Janne Oivio’s comment: Tuomas Iisalo is stepping into a catastrophic mine

Coach Tuomas Iisalo is perhaps the hottest Finnish name on the entire team sports map.

The pilot who reaped tremendous success in Germany and France has deservedly been connected to the washed-up in the fabled NBA.

In the latest news, Iisalo is being taken to the coaching staff of the Washington Wizards. The head coach of the club Brian Keefen a new coaching team is being built around him, and Iisalo would possibly even be the first assistant coach.

I have only one thing to say to Tuomas Iisalo: don’t go to the Washington Wizards!

Iisalo has all the prerequisites to become a coach in the NBA. Then it is emphasized even more how important it is to be in the right place at the right time. Otherwise, your career can go off the rails before it even gets off the ground.

No Finn has had such an NBA opportunity before. If Iisalo has other options, he will hopefully cross Washington and wait for the next opportunity.

The NBA apple is big and attractive. Historic. But no apple has as many worms, mold and snakes as Wizards.

Where from is that true?

In the last five seasons, the Washington Wizards have won only 176 games and lost as many as 246. They last played in the NBA playoffs beyond the second round in 1979.

However, poor success only scratches the surface of Washington’s creepiness. It has repeatedly failed in player trades, in acquiring free players and in booking events.

Every rare success has been followed by an unfortunate detour into hunting quick wins and looking for shortcuts.

Club culture worships the stars, grants them bottomless freedoms, and on the other hand obligates them very little, as long as the krääs sells and the stars occasionally appear in star matches.

Iisalon Washington rumors remind me of a moment when Lauri Markkanen ended up in Chicago at the booking event. Old ones were dug up in Finland Michael Jordan -caps from the closet and it was believed that now the Bulls’ course will turn.

The club, which was catastrophically in the wind, was the worst possible landing spot for Markkanen at that time. After escaping from the Bulls, it took a long time before we finally got to see the real Lauri Markkanen.

It was not far that Markkanen would not have joined the group of countless basketball prospects whose careers were watered down by falling into a miserable environment at the wrong time.

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The entire history of Wizards has been marked by the constant hunt for quick wins and the search for shortcuts.

In his own way, basketball great Jordan also joins Iisalo. He played the last – sad – seasons of his wonderful career in Washington, 2001–03, and at the same time served as the club’s co-owner and club boss.

Nothing in the history of the Wizards since the Jordan years suggests that the organization has a functioning club culture or any of the elements upon which to build sustainable success.

The booking history of the club – if we start, for example, from 2001 and from Jordan’s own selection of the mourner Kwame Brownista as the number one name of the entire event – ​​is a creepy sight to behold.

The only top class hits are 2010 reserved John Wall and 2012 grabbed Bradley Beal. The teams they led never even made it to the conference finals.

Sad booking is further emphasized by the fact that usually the Wizards book in the top ten of the draft. When it doesn’t book there, it’s more often because the sloppy club management has sold the first innings in the hope of a quick win.

Those quick wins have been unsuccessful.

The entire history of Wizards has been marked by the constant hunt for quick wins and the search for shortcuts. Elsewhere, even in the New York Knicks, who were laughed at for decades like the Wizards, they learned to take a more long-term approach.

No principal owner Ted Leonsisin in action does not really indicate that he is interested in winning championships.

Instead, all indicators point in the direction that Leonsis always wants to play any playoff matches as quickly as possible, the money from which he gets to keep the match revenue.

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Of course, no career move is doomed before it starts, but the risk factors in Washington are huge.

Leonsis has owned the Wizards since 2010. Since then, the Wizards have been the 24th best team in wins in the 30-team league – despite enjoying high rosters year after year.

That’s why you shouldn’t expect much from the second round of this summer’s draft either. Not to mention that the summer 2024 booking event is considered the worst year class in over a decade.

The club does not believe in moderate construction or player development. One assistant coach alone cannot correct that trend.

All this should serve as a warning sign for Iisalo. Nothing puts the brakes on a great career faster than tying your name to a gruesome failure.

Of course, no career move is doomed before it starts, but the risk factors in Washington are huge. Iisalo is not going to join any group starting with a clean slate.

He would join coach Keefe’s team, which had a record of 8 wins and 31 losses last season. The team is miserable, but the coach will hardly get a lot of peace of mind if the results don’t come even in a rudimentary way.

Club leader Michael Winger has only been in his position for a year. He has the peace of mind to build his own project. But Keefe’s hiring exudes the flavor of a major middleman.

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More important than salary or even a role in the selection of the first NBA player is the right place.

Keefe’s task will be to suffer through future losses with the current sad team, until Winger can start clearing the club’s table of the creepy contracts that have been gathered there.

Of course, if Iisalo managed to teach the basics of team play to the “stars” of the team, like For Jordan Poole and To Kyle Kuzma, that would be a big feather in the cap. That’s easier said than done with Wizards heroes.

The duo, who rose to fame as role players, were brought to the club to be number one stars, and Keefe couldn’t get either of them to commit to even the basics of team play.

The day-to-day reality of team sports is harsh: competence does not always make the difference if you have to operate in a weak environment. That goes for players and coaches. And Iisalo, as an assistant coach, wouldn’t be able to change the course of an organization that is in the wind.

How about silver linings? There are those too. Washington might even be a shortcut to a head coach in the NBA. It depends on Keefe’s position within the club and, on the one hand, on what kind of impact Iisalo makes.

And there should be no fear that the Finn would convince the club management with his skills.

Fortunately, Iisalo’s name has also been connected to the coaching staff of the 2023 champion team Denver Nuggets. And the Nuggets are by no means the only ones who are currently looking for additions to their team. The Warriors, whose number one partner, do the same Kenny Atkinson just took over as the number one point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Memphis Grizzlies of the Western Conference are also in an interesting situation. The club fired numerous head coaches Taylor Jenkinsin assistant coaches of the coaching team in May, and has not announced the replacements yet.

The Grizzlies had a rough season last season due to injuries, but the team has a lot of potential for success. In this situation, it would only be necessary to assess how solid Jenkins’ body is after the weak last season.

It is impossible to say from an outsider how realistic a candidate Iisalo is for different NBA clubs. But more important than salary or role in the selection of the first NBA player is the right place.

Nothing gets you out of the league faster than being labeled a loser, deserved or not. And the risk of hitting it on the forehead is greater in Washington than anywhere else. Iisalo’s doors to Europe are always open, but the NBA dream is hanging on by a thin thread until he can prove otherwise.

Patience is a virtue in this case as well.