201209_JoePrunty_Edit1
Sun, 1/24 10:27AM • 51:26
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
coach, people, players, team, game, basketball, playing, question, arrived, chemistry, prepared, preparing, nba, joe, big, portland, talked, poland, amazing, practice
SPEAKERS
Paul Barnett, Joe Prunty
Paul Barnett 00:00
So Joe Prunty, good afternoon, or rather good morning to you over there in America, and welcome to the Great coach's podcast.
Joe Prunty 00:07
Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm really excited to be on.
Paul Barnett 00:10
Well, Joe, not as excited as we are to talk a little basketball with you, because you've got some amazing experience. But before we jump into that, can I ask you a really tough question? Where are you in the world? What have you been up to so far today?
Joe Prunty 00:22
Well, I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. And as you mentioned, Paul, it's still pretty early for us. But just for today, literally for today, I have taken the kids to school and gotten myself up on a few few other things around the house and gotten myself prepared to speak with you for a little bit. But in general, I have just returned from coaching with the United States basketball, in a window in Indianapolis at a very successful trip, we went to a no and really enjoyed it was a great opportunity.
Paul Barnett 00:58
It sounds fantastic. We can hopefully get into that and learn what it's like in the locker room with all those legends later on in the discussion. But I'd like to start actually by not so much a history lesson but by just winding the clock back because when I was researching for today, I realized you've almost had access to a who's who of coaching in basketball. There's Gregg Popovich is Avery Johnson, and we were with them both one Coach of the Year, there's Byron Scott, there's Nathan McMillan, and there's a ton of others as well. So I figured you were in a pretty good place to tell us what the difference is between great coaches and the not so great coaches?
Joe Prunty 01:39
It's a good question. I don't know, I've been really blessed to have worked with great coaches. So it's, it's hard to say what everybody does. But I know all of those people that you just mentioned, along with a lot of the assistants that I worked with, and you know, Jason Kidd and Igor koskoff, as well here most recently, have all been amazing in several different ways, but and they all have their own unique styles. But what I would say is, some of the things that great coaches do is they have amazing relationships, not only with the players themselves, but with all the people within an organization. That doesn't mean that everything is a bed of roses every day, it doesn't mean that everything goes smoothly. There are debates, there are questions, there are tough tasks that have to be handled. But the relationships themselves are always solid. They're built on a great foundation. And it's just something that I've seen with all the coaches, and it's something that I strive to do myself, I think they have attention to details. Again, it's another thing that I try to aspire to myself in regards to whether it's little things on the quarter or little things off the court, because as we all know, those little things, eventually are the big things, or they become the big things.[PB1] I think they're flexible. The coaches that I've been with have always been flexible. One of the things that people mentioned through the years about with pop was how he changed more from a defensive to an offensive style. And I don't know if that's true, from what I saw, because he was always a great coach on both sides of the ball. And I think that's really important is in basketball, you do have to coach both sides, and they're intertwined. It's not like you send one team out for defense, and then another team out for offense. It's it's all interconnected. So just having that flexibility is in knowledge to coach both things. And all those coaches that you mentioned, might be perceived to be one way, but they really can coach both sides and do it well. And they're just flexible with their system as to what they're emphasizing at a particular point in time. That I think they just have accountability. It's as simple as that is. And again, most people will think when they hear the term accountability it's that's what the players but it really isn't just with the players, it's with all people is are you prepared you bring something to the table? Do you bring something that makes us think that makes us be better than we were the day before? Does it make us get better for winning a game or get better for executing a practice or maybe even a moment in practice, maybe one play? Maybe one scheme defensively, but there's an accountability to be prepared and to be part of something bigger than you are with the team?[PB2]
Paul Barnett 04:38
Joe? You've been a coach with six different NBA teams now if I'm math is correct, that's like 30% of the whole league. When you roll up at a new team, what do you do first,
Joe Prunty 04:50
but there's a few things but I'll I guess I'll break it
into two categories. There's the professional side of it. I try to listen and
learn as much as I can. From all the people that are available to me early on,
and most of the time, when you're arriving, it's Well, it depends on when you
arrive to a new team, but meaning the time of year, if it's the middle of the
summer or early summer, sometimes you're just getting acclimated with the
coaching staff and some of the other people in the front office, what have you.
But really, just try and listen and learn to what the philosophies are what
people are working towards, what are the goals? What are we going to build, but
just trying to improve myself on sort of what the overall system is not the
coaching system, but what the philosophy of the entire organization is, and
just, I don't want to say not interject myself into it, but just listen to what
people are saying. So I can figure out where are we going, you know, study, film study, watching previous
games watching previous, you know, obviously,
like I said, if it's in the summer, you're watching things from the previous
year, going back and looking at probably the games that you played, if you came
from another team, but really getting into the nuts and bolts of what
some of the players, their tendencies are, how they played what they did,
looking at numbers, you know, the analytical side of it, but just trying to figure out, you know, it's
kind of goes into that listening to what people are talking about, and where
we're going and philosophically what we're trying to do, but it's also now
trying to dive into the visual part of it, or the analytical part of it and
study and get to know things. And so it's really sort of a get to know process
for me professionally, in terms of most people that I've gone to work with,
I've had some idea of who they are. But until you work with someone, you don't
really know what they're about. [PB3] And then I also from a professional
standpoint, just want to establish, you know,
a level of consistency with myself, like how I, you
know, am and what I do, and every morning, always come in with the
mindset of working hard, and I get it, some people have tough days. So it's
it's not as easy, but still saying good morning, every day, you know, kind of get ready for the grind and
being what I would deem like I said, this is the professional side of it. But
being professional, I think, from a personal standpoint, that's the other side,
that's really important when you get to a team is trying to get yourself
established in the new area that you're you're living in now. So I asked a lot
of questions early on, just trying to similar to what I would do professionally.
But now it's a matter of Where are things where our schools where our churches
where Dr. stores, you know, hey, who do you go to? Who do you see and just kind
of getting a lay of the land because I want to get those things established. So
they're not an issue when we're in the meat of the season, or when you know,
because things just happen, right life happens around you. And so if you can
get your personal situation settled as best possible, it makes the professional
part that much easier.
Paul Barnett 07:59
Joe Fanny's great quote from you. And I'd like to read it to you if I could, before I ask the question. Chemistry counts, there's no question about it, it doesn't necessarily mean that everybody's best friends, and they do everything together. But it helps in their ability to coach one another. That's part of chemistry. And I was really intrigued by the last part of that quote, because I wanted to ask you, how do you set up a team culture, where people are honest enough with each other? In order to help coach one another?
Joe Prunty 08:27
Sure, I think one[PB4] of the things is you
have to create that and you have to help facilitate and create that
environment. You know, there's a book called The culture code, and they talk
about creating a safe environment. And essentially, the idea is that you feel
comfortable to present your ideas no matter what they are, and you won't feel
that you're ridiculed. Now, I think in this business, you have to have thick
skin, but I think you have to be creative, you have to try and figure out what
is the best thing to do. And so sometimes that takes, really, I know, it's a
broad outside the box, but you've got to think outside the box a little bit.
And so coming up with a unique idea, you don't want to feel like you can't do
it. Because no matter who you are, I think you know, with teams, you're
always trying to establish the roles and the goals. You're trying to figure out
what people's responsibilities are. But you don't want to pigeonhole people
into those areas. Because you want people to be able to like I said, think outside
the box, be creative, push the envelope. Let's see what ideas work best,
because maybe something that you tried with another team or somewhere at a
different point in time. It didn't work out that well. But maybe it's you tried
it at that point to lead you to this time to use it. It was meant to be used at
this time, even though the first time it didn't work out. So having a role but
don't feel like that's what I have. I can only do these things. That's it
establishing the goals. Where's the team going, what are we trying to
accomplish? What's our purpose. And if you can establish those things, it gives
people a focus for where they're trying to get to. I think you have to have
constructive interaction. I know for myself, I'm always looking for
constructive criticism or constructive feedback, things that will help me get
better. I'm always trying to improve. I think that's something that in life you
should be trying to do is are you getting better every day? And I think
chemistry is an everyday thing. It's something that people tend to just throw
out there and feel as if it's, oh, yeah, we've got great chemistry. Okay, well,
chemistry can be torn apart and dissolve as quickly or quicker than it is
built. So it's not something that it just Oh, yeah, we just have it. And now
we've arrived at it. It's something that you do every day is you work on being
a team. And in there, like I said earlier, there are points
where there will be adversity, and how you handle that is part of it.
And I guess what I'll leave you with in terms of the chemistry is in watching
teams that have it. Few years back, I was
watching a series, a series between st one of the series between San Antonio
and Miami. And it's not that I hadn't seen it before. But it was amazing how
much I saw that the teams essentially were coaching themselves, and that when there
was a dead ball, not a timeout, not when they were over with the coaches, you
could see LeBron with his arm around Mario Chalmers or Chris Bosh talking to
one player, Dwayne Wade, talk to another player, you could see Tim Duncan,
talking to kawhi Leonard or Tony Parker and Patty Mills, or the group huddling
up together. And what the coaches had done was they had created an environment
where not only the chemistry was pretty spectacular, as evidenced by the fact
that they were playing in the NBA Finals. But they had taught the players the
system well enough to where they could do it with each other. They didn't have
to wait for the timeout for the coach to address it. And some of that comes from
talent. Some of that comes from tenure together. There's numerous factors that
get into that. But that is where chemistry continually is evolving.[PB5]
Paul Barnett 12:16
Joe, could I ask you a follow up question on on chemistry, because you said you've just come back from helping with Team USA? How do you build chemistry quickly, when you've got a representative group like that, that are coming together for a short period of time? There could be some lingering tensions? I'm not sure. What's the tip on managing that condensed period of intensity and bringing chemistry out?
Joe Prunty 12:36
Yeah, that is that is something that is hard to do at times in terms of short window, I also spent some time with Great Britain. And we went through the same thing. Now we didn't have the windows there. At that time, we were still in a summer environment where you were preparing for eurobasket, or whatever the summer event was. So there was a little bit more time but in this particular situation, I think the guy's not only came in understanding what they wanted to accomplish or what our goals were. But that gets back to like that goals, roles and goals, right? You come in, you know what you do, we only spent a little over. I mean, the whole timeframe was over a week. But really, it was about a week's timeframe of practices and games. And what was really important was now the guys did a lot of these guys knew each other from having competed in the G league with one another at different times. But they knew what our goal was, we establish that we talked to them about it, let them know what they were a part of, they were a part of something bigger than themselves that this window was a part of three windows that were going to help us potentially get qualified, which we did. And that was a big goal for Team USA to do. And so establishing sort of what we were trying to accomplish was really, really important. And getting the guys to understand how we needed to go about it. There's also, you know, in terms of chemistry, building health and respect, not only for ourselves and our our team, but also who we're going to be playing against and how good they are. And, you know, what they had accomplished and what their goals were what they were trying to do not only, you know, not just obviously qualify for the event, this was for the America in 2022. It wasn't just for that, like these teams are trying to do that as well. But how good they are, who's coming in, let them know what they're going up against. So these roles, goals, you know, also creating environment where they felt like they could bring forth anything that they had experienced with some of these players because they were players on other teams that these guys knew. So tell us about what do you you know, how good are they What did you see when you played against him in the previous window or in years past, so it really was just a small it's a minor Draw cars and write of what you are trying to do over the course of a season, you just have to do it in a shorter amount of time.
Paul Barnett 15:08 (new edit time 14:28)
So you were a high school coach, when you took the job with the Spurs as an assistant video coordinator. And of course, that job leads you to becoming the assistant coach in 2000. And of course, from there, the Spurs go on this amazing streak championships in 99 2003 2005. When you reflect on those years, and the role that you played and the learning that you had, what did you take out of that period of time into your coaching philosophy that we could see today?
Joe Prunty 15:35
Yeah, you know, I think the neat thing for me was getting there and realizing that, you know, was still basketball, obviously, it was elite level basketball, you have the best players in the world, you have a team with MVP type caliber players, like MVP players like David Robinson, ultimately, Tim Duncan comes in and becomes an MVP. You know, guys like Shawn Elliott, I mean, I can go up and down the list, right. But one of the things that I learned right away is that everybody can contribute. Everybody is a part of this process. And and what I mean by that is, pop was very forthcoming with letting you know, be prepared, have a thought, have an idea presented, and then be prepared to defend it. If people say, Well, no, we shouldn't do that. Or why do you think we should do that? You know, and it was more of a, like, you had to be prepared, you had to be thoughtful, you had to be thought provoking. You almost in some ways, the thought provoking ideas were almost, I don't wanna say presenting a disagreement. But just being prepared that if you do disagree, you'll find a way to come to common ground. And I think that was huge for my development was that there? It wasn't like, okay, we have to do it this way. And that's it. And that's the only way that it works. It's there are different ways, there is an answer. Let's go find it. Let's find the answer, and figure out what's best. Because, yes, we have a lot of talent here, but so does everyone else. So how can we make sure that all of us are contributing to that? How are we all thoughtful with it and being prepared for it? How are we growing even though we disagree, and maybe the disagreement is what's helping us grow? It's like people think of rain, right? gloomy days, and you have rain, and it's that's bad. And that, well, rain is what helps things grow sometimes, too, right? So it's a little bit of both, you know, to use that analogy, and, you know, believe in what we were doing. That was a big thing. We believed in what we were doing. But we also had appropriate fear. That was a term that pop used a lot in terms of our opponents. But, you know, it drove us to respect its respect for what not only we were doing in games against our opponent, but with what we were trying to accomplish and where we were trying to go. And I think all of those lessons have been invaluable for me in terms of, you know, shaping a lot of the basketball thoughts that I have.[PB6]
Paul Barnett 18:07 (new edit time 17:16)
In 2006. You laid the Spurs you head over to the Mavericks, and you're under another legend Avery Johnson team finishes with the best record in the league, but also you have your second experience with an MVP Dirk Nowitzki. And I'm wondering, you've now had Tim Duncan endemic. I wonder if there's any, there's one or two lessons that you've taken from these elite players that have helped you as a coach?
Joe Prunty 18:30
Yeah, they? Well, number one, they're great for a reason. They're great players for a reason. There's something that encompasses a lot of different things. So number one, few talk about their skills, they they had a go to move, they had something that they knew, I'm going to get this shot off, and it's not, you're not going to impact it. It's just a matter of whether I miss or make that shot, and you can do what you need to do. But I have a go to move. That is pretty simple. I know I'm going to get that shot off. And it's either going in or it's not. And you're going to do the best you can but I know I can get to it. They have mental toughness, just an internal drive, a mental toughness that let them know they could get beyond whatever the task was, if it might seem really difficult, but we can get through it and we can accomplish whatever we want to accomplish. [PB7] So like for example, we were I mean, this wasn't the best series for us. But we were playing a game in Golden State, excuse me in Dallas against Golden State. In Game five, we were down we were down three, one in the series, and we're down eight with about 245 let's say just for sake of argument, and Dirk went on an amazing run just literally willed us to win. Even though we eventually lost the series. It was something that just let you know what his like his focus in terms of being In that moment and knowing what needed to happen, there's not a lot of guys that could just get that done, like to get us back and get us that win and keep our season going and give us the opportunity to play another day, and potentially win the series. But there was a mental toughness there, like down a three minutes to go to 45. You know, can't do it. He didn't believe that he thought he we have a way. And part of that stems from the work ethic. Anybody that's in this business works should be working really hard, I would assume. But the work ethic that those guys had, along with the skills that they had, was unbelievable. They put in the effort. And I saw it with younger players as well. You saw it like a player like Yanis Yanis is someone that is he came into the league, he was learning those things, and you were helping facilitate that and helping grow him and his basketball acumen. And he was thirsty for it. And so similar to Tim and dirt, but you know, that work ethic, that desire that drive, these things are things that propel them a little bit further. And then they're just not afraid, they're not afraid of the moment, they're willing to go out at like, I just gave you that example with Dirk, he was okay, this is what has to happen. We need to find a way to win this game. Okay, I can't sit here and panic about anything, I'm going to go out and attack this moment and find a way to get it done. And that was just one example. And there's countless for both players. And then I think the second thing because that was a lot to encompass the fact that they were great players for a reason. But I think the other thing is that their character is people is as high as their skills. Unbelievable people just doesn't mean they're the same. It just means they had high character. And they even though they went about things differently, and we're extremely competitive with everybody, including each other. And they weren't necessarily the same people. But they had a lot of things that just made them characteristically amazing to be around not only as basketball players, but as human beings.[PB8]
Paul Barnett 22:13 (new edit time 21:04)
You then head off to Poland as an assistant. But this is where you're giving your first chance to be a head coach in these in the NBA Summer League in 2008 and 2009. And I'm just really curious, what do you remember about transitioning into the head coach Ron in particularly what did how did it feel if you can remember those feelings and how it contrasted to in yours and as a system?
Joe Prunty 22:33
Sure. I actually had an opportunity to coach a couple of summer leagues in both San Antonio and Dallas. And I was really fortunate. In fact, one of the first teams that I had in San Antonio was amazing. We we had gone into Utah, and well, long story short, we had a great team. We had Tony Parker, Charles Smith, Steven Jackson, Amal MACAT, we long story short, I coached him for the games there. Believe it was four, we won all four games, but it was amazing because it really wasn't tricky. Like after watching Tony and jack and and watching how they played together. It was like, okay, just get out of the way. Let them do their thing. Like Don't we have plays, we have our system, but let these guys run their run their style, because they've run like they're, they're playing so well together. Just don't interrupt it. They've got chemistry already. You know, went to Dallas and got an opportunity to coach an inmate. We went five and oh, this year, this particular year, but we talked about how good the team was in Dallas. And we had at the time, obviously Dirk, Jason Terry Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse. And the point is, with the players that we had on the summer league team, we talked about how, look, these guys on that are already on the team are good. And they're going to do certain things like a lot of those guys are going to score for us. So yes, in the summer league, we need to score points, and we need to stop them from scoring points, right basic court of basketball, understand that, but what are some of the things that you can do to be on the team if you're not scoring? You know, so obviously here, I want to focus on that. But I want you guys to focus on that stuff to the other things like setting screens, rebounding, making the extra pass, cheering for your teammates, so on and so forth. And to watch that team, which had good players, we had JJ Berea, we had Brandon bass Pop's Mensah bonsu you know, again, long list of great players, but that team goes undefeated, but it was fun to watch them react to one another on the bench. They cheered for one another, they stood for one another. And so being a part of that was always great, because that was something like you talked about earlier in a small window like we We just did with USA Basketball. That's kind of what you are getting with summer league situations. And so to watch teams, be selfless to watch individuals be selfless. That was huge. When I got to Portland, same concept, still trying to instill all of that. But one of the things that was really different, my first year of coaching Portland, OR coaching, excuse me, the summer league in Portland, was we had a goal, we wanted to win, we wanted to be successful. But we also wanted to give particular players opportunities in positions to do things that they didn't necessarily get to do during the regular season. So it was really about, it's always about growing, it was always about player development. But this in particular was, hey, let's focus on this. So even though we might have another player who can play that position, or we have another guy who can do this, or that, or whatever, let's focus on these things. And so it was still a great experience. But it was really focused on, hey, these guys need, they have to have the minutes here. And we have to get them to develop in this particular area.
Paul Barnett 26:09 (new edit time 24:17)
So you had these great experiences as a head coach through the summer, as well as your being assistant in the NBA team. And then in 2013, you get the job as the National coach for Great Britain. And for four years, you have to work really hard. There's not a lot of funding. And it must have been challenging, but I can understand why you enjoyed it so much. Because it's such a different experience from what you're having in the NBA. And in fact, you say, it helped me tremendously as a coach. And so I'd like to ask you, what did you learn from that experience that you've taken forward into the way you coach today?
Joe Prunty 26:39
Yeah, I loved it. It actually. So I did it from 2013 to 2017. And which was actually five summers, coached in two euro baskets. I think that some of the biggest stuff that I grew up with was the administrative part, I definitely grew coaching wise, but the funding issues were at the core of what was going on with the program. Basically, from the time I took over, I think one of the things that happened was, the London Olympics took place, and people treated it almost as if that it was a destination. And what I reminded not only the players, but the people in on the board and with Great Britain is that it's a journey. This isn't like we we get to the Olympics in 2012. And now we're done. Now we're moving on to the next cycle and trying to qualify for the next Olympics and or the world championships and or which is now referred to as the World Cup. So you're each in the next eurobasket, and so on and so forth. So understanding that it's a journey, and understanding that we're not looking for funding year over year, we're trying to build something that's sustainable. And I think that's where, for me, I worked with several different chairman's of the board or, you know, different people that were in charge and different national teams directors. So for five summers, I think there were three different national team directors one year, we operated without one, the funding was a question still is to this day, and learning the right things to ask. And what I mean by that is, this is you'll you'll understand this. So we are this good little story for me. We are I'm at the time in Cleveland and trying to get organized for the first summer. So my question to the people that are running the travel for me is how long is the flight from Greece to Poland? And I'm told up three hours, three hour flight. Okay, great. That's perfect. That'll be three hours, not a long day. We'll finish our second game in Greece will leave the next morning get in. And then we should be able to get our two games in in Poland without too much issue. Once we arrive after a day of practice. Well, as I get over there, and I start really diving into the itinerary, it was arrive at the airport and creep two hours before the flight takes off. Okay, so our flight was deleted 10 land in Athens at 11. Leave Athens at 1230 fly for two and a half hours. I can't remember if there was a time change but leave at 1230 so arrive actually about three 315 ish somewhere in that timeframe. have to wait for bags have to clear cut, you know, get through all this stuff. And you can see where I'm going with this as I'm continuing to draw it out. is now we are literally trying to leave the airport at about 430 in Warsaw. And we're not playing in Warsaw, we're playing in Lublin, which is a two hour drive. So then the two hour drive. I didn't realize this, but have you ever heard of the term takko I think that's the case. So what it is at least that's what the term They told me is when a bus in Europe is being driven for too long. It's literally and maybe this was just in Poland. But it's a law that the bus driver has to stop the button. They cannot continue to drive the bus they have to so you've heard of that? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So here we are now trying to drive through Poland in rush hour in a rainstorm. And we have to take a break, apparently, because the bus was running before we arrived. So. So essentially, what happened is we left at eight in the morning, or we planned our journey. Our journey had started at eight and at eight in the morning. And we really didn't arrive until maybe eight at night in London. And so what I was told, because the question was, how long of a flight? Is it from Greece to Poland? Oh, it's three hours. What I learned was, that's not the right question. the right question is, how long is the journey to get from where we are going as point A and Crete to point B in Loveland Poland? and things like that? I didn't know I would have to ask that specific that detailed of a question, because that's a massive difference for everybody that was involved in the travel. And the person who was telling me this, at the time, wasn't involved in the travel, so they didn't understand what it was like to be on the ground, so to speak. So learning those things, learning, scheduling, learning, travel, you know, asking the right questions. And then I think some of the other stuff was just adjusting each day because you were thrown a curveball a lot. It wasn't as like in the NBA, you, you know, you go to your practice facility you are I mean, regardless, in high school, in college, you go to your practice, you go to your arena, your gym, whatever, you practice, you have your slot your time, it's simple. You go in, you come out here, you had to be flexible, especially even in England. You know, there were times where I don't know if you've seen some of the courts in England, but in Great Britain they are there are more lines. It's like an eye chart, you've got lines for handball, volleyball, basketball, I mean, it's, it's incredible how many lines there are, there were times where we'd be practicing, we could not get into take, let's say the poles down that were on the court until right at two o'clock. So practice didn't start right at two, it was still trying the administrative things. And then at four o'clock, those people that didn't help you take them up, were now coming in and putting them in while you were still trying to finish up your practice. So there were just little things that you had. So you had to be right, very, very punctual. You had to get guys, you know, really focused on, hey, right, when we get in, we need to be ready to go. And when this is over, it's over. It's not like we can stay in there. So there were just a lot of administrative things, that it really helped me focus on those things so that the basketball part was easier, not only for me, but for everybody else that was involved. And then again, it just made me appreciate what I went through with USA Basketball. And that doesn't mean anything was bad with Great Britain as much as it was just there were a lot of different people, like I said, different people, national teams, directors, they were great. They just was someone new. Every two years or so. The chairman of boards, they were all wonderful people, but there was just somebody new. And so good friends, good people. But I wish there was more continuity. And like I said, with USA Basketball, it was amazing just to go in and Sean Ford and Samson coyote, and a host of other people did a great job of keeping us organized coach for tele was amazing, you know, worked with hotel Harrington and again, can't name everybody, but just it was very Boom, boom, boom by the book. And we, especially during the pandemic handled things very well,
Paul Barnett 33:59 (new edit 31:21)
Joe being fired is part of the life of any elite coach. Many of them I've interviewed have said you rally over four or five games away at most before being fired. I imagine when it happens, it must, it must affect your confidence a little bit. And I'm wondering how you've learned to deal with any lingering self doubt that comes from being fired?
Joe Prunty 34:20
I think one of the biggest things, regardless of how you leave a team is can you look yourself in the mirror and say you did the best that you could while you were there. And did you do the best that you could with the things that you were presented at that time? So I think that's a huge part of it is looking yourself in the mirror and knowing that you did what you could number two, where were they or where was that organization before you arrived there? So I always look at that. [PB9] Okay. You know, and that this goes to the high schools and to the you know, I briefed in in college and you know, in the NBA but I feel fortunate as you said earlier like San Antonio, we won three champions. IPS, Dallas, we took a team to the finals, Portland, you know, and actually out of it, you know, obviously, that would have been a great one to win, the one that we didn't win in Dallas, Portland, they hadn't been above 500 for six or seven years prior to my arriving there. And we went back to back 50 win seasons, we were code division champions, and where things go, after I arrived, I look at where, where we were, and where they went. And I've always felt that each situation, I've left it better than where I arrived. You know, maybe there's been one that I would say, was a little bit incomplete, so to speak, I think you always have to continue to grow, you have to continue to learn. And sometimes the you know, you now know what you didn't know, like that was, again, talking about different national teams, directors, a good friend of mine work on Australian as well, he, you know, amazing, taught me a ton I loved working with him was bummed when he stepped down from his position. Because again, that's that's sort of when that was one of the things he always talked about is you don't they don't know what they don't know. And now know what we did not know. And that's a big thing and learning, right is growing getting better. And then I think you also have to be introspective with all of it is how can I improve? I think sometimes even in society right now, it's we want to blame others, as opposed to accept responsibility, or accept, okay, this is where we are, how do we go from here? So even looking at it from the other perspective, like, if you win the championship, it's not like the next year, you go in there and say, okay, we've, we've won it, now we're done. You're trying to win the next one, you're trying to do it again. And that's, that's what matters is, how do you continue to build yourself, as a person, build yourself as a team or build your team? I think those are the things that in all of this, when you take a step back, and maybe it even if you are questioning yourself, okay, am I doing the right things? And if I'm not, how do I adjust that? You know, it's it's kind of the old saying of where you've been, where you are, and where you going? And that's where you, if you look at it, you have some of that self doubt, you just have to look yourself in the mirror, and you have to think about, okay, where have I been? Where am I? Where am I going? How can I get there? [PB10]
Paul Barnett 37:25
That's a great answer. Joe, thank you for thank you for sharing it in 20 plus seasons, if I've got my numbers correctly, three NBA championships, but 16 times involved in the postseason. And I'm, I'm wondering if at all, does the style of coaching change in the postseason? If so, how does it change?
Joe Prunty 37:46
Yeah, no, it does. In one of the biggest reasons that I mean, you still have your system, you're building over 82 games, which you're trying to do, so that part of it is still the same, but where it changes is, you are now playing one team a minimum of four times. And so it isn't so much exactly what you've done for 82 games as much as it was, how did things go against that opponent? How have they gone with certain matchups? So by the end of this seat series, like once you get to seven games, you almost know your opponent, as well as you know, yourself, because you've, you've watched every game dissected every play. The players have done it. They know the tendencies, they know the things that guys want to do. They know their plays. So it's different in that on a given night, on a back to back, let's say, let's say you're playing a team. Well, I talked about this the other day with a friend. And there was a team defensively years ago that whenever the ball went into the post, they always double team, the post, and they were very aggressive with it. And if you were going in on a back to back, it was very difficult to prepare for that. Because you wouldn't necessarily have a walkthrough. So you really relied on the things that you had practiced leading into this back to back, leading into spacing where you wanted guys to be when the double team occurred, the plays that you might be running against it, so on and so forth. But it was very difficult relative to when you're going into a playoff series, you have ample time to prepare for how are they going to double team where do we want to get on the floor and you're not only going to see it in that game, you're going to see it over and over again, in the remaining games as well. So I think it's that aspect of knowing your opponent isn't just knowing their tendencies offensively and trying to take it away. It's also knowing what they do defensively. The intensity is higher, but that's where experience helps. And a great example of that is when I went to Portland. I had been in the league for 12 years when I arrived in Portland. So it was my 13th season. And we had been blessed at that point to be in the playoffs for 11 of those 12 years. And when we got to the playoffs, the city through a, we had a rally downtown was amazing fans came out, we had several practices, a lot of really good practices. But what I realized was until those guys went through that first game, we we could keep coaching and preparing and but they needed to go through that they needed to go through that first game, to be fully prepared for what the magnitude of the playoffs was like[PB11] , because, and I'll give you another example. We would, you know, one year we were playing Phoenix in the conference finals when I was in San Antonio. And on the bench, one of the guys mentioned in the first time out, man, they're playing so much faster. They're playing, you know, this is such a faster series. They're playing faster than maybe even in the regular season or, you know, the mindset was, wow, this is different from what I expected. But it was something that we had talked about, we had talked about how quick they're going to play. You know, how what they're looking for where the threats are in transition, like a lot of times teams were running for layups, but now Phoenix at that point was running into the three point line. And so even though you had talked about it was when you got into it, then you really learn so that intensity is up. But the experience that you have really comes to the forefront if you've been through some of this. I think adjustments are a constant, not saying that they aren't during the regular season, but a lot of times, you'll hear people say, well, they need to make adjustments, okay? adjustments are happening, every moment of every game, whether it's substitution patterns, whether it is schemes, whether it is matchups, whether it is a different play that maybe you implemented, because we did this one time in Brooklyn, we had a player that was really going well. And myself and coach kid, and I shouldn't say just us, but as a staff, we talked about it. But the presentation was, hey, let's utilize this player, as teams have utilized a couple other different players like how does dirt play? So let's see, we didn't have dirt, but we knew how like dirt isolated a lot at the free throw line. Okay, well, let's isolate. How did Shaq get posted? You know, and how can we get this guy posted off of that same type of movement to get him deeper position or better spacing. And so those adjustments, whether it's in game or from game to game are constant, and then just the matchups that your matchup with your opponent, your matchups for your players, those things are you, you have a higher level of focus, because they are coming at you one game after the next after that it's the same people, it's the same player, same coaches. And so the playoffs really, it's so much fun, but it has just that different level of intensity, because you're not seeing anything. You're not seeing another team.
Paul Barnett 43:17
I wish I wish the audience could see how passionate you are right now. You're so engaged. Okay, read the postseason. It's clearly something that's at the center of, of your style and your desire as a coach. I'd like to just ask two more questions. If I could, I know I'm close to my time. But I am the first one to about your philosophy. Because, you know, preparing Joe and I got lots of information. You know, Joe's a create a coach, that's creative offensively, Joe preaches confidence. You know, Joe's team moves the ball side to side more he Joe's teams have great after timeout plays. And that was the mechanics. But what I really wanted to get to was the dynamics, what's at the center of your coaching philosophy? What are the big rocks that travel with you everywhere?
Joe Prunty 43:59
Yeah, I think there's a few different things that I'll hit you with. Number one, you just want to be in the moment while preparing for the future. I think a lot of people tend to try and get ahead of themselves at times. And so just be in the moment while preparing for the future, knowing that a little bit of it is going to be coming every day. So if you can do that, I think I think there's a few people that in this industry tend to dwell on the past, or worry about the future more than just being in the moment. I think you have to ask yourself one simple question. Are you better today than you were yesterday. And if you are, then you're moving in the right direction. And that growth might be monumental, could be small, you know, an inch or a mile. It doesn't matter you better today than you were yesterday. Philosophically, I believe in being collaborative, working together. You know, finding the common goal and working towards it. You're all in it together. I'm more about sharing credit and accepting responsibility[PB12] , or accepting blame than, you know, some people are more like, Look at me, look at me look at what I've done. That's that's not how I worked. And so philosophically, I think that's how I want my teams to be, right. They, I want them to share the ball, I want them to play the right way, I want them to talk to one another, and communicate. And a couple other things, just be prepared. You know, be prepared, be detailed, understand the things that might happen and be prepared for them when they do doesn't mean you're going to be ready, it doesn't mean you're going to be right every time doesn't mean you need to be ready for it every time doesn't mean you won't be surprised. But for example, if a team throws a zone at you, have you already prepared for the zone, if a team presses you have you already prepared for the press, you know, and that gets back a little bit to you know, being in the moment while preparing for the future. And I always tell our guys, it's better to have been in the right spot to do the right thing and have the the event not happen than to go the other way[PB13] , meaning So as an example, just using a zone, it's better to prepare for a zone and be ready for it and have it not happen, then to not prepare for it and have the team use the zone that that would be philosophically and then just knowing the Why Why are you doing something and conveying that to the players and having the players understand why you're doing something? philosophically, I like to ask questions. I think sometimes when I ask the questions, players will tend to think it's a rhetorical question, they'll, they'll think that I'm not looking for an answer when I actually am. Because that's one of the beauties of this game is that it happens so quick. And especially at the NBA level, you've got so many smart players like they're just the things that they can think of and react to as quickly as they can. It's It's amazing. And sometimes his fans, I think people take it for granted that it just oh yeah, that's just what they do. That's why guys don't, you know, win an MVP just every year, because people just all of a sudden say, Oh, yeah, of course that guy does that. Well, doesn't mean it's still not absolutely amazing. But again, it's just knowing the why, like, why are we doing what we're doing? And having an answer, because then that'll help us, like I said, kind of not only prepare for that moment, but prepare for the future as well.
Paul Barnett 47:29
So you've been very generous with your time, I'd like to perhaps just ask one last question. And I'd like to preface it with another of another great quote I found from you when I was preparing. Can See you making a face there? The quote is, a lot of people think that being the head coach, it's X's and O's. But it's so much more than that. It's about the relationships, and the passion that you bring. And I've seen, so that passion while you've been talking through this conversation today, but I wanted to ask you, in the distant future, when you do finish as a coach, and we interview or talk to some of the people you've worked with along that journey, what's the legacy that you want them to reference that you left behind you as a coach?
Joe Prunty 48:08
Yeah, it's interesting, I, I don't really think about my legacy, then I'll think about like, as far as that I have to do this, I heard a coach one time talk about legacy and all he said was, ay, ay, ay. and so I'm not even sure exactly what he said. But I heard I about 1700 times. And that bothers me a little bit from the standpoint of the game itself is, is bigger sports is bigger than any individual, the team is bigger than any individual. So I think for me, just in life, and in basketball, I want to leave a positive impact. I want people to know that I care that I listened to them, I listened to what they say there's a, I think there's a lot of people that don't listen, and this is not a basketball thing. But I think that's one of the problems we get into in society is we don't listen to one another[PB14] . And so I'm going to scream at the top of my lungs, and you're going to scream at the top top of your lungs. And we're not we're going to be right back where we started. And it's so I'm not big on wasting time, like that time is is pretty precious. I think we both would agree with that is, you know, especially as we see our kids get older, right? And you realize, wait, they're only going to spend 18 to 22 years of their life in the house with us. I mean, that's not a lot of time. I mean, that's maybe if we're lucky 20% you know, 18 years, maybe 20% of their life. So those things go really quick. And so, like I said, I just think listening and talking and growing and getting better and helping people like that's basketball is a tool in that regard it's, it's a way that people can learn and grow and help one another. And, you know, what's it like to be a part of a team? Why is it important to be on time? All those things. And so sometimes in this business, I think there's a lot of people that get caught up in people wanting to show everybody everything that they they know, and everything that they do. And I think there's more of an idea of just listen to what people say. And sometimes I think that's, that's what's odd for me sometimes is when coaches ask questions, like I said, whether it's to players, or to the coaches in a meeting, and all of a sudden, is that you you just sort of get, you know, here's the question, and here's the answer. When he just asked us a question, you know, so have an answer, be prepared, and, and throw that out there. And so, I think so I like I said, I don't really think about my legacy as much as I just think about, you know, trying to help people and impact their lives in a positive way. And, and that's, I think, if you try and do that philosophically, you do pretty good. Maybe we all went
Paul Barnett 51:10
to 20. It's been a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you for carving out a little bit of time for us. I really enjoyed listening to you talk about all things basketball, and I look forward to watching you in the season ahead. All the best.
Joe Prunty 51:22
Thanks, Paul. Really appreciate enjoyed being on
New Edit 46:48