Paul Silas

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Paul Silas
Paul Silas 1977 press photo by Seattle SuperSonics.jpg
Paul Silas with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1977
Personal information
Born (1943-07-12) July 12, 1943 (age 78)
Prescott, Arkansas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolMcClymonds (Oakland, California)
CollegeCreighton (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
Playing career1964–1980
PositionPower forward / Small forward
Number29, 12, 35, 36
Coaching career1980–2012
Career history
As player:
1964–1969St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks
1969–1972Phoenix Suns
1972–1976Boston Celtics
1976–1977Denver Nuggets
1977–1980Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1980–1983San Diego Clippers
1988–1989New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1989–1992New York Knicks (assistant)
1992–1995New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1995–1997Phoenix Suns (assistant)
1997–1999Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
1999–2002Charlotte Hornets
2002–2003New Orleans Hornets
2003–2005Cleveland Cavaliers
2010–2012Charlotte Bobcats
Career highlights and awards
Career playing statistics
Points11,782 (9.4 ppg)
Rebounds12,357 (9.9 rpg)
Assists2,572 (2.1 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Career coaching record
NBA387–488 (.442)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2017

Paul Theron Silas (born July 12, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and former NBA head coach.

Playing career[]

Born in Prescott, Arkansas,[1] Silas attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in three seasons and averaged 20.6 rebounds per game in 1963. In the NBA, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during his sixteen-year career, played in two All-Star games, and won three championship rings (two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979). He was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice, and to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team three times.

Coaching career[]

Immediately upon retirement, Silas started his coaching career with the San Diego Clippers from 1980–83, becoming their head coach, compiling a 78-168 record for a team that struggled with injuries to stars including Bill Walton. After taking time off, Silas was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets for one season from 1988–89, and then became an assistant coach with the New York Knicks from 1989-92 as one of the holdovers from the Stu Jackson and John Macleod eras. Silas then went back to work for the Nets as an assistant under Chuck Daly and later Butch Beard from 1992–95, leaving to work with the Suns from 1995-97. At one point, Silas was one of the names considered for the head coaching job of the Boston Celtics in the Summer of 1995 before General Manager M.L. Carr decided to name himself as coach of the team.[2]

After joining the coaching staff of the Charlotte Hornets in 1997, Silas was finally given another chance as a coach after becoming the interim coach of the Hornets when Dave Cowens was fired after a 4-11 record. Under Silas, the Hornets turned it around and went 22-13 to finish the lockout-shortened season 26-24, missing the playoffs by one game. Silas had the interim tag lifted off of his status and became the full-time head coach of the Hornets from 1999 all the way into their first season where they moved to New Orleans. Coaching the team from 1999-2003, Silas had a 208-155 record, taking the team into the playoffs each season he was the head coach after that 1999 season, including two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. Silas had a reputation of being a coach who was very honest but fair with his criticism of his players, which they mostly appreciated.[3] Silas was fired as coach on May 4, 2003, in a move that puzzled many Hornets players (including Baron Davis) who enjoyed playing for him.[4]

Silas was head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003 to 2005. Hired to mentor LeBron James, his tenure was rife with controversy as he feuded with veteran point guard Eric Snow and new owner Dan Gilbert fired him in the middle of the season with the Cavaliers at 34-30 and fifth place in the Eastern Conference.[5] The Cavs would collapse after the firing of Silas and miss the playoffs that season due to a tiebreak with the New Jersey Nets.

Silas then worked for ESPN, although in April 2007, he interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the Charlotte Bobcats (later known as the Charlotte Hornets) which was eventually filled by Sam Vincent. Upon the firing of Vincent in April 2008, he stated that coaching the Bobcats would be a "dream job."[6]

On December 22, 2010, Silas was named interim head coach of the Bobcats, replacing the outgoing coach Larry Brown.[7] On February 16, 2011, the Bobcats removed his interim status.[8]

On April 30, 2012, the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return to the Bobcats for the 2012–2013 season after producing the worst record in NBA history.[9] Because of the record transfer that occurred in 2014, Silas' tenure with the Bobcats is now recognized as his second tenure with the Charlotte Hornets, meaning that he had coached them for about six seasons with a record of 204–220. Also due to the record transfer, Silas was the first head coach in the history of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans franchise.

Head coaching record[]

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
San Diego 1980–81 82 36 46 .439 5th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
San Diego 1981–82 82 17 65 .207 6th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
San Diego 1982–83 82 25 57 .305 6th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 1998–99 35 22 13 .629 5th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 1999–2000 82 49 33 .598 2nd in Central 4 1 3 .250 Lost in First Round
Charlotte 2000–01 82 46 36 .561 3rd in Central 10 6 4 .600 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Charlotte 2001–02 82 44 38 .537 2nd in Central 9 4 5 .444 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
New Orleans 2002–03 82 47 35 .573 3rd in Central 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round
Cleveland 2003–04 82 35 47 .427 5th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
Cleveland 2004–05 64 34 30 .531 (fired) — — — — —
Charlotte 2010–11 54 25 29 .463 4th in Southeast — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 2011–12 66 7 59 .106 5th in Southeast — — — — Missed Playoffs
Career 875 387 488 .442 29 13 16 .448

Personal life[]

Silas is a father of two: son Houston Rockets head coach Stephen, and daughter Paula.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "2011-12 Bobcats Coaching Staff". NBA.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Ford Reaches Point of No Return with Celtics".
  3. ^ http://a.espncdn.com/nba/news/2003/0504/1549172.html
  4. ^ http://a.espncdn.com/nba/news/2003/0504/1549172.html
  5. ^ "Time for a change: Free-falling Cavs fire Silas". March 21, 2005.
  6. ^ Silas says coaching Bobcats is a 'dream job' - Sports Rumors - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
  7. ^ "Charlotte Bobcats name Paul Silas interim head coach". sportspagemagazine.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  8. ^ "Bobcats elevate Paul Silas to coach". ESPN.com. February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
  9. ^ "Paul Silas will not return as Bobcats head coach". CharlotteBobcats.com. NBA.com. April 30, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.

External links[]

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