When Don Nelson collects Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, he'll throw shade at Doncic trade

San Francisco Chronicle​

4 hours ago

Don Nelson never coached by the book, maybe because he never read the book, having had no intention of coaching in the first place.
So the man honored Sunday at the Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals game in Oklahoma City with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award had to write his own virtual book on coaching. Here is a snippet, which might bring back fond memories for long-time fans of the Golden State Warriors.
It takes place in early 2007 at Smitty's, an Oakland dive bar near Lake Merritt. Nelson, coach of the Warriors, arrives with two of his players, Stephen (Stack Jack) Jackson and Baron (Boom Dizzle) Davis.
The Warriors hired Nelson that season, an eyebrow-raising move because he was 66 and had been out of coaching a year, seemingly retired. This was his second go-round with the Warriors, having coached them for seven seasons, starting in '88.
The Warriors had just traded for Jackson, who came with baggage. The previous season, while on probation for an assault-and-battery charge, Jackson got into a beef at a strip club and fired several shots from his handgun.
Davis had a rep for not getting along with coaches, including the previous Warriors coach, Mike Montgomery.
At Smitty's, Nellie, Stack Jack and Boom Dizzle played shuffleboard, drank scotch and talked basketball for a couple hours. Finally, Nelson told his two players, 'You guys are going to be my captains. You run this team, and we're going to have fun.'
And so it was. The Warriors scrapped and swashbuckled their way into the playoffs and pulled off the 'We Believe' miracle, a No. 8 seed defeating the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks.
Yes, Nelson had a style. Still does. He said for Sunday's on-court award presentation he would wear a tuxedo jacket, out of respect for the honor; a black t-shirt and blue jeans, because he doesn't take himself too seriously, and a Hawaiian necklace, because he is an adopted son of Maui, his long-time home.
And shoes. More on those in a moment.
The award is a big deal to Nelson. He hasn't left Maui in six years. He was lured away from paradise by the Chuck Daly honor, the culmination of Nelson's lifetime love affair with basketball that began in a chicken yard in rural Illinois, on his parents' hog farm.
'My uncle Walt put up a basket (a bicycle tire rim) in the chicken yard, and the chickens just (pooped) all over your court, of course,' Nelson says. 'It was a mess. One day I was playing against the guy next door, I dropped my gum, I thought I found it three or four times.'
With Nelson's stories, sometimes you have to ponder the punch line for a moment.
When Nelson was in seventh grade, pork prices slumped and the family lost the farm. That was fortuitous for young Don, because the one-room schoolhouse with six kids back on the farm wasn't going to lead him to college. The family moved to big-city Rock Island, where Don, big, strong and smart, became a star in high school.
At Iowa, he was a third-team All-American as a junior, and in those pre-NIL days, he took a summer job at the International Harvester factory in Rock Island, operating a punch press.
'I looked to my right and to my left, and both guys working those machines had fingers missing,' Nelson said, laughing. 'They got 'em lopped off on the machines. They had these protective sleeves you're supposed to wear, but this was piece-work, and the only way you could make money was to take the sleeves off so you could go faster. I'm looking over, their goddamn fingers are missing and I'm going, 'Holy s—t, it's going to be hard to be a basketball player with fingers missing.' '
Nelson survived the factory, and after Iowa he went on to a 12-year NBA career, earning five rings with the Boston Celtics. He played one season under coach Red Auerbach, before Auerbach moved to the front office. Nelson made it a routine on game days to arrive at the arena several hours early and drop by Auerbach's office.
'I would sit there and talk basketball with him,' Nelson said, 'and I just learned so much from him. That's how I really got deep into the game. Things like how to run a team, how to get your team ready, get after guys at halftime.'
That reminded Nelson of a story.
'One game we were down by about 15 at halftime. Red got on my old friend, Tom (Satch) Sanders. He said, 'Goddammit, Satch, you're not playing worth a s—t. If you don't get going, we're going to lose this game.' Satch says, 'Coach, I haven't been in the game yet.' '
After retiring, Nelson needed a job, so he decided to become an NBA ref. He worked the Summer League in Los Angeles and was told he'd need a year of seasoning in the Eastern League. Then he got a call from Milwaukee Bucks' GM Wayne Embry, offering him the assistant coaching job under Larry Costello. Back then (1976-77), NBA coaches had one assistant coach.
'I had a family of five and no job, so at least I was working,' Nelson said.
Eighteen games into the season, the Bucks were 3-15 and the frustrated Costello quit.
'I begged him not to, because I thought I'd get fired,' Nelson said.
Team owner Jim Fitzgerald offered the head job to Nelson, who turned it down twice before giving in.
'He said, 'Look, give it a try, we don't have anybody, we've got a game tomorrow.' So I said, 'OK, I'll try it and see what happens.' So I went from being a $25,000 assistant coach to being a $50,000 head coach.'
At Milwaukee, out of pure expediency, Nelson developed his style of position-less basketball, which he would later bring to the Warriors, creating Run TMC. With the Bucks, Nelson was coach and general manager, and for that first season, the team's only scout.
'Being the GM, that gave me a tremendous advantage, I could pick players I thought we could work with and be good with. So I always picked the best player (regardless of size) and kind of made it work.'
He made it work for 1,335 wins, second on the NBA's all-time list to Greg Popovich.
Nelson coached the Warriors three seasons after We Believe. Then Joe Lacob bought the team and fired him. The Chronicle reported that Lacob wanted "a young, up-and-coming coach."
'I was a little surprised with the way things happened, but I think it is for the best for everybody,' Nelson said back then.
Next — and last — stop for Nellie: Maui. He and wife Miss Joy fell in love with Hawaii during his playing days and bought a vacation house on Maui in '95, then bought more property.
'There was a good time to buy property on Maui,' Nelson once told me, 'and during that time, I bought a lot of it.'
The Nelsons' beautiful waterfront home in Kihei is a base for Miss Joy's competitive Hawaiian canoe paddling, and for Nellie's poker. Years ago, Nelson became famous for his regular poker games with a group of Maui neighbors, including Willie Nelson and Owen Wilson.
Times change. Nellie still plays poker with the boys every Wednesday, but Willie retired from poker after he got COVID. Too risky, although he still tours and performs, and has a new album out. Don Nelson still plays golf two or three times a week, and says he is feeling good.
'I quit smoking cigars and pot, and quit drinking alcohol,' said Nelson, noting he also smoked cigarettes for 30 years, a habit he picked up with the Celtics, who would light up at halftime. 'I quit weed about six months ago. I haven't drank alcohol in five years or so, so I'm pretty boring, but I'm pretty healthy. I don't participate in that stuff anymore, I do OK without it.'
Boring, but with style. Nelson said his outfit for the Sunday ceremony would include special shoes, a tribute to Luka Doncic.
'I'm wearing a pair of Luka's shoes,' Nelson said. 'He's my dear friend, this is in protest of the trade (the Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers in midseason). I get 15 seconds on national TV. I don't have to say anything. Look for those shoes, goddammit.'