Cone sees Shaq-like role for Slaughter in triangle system

MANILA, Philippines -- Multi-titled PBA coach Tim Cone admitted that when management already decided to move him to Barangay Ginebra, one of the first things that came to his mind was to revisit some of the tapes he had with former Los Angeles Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal, the 7-foot-2 giant, spent the best part of his NBA career with LA, winning three NBA championships with the Lakers under legendary coach Phil Jackson.

“I was joking with my son and said, ‘oh my, I think I’m gonna go back to my Shaq old tapes.’ Remember the stuff Phil Jackson ran for Shaq? I have been thinking of that stuff, trying to review that on my mind,” Cone told mediamen on Thursday after his official announcement as the Gin kings new head coach.

Although Cone didn’t necessarily liken Ginebra’s seven-foot center Greg Slaughter to ‘Shaq’, the American coach said the former Ateneo big man will play a major role under his patented ‘triangle offense’.

“Greg needs some time. I think it’s been difficult for him because he’s been unstable in terms of what system he’s gonna run,” noted the 57-year-old Cone.

“He’s been on four or five different systems since he arrived at the team so, hopefully, I can lend him some stability and work his way on what he’s gonna do.”

But more than just utilizing Slaughter’s size to score more on the block, Cone expects a lot more from the 27-year-old Ginebra center next season.

“As much as he’ll be really good in our system, it’s not just gonna be about his numbers because he’s got to learn what kind of defense we want him to play, how well he defends, how good of a teammate he is, how good of a passer he is in the triangle,” he said.

Those things are part of his game that has to grow along with his ability to score, rebound and dominate,” added Cone.

Cone also hinted at the possibility of de-clogging Ginebra’s guard-heavy roster by adding more wingmen to complement the strong front court of the team led by Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar.

“You gotta take a look at the lineup and gotta see, but the most important thing for me is balance in the lineup,” he said.

“You gotta balance the number of bigs, balance the number of guards, balance the no. of wingmen because right now, we’re just too overpopulated at the guards position and we need to develop to get a few more wings,” explained Cone, the only coach in the league to have won two grand slam championships.

“(On roster changes at Ginebra, maybe the second conference or third conference (next season). I don’t think we can get things done that quickly but, eventually, that’s what you do as a coach, to see what things need to be done.”

Cone will be entering his 27th year as a PBA coach next season, hopeful that he could bring the successes he’s had with Alaska and Star to Ginebra.

The Gin Kings have yet to win a PBA championship since the 2008 Fiesta Conference.