signed a $40 million contract, so I think there is a proven track record – not only in having success with wins, but also developing players. I think a big part of what this is going to be about is developing some of the young talent that we have, and that’s the most important thing. At any point that I’m not doing that, I won’t be afraid of that call from Michael, but I’m confident that that will happen.

VINCENT
(On how much he knows about the Bobcats young players and what made it most enticing for him to want to come to Charlotte)
I’ll answer the second part of it first. What made it most enticing was that I appreciate everything about this organization. The relationship I have with Michael, I feel is special. The relationship that I have with some of the staff, I feel is special. Understanding what this organization is trying to do in the community, I feel is very special. So that was very easy for me in terms of wanting to be here and be a part of this opportunity.

As for the players, I just came through a full season with the Mavs and unfortunately we had some problems in the playoffs, so a lot of my focus was on the Mavs. But I know the players and had a chance to watch a lot of the game film. I’ve done extensive research on them, so I know who the young guys are and feel like I know what some of their weaknesses are. I think it’s very exciting that we have the eighth and 22nd picks (in the 2007 NBA Draft), so we obviously are going to get two very good first round players. I think the staff has done a wonderful job in terms of managing the camp, so we have some room to go out and pick up a very strong free agent. So when you look at this as an opportunity to be a part of a team that, in a very short amount of time, is going to grow and be strong in the playoffs – I think we’re going to be there. We’re going to achieve.

JORDAN
(On how long Vincent has been on his radar as a head coach possibility)
Actually, when I started asking around, I went to our old Assistant GM Karl Hicks and asked him for the names of some young guys that were on the verge of breaking out as a head coach. He gave me Sam’s name, along with a lot of other names. I said it early on in the course of the season, when Bernie decided that he was going to move upstairs, that we were going to look for that type of guy. So his name was already thrown into the mix, along with a bunch of other names.

Once I started looking at his background, I saw Sam had really made a career for himself in coaching. He’s been all over the world and had coached a lot of different talent internationally and was now back into the league as an assistant coach in Dallas. He was learning from a guy (Avery Johnson) who I thought was a general ambassador at the point guard position, and he’s been able to translate that into his coaching ability in Dallas. Once I recognized Sam as a name, I started to understand what his strong points were and what his weaknesses were, and how that fit with this franchise. It made it very simple to want to interview this guy to see if he was a perfect match for Bernie, myself and Bob. We feel this fits.

JORDAN
(On if moving Bernie to Executive Vice President means there will be a new GM)
Bernie and I have worked together for the last year and that will continue. Have we had conversations about possibly bringing in a GM? Yes. I think that is something he and I will continue to have discussions about, but I don’t think our role and our communication is going to change. We have conversations each and every day. Every day I wake up I have two or three texts from him – I don’t think he sleeps. We go back and forth in our dialogue on a lot of different things, and most of the time we’re on the same page. If we decide to bring in a general manager, that person will still give us the type of information we feel will benefit this franchise. I’m not immune to that.

I told Bob as we continue to try and build this franchise, first we have to continue to try and elevate it to the same level as any other franchise within this league. Second, at the end of the day, we’re going to be able to spend money when we deem necessary. It took him a while to start shaking his head (laughter), but all he wanted to do is understand the business. Once he understood that he wanted a winner, and sometimes you need to understand the business first. No one is just going to throw money out there until they understand how that is going to come back and help the franchise. I think he is starting to understand that, and we have direct dialogue constantly about how we make this team better. Not from a dollar sense, but how we make this team better. I think if we decide to go with a general manager, it’s just going to add to that. Right now, I think Bernie and I are doing a pretty good job.

JORDAN
(On specifically what it was in the interviews that attracted him to Sam)
You can sit in a room, have a lot of dialogue and see that a lot of people talk great – they can articulate very well. The thing that I saw in Sam came when Bernie and I posed the question to Sam, “If we gave you the job today, what would be your biggest focus with this team?” Obviously it wasn’t to step on Bernie’s toes, because we feel he’s done a great job to get us where we are. (Sam) said, “Maintain the energy level, focus very strongly on the defensive end and yet continue player development.” Now that, coming from a young guy who hadn’t had any experience as the early gentleman said “hasn’t had any experience in the NBA” – those are very crucial characteristics about a franchise and about a team that, no matter what you do, (if you do those) you’re going to go out and win ballgames. Bernie did it and didn’t have the health of his team and won 33 games. Those are great ingredients for a young franchise. If you can instill that in our young players and continue to focus on that, it is going to keep this franchise moving in the right direction. That’s the one thing I heard from Sam that stuck out more than anything.