So the Cavs carousel of coaches continues to spin round and round. Amid rampant reports of John Calapari turning down a hefty offer from Dan Gilbert, somewhere in the range of $60-$80 million for 7 to 10 years, there came a report from the Plain Dealer that the Cavs would be bringing in a familiar face today to interview for the head coaching position.
Much loved star Mark Price will interview with the #Cavs tomorrow
— M.S. Boyer/J. Valade (@PDcavsinsider) June 9, 2014
Though many fans may be aware of Price the player, whose jersey hangs in the rafters of the Q, not many may be aware of the coach. Price, the son of former NBA coach Denny Price (1) has more or less stayed out of the spotlight when it has come to coaching, avoiding primary assistant coaching positions until recently in favor of being with his family more. Price spent time coaching at the high school and college levels early in the 2000's, before moving on to the NBA in 2006. It was just this year that Price decided he was ready to take the leap and dedicate himself to being a head coach (hence the reason he has not been considered before this season). Before this decision, Price served time as a shooting coach, player development coach, and general assistant coach.
Price has bounced around in 1-2 year stints with different teams, including the Nuggets, Hawks, Warriors, Magic, and Bobcats, all during times where the teams were struggling to an extent. I decided to look a little deeper into those teams to see if Price impacted them in any way. What I found put me more on the Price bandwagon than I thought I possible.
Price has bounced around in 1-2 year stints with different teams, including the Nuggets, Hawks, Warriors, Magic, and Bobcats, all during times where the teams were struggling to an extent. I decided to look a little deeper into those teams to see if Price impacted them in any way. What I found put me more on the Price bandwagon than I thought I possible.
I looked at the team advanced statistic differentials between the season before Price arrived and the season that he was coach. Legitimately, there was improvement in almost every aspect of the game while he was with a given team. On average, there were positive differentials for Win/Loss %, Margin of Victory, Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, Effective Field Goal %, Turnover %, and Defensive Effective Field Goal %. Given that he was brought on to be with new NBA head coaches in 3 of the 6 teams he has coached on, the overall coaching change may have affected these numbers, though the consistency of which is shocking. Furthermore, there are statistically significant differentials for most of the statistics as well.
Price may or may not be the choice for head coach, nor will I necessarily be upset if he isn't, but I definitely believe he should be in the conversation. It certainly doesn't hurt that he's going to be a total fan favorite as well.
(Editor Mosby note: If the Cavs hire Price as head coach he MUST wear 80s style short-shorts on the bench. This is non-negotiable. I want half-nut every time he jumps up to argue a call.)