Shorts to Suits: Do Former Players Make Better Coaches? 2000

[Sports journalist Charley Rosen passed away last year at age 84. He left behind plenty of magazine articles about the NBA past, including this one published in the January/February 2000 issue of Hangtimes. Rosen asks the simple question: Do former players make better coaches? Rosen never really answers the question, but he broaches many of the myriad issues worth parsing to answer the question. That makes his article historically interesting, and it remains topical today as retired players continue to move into coaching NBA gigs.] **** On the first day of the Orlando Magic’s preseason camp, rookie coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers was teaching his players his theory and practice of defensive rotation. One particular maneuver required the small forward to follow the movement of the ball and successively double-team the pivot, trap the wing, and then hustle to redouble the low post. A certain young veteran, however, considered his coach’s gameplan unworkable. “There’s too much ground to cover,”…