Trust binds Hornets' coach, GM

Before Monty Williams ever forgave himself for obliterating the chance to win a championship with the San Antonio Spurs, the chance of a lifetime, his old coach forgave him. Gregg Popovich always saw the possibilities within Williams: the intelligence, the character, a leader lost inside the shell of a young, stubborn soul.

Here it was, the cusp of a Spurs dynasty in the late 1990s, and Williams wanted to improve his stats on Popovich's watch.

"They were trying to win a championship and I was trying to establish myself," Williams said. "I didn't want to stand out there and throw the ball into Tim [Duncan] and David [Robinson]. I was so immature at the time. I didn't recognize the opportunity I had to do something special. Man, I was so selfish."

As the young coach of the New Orleans Hornets, Williams remembers that young Spur every day on the job. Williams left the Spurs before they won a title, but returned years later as a volunteer assistant to get his start on the way to taking over the Hornets. At a table in an Indianapolis breakfast spot a few weeks ago, Williams listened to his general manager, Dell Demps, and nodded.

"When things happen now, I hear Pop and RC [Buford]'s voices in the back of my head," Demps said. "It's all so ingrained in me."

The Hornets had just left a 54-point preseason loss to the Orlando Magic, and the prospects of beating the Miami Heat for a stunning 5-0 start seemed improbable. Together, Williams and Demps have taken over these Hornets at a difficult time. They're trapped between an ownership change and a franchise star, Chris Paul(notes), wanting a trade to a bigger market.

Williams, 39, and Demps, 41, have history together, and a common bond born of a belief system with the Spurs. Deposed GM Jeff Bower had hired Williams in June, but lost his job in July, and the Hornets entered the bidding with the Phoenix Suns for Demps. Williams had a lot of say in the process and wanted Demps for his boss. Williams won't say it, but as a Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach, he watched the way GM Kevin Pritchard carried out his own agenda, the way that trust broke down.

This job isn't easy in New Orleans, and even Williams confesses, "I thought Dell was going to go to Phoenix. I mean, you've got a rookie coach versus Alvin [Gentry], who's been there, done that. Plus, all the components that they have there. But the more we talked about building it here together, and putting our finger prints on something, the more convinced I think we both became of trying to do this together."

Few acknowledge the worth, but Demps has been groomed to be a GM in a most unique way: with the Austin Toros of the NBA's Developmental League. San Antonio used its affiliate as a true minor league team, implementing its system, its values and putting into place a GM and a coach. Buford, the Spurs' GM, called Demps into his office one day and told him, "You probably aren't excited about this now, but there will be a day when you're glad you did this."

Thrust together with coach Quin Snyder, Demps had an uneasy season of fighting for control and vision.

"These were two very ambitious people who probably felt as a player and a former coach that they wanted to have the strongest voice," Buford said.

"I think it was good for both of them to become a team and share that responsibility to work through things. They had to learn to make decisions that weren't solely based on their own feelings. They were accountable to each other as opposed to just themselves."

In so many instances, this is a league where competing egos and agendas between front offices and coaches fracture franchises. Demps and Williams think so much about this, and it enters into everything they've tried to do with these Hornets. They've hired young executives in the front office, young assistant coaches, and Williams tells them all: Don't be afraid of your mistakes. We're going to make them, we'll learn and we'll get better. In the preseason, Williams would walk into the locker room and apologize to his team for those that he made, just as he held them accountable for their own missteps.

"When you're young and get one of those jobs, you know that you may not ever get another opportunity," Williams said. "So, you want that opportunity to be with someone that you trust. 'Who was I going to go home working with after a loss and know that everything was going to be the same with him the next morning?' That was a big deal for me.

"With Dell, I know I never have to go home thinking about anything but coaching. He talks about how his job is to support me, but I feel like it's my job to make his moves work. His goal is to help the team win, not make me happy all the time. That's just the way it is."

Demps has made moves, and promises to make more. Every player but Paul has been available in trades so far. This isn't the most talented contender in the West, but so far it's been among the most purposeful. At 5-0, the Hornets know they could easily be 0-5. Life is that precarious for them.

In the end, they trust those old voices that stay in their heads, the common Spurs experiences that shaped them. As coach and GM, Monty Williams and Dell Demps chase it together now. Maybe you're never truly ready for these jobs, but they believe this: They're prepared.