Bill Laimbeer: 'My time has passed' for NBA job
Bill Laimbeer has never gotten that NBA head coaching job. And he says he has come to terms with that.
"There was a time when I would have — really, I was foaming at the mouth to get an opportunity," Laimbeer said. "It didn't happen. OK, I'm getting old, just turned 58. My time's probably passed. I'm enjoying doing what I'm doing. It works for me and my wife and our lifestyle. … It pays a lot better, I'll tell you that, they pay a lot in the NBA. But overall, I think my time has passed."
Laimbeer also said that his style is as an old-school, former-player coach, not the modern kind who "spends 20 hours watching videotape."
So he's back for another season as coach of the WNBA's New York Liberty. The former Detroit Pistons center — and former Detroit Shock coach — talked about that this morning on the "Dan Patrick Show."
Laimbeer said WNBA players are more willing to listen to coaches, too.
"The players want to be taught," he said. "There's a very distinct difference in the mind-set of players. In the woman's league, they want to learn, they want to be coached. … Women listen much better than the guys -- it's dramatic. The guys, they think they know it all and they only listen when threatened with playing time or extinction of their job. But, hey, it is what it is, and the money is so great in the NBA, they think they can do whatever they want to and still get paid, which, in many cases, is correct."
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Laimbeer also talked about other subjects, such as:
• As a former Bad Boy, what does he think of the way the NBA game is called today?
"Yeah, if you have bad breath and breathe on somebody, it's probably a Flagrant 1. The league has tried to open up the game and make the game more scoring. They need more scoring because, quite frankly, the court has shrunk. The players are bigger, faster, stronger, the space remains the same. … They're trying to find a way to open it up and to take away some of the physicality to get more scoring.
"I get it, but at the same time, people from our generation look at it go, 'Well, you know, it's still a man's game,' and they want to go out there and see some physicality at times."
Patrick said he remembered a play when Boston Celtics nemesis Robert Parish seemed to punch Laimbeer in the face twice and not get called for a foul.
"No, it's amazing that the referees didn't really see anything," Laimbeer said. "You know, keep on playing. Today's rules, that'd probably be out with a concussion the next four weeks."
• How would those Pistons have defended some of today's stars, such as the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry?
"We'd probably put Isiah on him or Joe Dumars on him. Joe Dumars was just a dogged defender. … But the best part is you can count on your teammates to help. We were a great team defender, because one person can't stop great players. I mean, Joe couldn't stop Michael Jordan. He needed all five players to get out there and help him contain — contain is probably the best word. And Steph Curry, just contain him. Don't let him dominate the game."
Oddly, that was the only mention of Isiah Thomas, the controversial hire as president of the Liberty, during the interview.
• And how would the Pistons defend the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James?
"That's a tough one. You can't knock him down; he'll knock you down. Nobody's ever seen a physical specimen like LeBron. You know, 6-8, 285, strong, jumps out of the gym, runs like the wind, man, I'm in awe of this guy. Just take charges on him, I guess would be the best thing to do. Just get him in foul trouble somehow. Just limit his ability to play 40 minutes."
Contact Steve Schrader: sschrader@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @schradz.