Based on reports, I've gathered, the following guys we have for sure sat down and interviewed (I removed Kenny The Jet and Hornacek from the list since Kenny was informed he is out of the running and Hornacek got another job): Sam Cassell David Blatt Chris Finch Stephen Silas Mike D'Antoni Ettore Messina Rex Kalamain Jeff Bzdelik James Borrego (scheduled) Adrian Griffin (scheduled) Rank em from whom you most want to whom you least want!
For me, 1-7 I would be happy with (top 2 I would be THRILLED with), 8-10 I would be mad as hell about- 1. Messina (incredible resume, really could be a great coach) 2. Silas (highly respected, young but very experienced as an assistant, supposedly crushed interviews) 3. Cassell (former Rocket champion, was a good/smart player) 4. Kalamain (Harden's guy, liked by KD/Westbrook, respected assistant) 5. Borrego (I like that he was an assistant for the Spurs for many years. Was an interim head coach for the Magic meaning he was the lead assistant there. Clearly respected) 6. Griffin (was associate head coach of the Bulls under Thibs, lead assistant to the Magic last year, feel like he can bring a lot to the table) 7. Blatt (his inability to gain respect from LeBron scares me. Harden is younger than LeBron so there is a chance Blatt could connect with him, very experienced overseas, made the finals in his only year coaching here) 8. D'Antoni (oh lord please no, last thing this team needs is to get worse defensively) 9. Bzdelik (sucked in Denver, sucked in the NCAA, idk why he is being considered tbh) 10. Finch (proven nothing, it's insulting to this franchise that he even got an interview)
Uninspiring list. Thanks Les. One of these guys is supposed to come in & set the tone, set the 'system', set the culture? Most of these guys are assistants, which I thought Le$ didn't want? Ettore Messina Sam Cassell Adrian Griffin/Stephen Silas Rex Kalamian‎/James Borrego David Blatt/Mike D'Antoni Jeff Bzdelik/Chris Finch
i'm not crazy about anyone who they interviewed, but here's my thoughts: silas - experience with nelson and clifford gives him credibility on both ends of the floor. griffin - if you didnt want to interview jvg, then why get thibs' disciple? solid enough choice though. kenny - worth a shot to see what he could do. cassell - also worth a shot to see what he could do. James Borrego - 8 year pop assistant, but already had his chance in orlando and didn't do anything. messina - great resume, but striking out on so many interviews (nets, pacers, rockets, grizz, kings, etc...) red flag. MDA - retread and poor fit. blatt - better as a top assistant. can't hold stars accountable and poor fit. hornacek - record got worse for 3 straight years in phx. Jeff Bzdelik - already had his chance as a HC and didn't do anything. Rex Kalamain - claim to fame is relationship with players in okc. big deal. Chris Finch - offensive guru / new adelman. what a joke. i'm still not over les passing on vogel/joerger/jvg... but of the remaining options, silas is the best choice. most potential. griffin is low risk / low reward. he will be a good defensive coach like the rest of the JVG tree. kenny and sam would've been worth the gamble, just because of their history here. messina would've been worth the gamble because of his resume. everyone else is a joke.
Thibs, Vogel, JVG, Joerger... Oh you said had been interviewed not callously ignored. Messina is about the only one who excites me and he appears all but out of the running.
Wanted Thibs the most, Vogel/JVG/Joeger 2nd tier, Ettore out of our current list. Everybody else is a mixed bag IMO. MDA is the most experienced NBA coach available right now, Hollins/Jackson wouldn't be terrible at this point either. Hopefully we just get someone who Harden respects and will work for.
Yes <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina interviewed for the Rockets' head coach opening last Saturday, a source said.</p>— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcJSpearsESPN/status/732766024458592256">May 18, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
1. 2. 3. 4. Messina 5. Silas 6. Blah 7. Blah 8. Blah 9. Some guy off the street in a nice suit 10. D'Antonio Where 1,2, and 3 were the best possible candidates the front office didn't seem interested in interviewing (Joerger, Vogel, JVG).
Exactly how I feel. JVG actually WANTED to be here and didn't even get an interview. Les is running/ruining the organization with his pride and not his business acumen.
1) JVG 2) JVG 3) JVG. A top defensive coach, who is not a puppet of the organization and can handle Harden. Morey's top pick and he wants to coach this team (for some reason). Yet, Les won't even let him have the courtesy of an interview like everyone else in the league appears to be getting.
Stephen Silas Ettore Messina Spoiler Becky Hammon Rex Kalamain Mike D'Antoni/Jeff Bzdelik James Borrego Sam Cassell Adrian Griffin David Blatt Chris Finch
Thibs, Vogel, and Joeger would be 1, 2, and 3 on this list, yet we managed to interview none of them. Well done front office.
They all pretty much suck. I haven't heard of half of these suckers and the rest are just meh. Fits in well with the front office I guess Meh mediocre GM, meh mediocre owner, meh mediocre Keith Jones. #pursuitofmedicority
How do you know it is front office that stopped those interviews (add JVG to those 3)? Could have been Harden. He probably doesn't want a strong defensive minded coach.
