Green Bay, Doug Gottlieb landing LeBron Thomas sparks reactions from fans: "They're still gonna be awful"
Doug Gottlieb's first season as head coach at Wisconsin-Green Bay was one to forget. The undermanned Phoenix finished with a 4-28 record. Change is in order, and Gottlieb has seemingly started with the rebuilding process already.
Looking to improve the talent level at Green Bay, Jeff Goodman of "The Field of 68" reported that Gottlieb landed LeBron Thomas, a former Vincennes point guard. Thomas averaged 15.9 points and 4.4 assists per game last season.
Some fans believe he will be unable to turn the Phoenix fortunes around.
"They’re still gonna be awful because Gottlieb sucks." a fan said.
"When is this joke going to end, either be a coach or be a talk show host…" a fan wrote.
"Awesome now he can win three games next year," another fan said.
"5 wins coming to a season near you," another fan responded.
One issue they faced was that the head coach signed in mid-May, giving him limited time and resources to build the roster and staff. The radio host will now have a full offseason to prepare.
Additionally, fans believe the 6-3, 200-pound JUCO All-American will be a massive help to Doug Gottlieb's squad this season.
"This is definitely a strong addition to the team. They may not be a tourney team next year (cause they’re not), but I think they should at least win around 15-18 games next season." a fan wrote.
"He’s for real," a fan added.
LeBron Thomas is the second player added through the transfer portal for Doug Gottlieb's squad. A former Carnegie Mellon player, Justin Allen, averaged 25.4 points per game and will now play at Green Bay.
Gottlieb will have to adjust as the team's leading scorer, Anthony Roy, and leading rebounder, Yonatan Levy, entered the transfer portal.
Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb fires shot at Jay Bilas
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has been a supporter of empowering players through NIL and the transfer portal. Doug Gottlieb took exception to Bilas saying the coaches' transfer portal is always open, arguing that by the numbers, coaches don't move as much as student athletes in today's game.
The head coach went into detail on "The Doug Gottlieb Show" on Saturday.
"Jay Bilas has no idea what he's talking about. It's one of those things where it's so offensively wrong that, even as somebody who respects his other opinions, I struggle to listen to his other opinions because this one is so wrong," Doug Gottlieb said.
He added that there are only about 20 head coaches changing teams each season, compared to having half the players in the transfer portal. The transfer portal and NIL are still contentious topics, and most analysts concur that they need more regulations along the way.
However, after the coach's outburst, Bilas is the latest name added to the list of basketball people Gottlieb has had issues with.