Yes but he's got to be able to coach. Any evidence of that?
Quick version:
-Solid playing career. All-American at Notre Dame, first round draft pick, 9-year NBA career
-Assistant for three years under Nate McMillan
-Youngest head coach in the NBA at 38 years old in 2010 (New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans)
-Made the playoffs in his first year with the Hornets. Was in the running for NBA coach of the year. After his first year, the organization went into rebuild mode, trading their two best players in Chris Paul and David West.
-Kept the team competitive during the tanking period - team was known for good defense and hustle despite their talent deficit.
-Drafted Anthony Davis in 2012. Worked with him for the first three years of his NBA career and Davis has referred to him as a great teacher, mentor, and friend. Davis has credited Monty with guiding his development.
-Made the playoffs in his fifth year, but was fired. Lots of people around the NBA made comments about it being unfair and/or a bad decision by the franchise.
-Hired by USA Basketball in 2013 and has worked closely with the organization ever since. Was on the bench for the 2016 Olympics as an assistant coach.
-Currently VP of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich has made several positive remarks about Monty over the last couple of years.
-In terms of reputation, people in the basketball world from Popovich to Nate McMillan, to Coach K, to Anthony Davis have talked about Monty's basketball knowledge and teaching ability in glowing terms. He is regarded as a student of the game, very bright, a gifted teacher and motivator, and a likable person. Seriously, 20 minutes of googling will pull up a bunch of comments. He's very well liked and highly regarded by people at the top of the profession.
-In terms of actual coaching, his offense can be stagnant and slow by NBA standards. His teams strive to get high quality looks around the basket, but they don't shoot many threes. Obviously, this is out of step with current trends and somewhat of a concern for me. On the other hand, Monty's defensive ideas are a big part of why he's so well-regarded. Not only do his teams play hard with sound fundamentals; Monty has also developed some legitimately novel principles and tactics. He runs man to man with zone principles and the way his teams switch, help, and double is unique: super aggressive but super disciplined wrt court spacing. I read an article where his defense was described as an amorphous, shape shifting blob that suffocates ball handlers (paraphrasing).
My only big concern is that Monty's teams may settle for 2pt jump shots. He also isn't known for making in-game adjustments. I think he'd be dynamite as a defensive coach, teacher, motivator, and recruiter. Any of Monty, Bennett, Archie, Marshall, Keatts, or either Drew would be absolutely awesome.
All that said, I don't think Monty is coming. Hope I'm wrong.