Spotlight Article - DAL

[blackice]

This is a series I am bringing back, from years ago. I have decided to interview each GM in the league to get their opinion on a number topics that are all related to basketball in some way or another. The questions will be standardized so that each GM has a chance to reflect on how they will approach the interview. Depending on how the feedback is from each GM, I could potentially bring this series back every few seasons to see how each GM has grown and if the answers vary from series to series I will make it a regular part of the league. So without further ado, let's give the league what they want!


1. What got you interested in basketball? This could pertain to your childhood, or if you picked up on it later in life.

Basketball was the first sport I ever played and is now the last one I'm still playing. I probably started playing when I was six, was never the most athletic kid on the court but got by with skills and smarts. With that, I was able to parlay that into a short high school coaching career where I coached six years of freshmen ball - with one team going undefeated - and then was a 4-year varsity head coach all in my hometown.

Right now I still play hoops and I view it as my personal therapy session once a week. For 90 minutes a week, I get to get my competitive juices flowing by yelling, pushing, cursing and laughing with some guys I've played in leagues for years with. I truly believe that this allows me to be a better husband and father when I get to get this out of my system every week.

2. Are you an NBA fan? If so what's your favourite team?

Boston Celtics. I grew up just outside of the city my entire life, my initial fandom was during the Paul Pierce/Antoine Walker days so I know what bad basketball looks like. Makes me really appreciate what we have had over the last 15 seasons.

3. Who is your favourite player and why?

This may be taboo to say as a Celtics fan but my favorite player of all time is Kobe Bryant. It would be Michael Jordan but I was just a hair too young to really enjoy the fruit of his prime, but seeing Kobe's entire career from start to finish, I loved his game, his demeanor, his killer instinct. When you exclude big men from the all-time list, I have Kobe #2 all time behind MJ.

4. Tell us about your team, and where you are now with the roster?

I took over the team in the offseason and decided to gut it down to Zion and nothing else. We originally went big game hunting in free agency for both Shai GIlgeous-Alexander and Matisse Thybulle, but quickly had to pivot to much more attainable pieces. I love the squad we have put around him but we desperately just need to get and stay healthy to see what we truly have.

5. Give a detailed answer on how you approach drafting, trading, and coaching.

As most probably know by now, I've never been big in the trade market. I much prefer to build my teams organically through the draft and then supplement it through free agency to fill in the gaps. I've never been able to capture an elusive CSL title, but I feel like the Nets core I put together shows that I have what it takes to put a title team together...eventually.

Much thanks to Rizzo, and we hope you appreciate this insight into the DAL GM!

[Tulogit2Quit]

Did you coach your HS teams like you do your CSL team?

[TheTwoWallaces]

Antoine Walker lmao. Walter McCahhty, for 3!!

Also an undefeated freshman team actually sounds pretty epic. Freshman basketball was probably the most hoops I ever played, would've been an awesome memory being a part of an undefeated team

[Ramcus]

Big fan of Rizzo, love seeing you in the league. Can't wait to see what you do with this team.

[cb4raptorscb4]

It's certainly interesting to see the change in strategy with Zion in Dallas. No longer really in the MVP considerations likely, but may bring more team success

[bt]

Always cool to see some history (the coaching, etc).

But a Kobe man as a Celtics fan would have been rough haha.

[Rizzo]

Did you coach your HS teams like you do your CSL team?

I wish but we didn’t have a stud like SGA/Ayton/Zion. My high school has always been undersized so we had to play fast, but most players lacked basketball IQ to do that in an efficient manner. Boy do I not miss those long bus rides home after an L…

[Rizzo]

Antoine Walker lmao. Walter McCahhty, for 3!!

Also an undefeated freshman team actually sounds pretty epic. Freshman basketball was probably the most hoops I ever played, would've been an awesome memory being a part of an undefeated team

Funny thing about that freshman team is they are turning 30 now and they are in the men’s league that I play in. Naturally 3 of them are the first 3 picks of our draft lol.

[Rizzo]

Big fan of Rizzo, love seeing you in the league. Can't wait to see what you do with this team.

Much appreciated, brutha! Glad to be back even if this season hasn’t started out smoothly for us.

[Rizzo]

It's certainly interesting to see the change in strategy with Zion in Dallas. No longer really in the MVP considerations likely, but may bring more team success

That is the hope, though I struggled to get him to turn back the block to MVP Zion when we were dealing with all of our injuries. Let’s see if we can put it all together or just pray for an engine change in the immediate future lol.

[Rizzo]

Always cool to see some history (the coaching, etc).

But a Kobe man as a Celtics fan would have been rough haha.

I would say there was a 10-year period of my life (19-29) where I spent almost all of my free time coaching for my high school. Burnt me out for sure but it was worth it.

Kobe’s prime were dark days for the Cs so no harm!

[Andrewu91]

Always cool to see some history (the coaching, etc).

But a Kobe man as a Celtics fan would have been rough haha.

I would say there was a 10-year period of my life (19-29) where I spent almost all of my free time coaching for my high school. Burnt me out for sure but it was worth it.

Kobe’s prime were dark days for the Cs so no harm!

As a diehard Lakers fan, all I can say is you're welcome. Even celtics fans chanted "Kobe, Kobe, Kobe" in his last year and when celtics sucked before 08.

He was a masterpiece

[Flaming Homer]

Mamba forever!

Pretty cool to hear of your player/coaching career. Love that you still ball, I really miss that.

Regarding CSL, I probably would tear down the Mavs to the struts and start new. You seem a patient guy and showed that you construct a winning team with the right pieces drafted. Your master piece with the nets was the trade for Robert Williams though, that really formed this spectacular big 3.