Vinny Del Negro is not a magician

June 11th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

The Bulls unveiled their new never-coached-before head coach, Vinny Del Negro, with an introductory presser this afternoon. And he had this to say about his inexperience:

“I think that [question is] fair,” he said. “I haven’t coached before. But like I said before, as people get to know me and we get this team going in the right direction, winning builds confidence. There’s a young team here and they need some confidence.

“I’m not a magician, it will take time.

“It’s a huge challenge, but I feel very confident with people around me and the support staff I have. I can control three things: I know this team will be well-conditioned, well-prepared and competitive. It will compete at a high level.”

The good here that’s not expressed within these quotes: Del Negro seems to want to focus on defense and  implementing an up-tempo offense. Which with Derrick Rose likely on his way to Chicago, this is a very good thing. The bad here? Vinny Del Negro is not a magician.

Which, as anyones knows, is essential to head coaching success in the NBA. If you can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat, you can’t make grown men play as a cohesive unit. We are doomed. Eternally, eternally doomed.