For all us Rockets fans who don't want Rudy to wear purple and gold... And a little look into Rockets history.... http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jones/040707 I grew up in Houston during the '90s, so I can't help but love Rudy Tomjanovich. So he won his championships with the Rockets while Jordan was self-actualizing in Birmingham. So what? Winning a fourth NBA title was not guaranteed for the Bulls, especially when Houston gave them match-up headaches and was the only team to have a winning record against Chicago in the '90s. The only champions in Houston's history before 1994 were the Aeros of the World Hockey Association, and I find it difficult imagining that the largest city in Texas gushed over its success at such a decidedly-Yankee sport. Phi Slamma Jamma was on the wrong end of Jim Valvano's shining moment. Astros fans still wonder what might have happened if Mike Scott had been able to pitch Game 7 of the '86 NLCS. It's been so long since the University of Texas won a national football title -- 1970 -- that there were no black players on the team. And the year before the Rockets won their first ring, the Oilers went Code Blue against the Bills. The city deserved some happiness. And with huge helping hands from Hakeem Olajuwon and John Starks, Rudy helped bring that party to H-Town and to me. Rudy, his raspy voice, and his lucky tie -- gotta love it, haters be damned. I love it a little too much to want to see him wind up in Los Angeles. Not because I've got a problem with the Lakers, but because it would not be good to see Rudy caught in the chaotic purple-and-gold vortex that's developing out there After Rockets' owner Charlie Thomas impulsively fired Don Chaney, the reigning Coach of the Year, after Houston lost to Pooh Richardson and the Timberwolves in 1992, Rudy was brought on as the head coach. In his 11-plus years in Houston, Rudy handled a lot of the same sorts of personnel scenarios that might soon face the Lakers. Dominant big man surrounded by role players? See the Olajuwon era. Feuding superstars? Refer to the Pippen/Barkley hate-fest of 1999. Big man moves on, leaving the keys to a precocious perimeter player? Take a look at the post-Dream/pre-Yao era. All of those worked out for Rudy except that last one. With Hakeem headlining, the Gulliver-and-the-Lilliputians routine brought the Rockets their first ring. Though they did not play fantastically, Rudy got Dream, Chuck, and Scottie to the playoffs in '99 while he managed Pippen's strong distaste for the Chuckster. (It's worth noting that Barkley and Clyde Drexler did not get along famously, either, but the '97 team may have been a John Stockton dagger away from the Finals.) The one thing that didn't quite work for Rudy was the post-Dream/pre-Yao era. That could be called the Steve Francis era, although I doubt Wink wants his name on that signpost since it was marked by little more than lottery picks. In an attempt to reshape the team as Olajuwon began to decline, Tomjanovich put it all in Francis's hands. The best thing to come out of all that was the opportunity to draft Yao Ming. Had they made the playoffs, that wouldn't have happened. Now that the Lakers apparently belong to Bryant, it looks as if Rudy T is stepping into something similar. So I have to ask: After he's battled issues with drinking, smoking and bladder cancer, does Rudy really want to step back into that situation? Hell, would anybody want to step into that? Maybe the allure of the marquee franchise is that magnetic. But it'll be fun to ask Doc Rivers a year from now how much good the Celtics' allure has done for him in Boston. Now that Kobe is the emperor of Staples Center, it's hard to imagine that any coach can truly be in charge. Unless your name is Red Auerbach or Knute Rockne, you shouldn't feel secure in your job ... especially when even Phil Jackson can be run off. If Phil ain't special, neither is Rudy. No matter who he is, or was, or will be. But even on a purely basketball level, this is out of Rudy's wheelhouse. In fact, this situation would only be good for him if Jerry Buss had chosen to keep Shaq instead of Kobe. Then, the Lakers' situation would mirror Rudy's glory days, when he was able to make NBA champions out of a collection of players with names most non-Houstonians couldn't rattle off the top of their heads. He made that team understand that what separated it from everyone else was Hakeem, whose game remains unique and back then was completely unstoppable. With Shaq in L.A. -- and no Kobe -- it's possible Rudy could bring that philosophy back to the Lakers. But that isn't what Rudy is stepping into. He's heading into Kobe's house, which looks like another iteration of his time with Francis. Granted, Kobe is probably better now than the cleverly-anointed "Franchise" will ever be. But Rudy's Rockets did not make the playoffs after the focus of the offense shifted to the perimeter. (And it should be noted that Jeff Van Gundy made the postseason by returning to an inside-out scheme.) Does Rudy really want to do this again? And does he realize that there's actually a worse scenario? Worst case would be the Lakers re-signing Kobe, and then find themselves unable to move Shaq and his $30-million-per-year contract. I doubt there is an analogy that captures how really bad that would be, but let's try this ... Imagine David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar mysteriously appearing together at a Van Halen concert. Do you think they'd get through "Panama" without trying to outdo each other to the point of disaster? How long would it be before Dave accidentally kicked Sammy in the forehead while he performed some hysterical acrobatics during "Jump"? And how much would it suck to be Eddie, trying to lead the band through all of that? Someone needs to remind Rudy that he ain't no bandleader. And that while Kobe's a big step up from Steve Francis, he ain't Hakeem Olajuwon. And that Mitch Kupchak ain't a step up from Jerry West. This could be déjà vu all over again, but the first-time-round will be 2002. Not 1994. And for Rudy, that's not good.
