Del Negro finds coaching a learned experience

In making his way through the minefield that NBA coaching can be for the rawest of the raw, Vinny Del Negro talked to a lot of people, seeking advice. One of those individuals was a former teammate, Doc Rivers, who, like Del Negro, accepted his first head-coaching job with an NBA team after having no coaching experience.

Rivers told Del Negro not to pay any attention to those who might think he hadn't "paid his dues." Fourteen years of playing professionally and a number of years in the media and the Phoenix Suns front office was more than sufficient. But he also imparted some words of wisdom to the new coach of the Chicago Bulls, right out of "Hamlet:" "To thine own self be true.''

Recalled Rivers, "He asked me for my thoughts and I said to him that, bottom line, follow your gut and trust your instincts. You'll get a lot of advice along the way and some of it will be very good. But at the end of the day, the final decision is yours. It's going to fall on you.''

To say that the Bulls' hiring of the heretofore untested Del Negro was a bit of a shock is a dramatic understatement. No one saw this coming, especially after Chicago flirted with the likes of Mike D'Antoni and Doug Collins. One former NBA player, who for obvious reasons shall go nameless, heard about Del Negro's June 11 hiring while attending a baseball game and, in state of shock, turned to his companion and said, "I should have applied.'' He, too, had no coaching experience.

But while Del Negro may never have coached, he did not see that as an obstacle or an impediment when he talked to the Bulls about their vacancy.

"I played a long time, so I had developed a lot of relationships along the way, as well as being in the [Phoenix] front office and doing a lot of TV and radio,'' he said. "I've been around basketball a long time. I had had some opportunities to get into coaching before, but I wasn't ready. I was very comfortable in Phoenix. Then, this opportunity presented itself and, luckily, the Chicago Bulls were interested. I have a great staff. I have a young team. I'm working for a great organization with a lot of tradition. I think I'm in a great position."

It's always revealing to see how a rookie coach fills out his staff. Rivers turned to a couple of tested vets in Johnny Davis and Dave Wohl when he took over the Orlando Magic in 1999. Both had NBA head coaching-experience. Larry Bird turned to coaching lifer Dick Harter and eventual NBA head coach Rick Carlisle to help him coach the Indiana Pacers in 1997.

When it came time for Del Negro to do the same, well, let's just say that the folks at AARP were exchanging high fives when the assistant coaches were announced. Del Negro's top two assistants, Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff, have more than 60 years of NBA experience between them, including stints as the head coaches of seven NBA teams. Another new assistant, Bob Ociepka, has 19 years in the NBA as an assistant for seven NBA teams. Think those guys might have a few suggestions?

As it turns out, Harris and Bickerstaff have finally united; when Harris coached the Rockets, he tried to get Bickerstaff to join his staff but things didn't work out. Now, they're together and both are happy to be helping the new guy as well as back on the bench, where, frankly, they both belong.

"Bernie and Del are great choices,'' Rivers said. "Bernie has been through the whole gamut, including the front office. And they're going to help because they're not going to try to be the head coach. It's a good situation for him."

Del Negro said, "I'd known Del for a long time. I played against Bernie's teams. I did a lot of research, talked to a lot of people, did a lot of interviews and felt most comfortable having a very experienced staff, taking guys who've been there before. They've been great."

Del Negro said he talked to a number of his former coaches in trying to make decisions about filling out a staff. Among those who coached him in the NBA: Gregg Popovich, George Karl and Dick Motta. Rivers was, of course, a natural because he had gone through the same thing.

"I told him to take some chances, try new things,'' Rivers said. "Looking back at my first year, I'd say 90 percent of the time, the things I tried, they worked. And I had no problem changing the other 10 percent."

Even as he makes his way through the season, Del Negro is turning to others for thoughts and inspiration. This past week in Orlando, he had Lou Holtz, a friend, address the team. (Del Negro and Holtz both have ties to North Carolina State; Del Negro played there in the 1980s under the late Jim Valvano while Holtz coached there a decade earlier.)

So far, the Bulls have gotten off to a .500 start over four games. The two losses, both on the road, came to the Boston Celtics and Magic, no disgrace there. Everyone who has seen the Bulls raves about rookie point guard Derrick Rose – "A great guy to build around,'' Rivers said – and there's a sense that some of the tensions and distractions from last year may be gone.

The Bulls are seen as a likely playoff team in the East, although they are not being viewed through the same lens as last year, when most of the preseason predictions had them among the top three teams in the conference. Del Negro, meanwhile, has history on his side, sort of.

Bird and Rivers, two people who took NBA head coaching jobs without any coaching experience, were named Coach of the Year – in their very first seasons. And Avery Johnson was an assistant for only one year before winning the award with Dallas in 2006.

"That's a pretty big task,'' Del Negro said. "We're just trying to develop the team the best we can. Let's see what we end up with."