<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is everybody happy now? Silas is being considered for the job.</p>— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/calvinwatkins/status/733702579960614914">May 20, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> how does this dude have a job his tweets get like 5 favs too
Calvin Watkins on 610: <iframe src="http://embed.radio.com/clip/60550500?ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fhouston.cbslocal.com%2F2016%2F05%2F22%2Fnate-and-creight-with-calvin-watkins-part-1%2F&station_id=3&rollup_ga_id=UA-2438645-53&ads_ga_page_tracker=UA-20550966-5" width="345px" height="194px" scrolling="no"></iframe> Why does no one want to coach the Rockets? Everyone wants to coach the Rockets! You'd be shocked to see who wants to coach the Rockets. It's a good job. They'll have interviewed 12 guys by the end of the business day tomorrow. (Nate) Daryl Morey & the organization are taking their time and have taken their time since firing McHale because they could have hired a head coach then. They gave "B.J." an opportunity to do what? If he wasn't going to be a candidate, why not make a hire then? The thinking at that time was to see if Bickerstaff could get the job full time and we'll give him the entire season. He got them to the playoffs. I believe he had to get them to the 2nd round to have a shot. Once that didn't happen, I don't think he had a good chance. It's very rare to fire a coach, put the interim in and then hire a guy full time. They had respect for Bickerstaff & really wanted him to get the job. It was up to him to take the job but the players didn't play for him enough so he didn't get the job. What would it have taken to keep the job? 2nd round. It didn't happen. Early in the process, he pulled out. They offered him an opportunity to stay in the front office. Now he's weighing his options. Lakers? but they just hired Brian Shaw. Maybe Golden State. Maybe Charlotte. Lot of moving parts. He's done with the Rockets. When was it ever realistic that they were going to go to the 2nd round? If that was the target, when did they start making the list? There was a thought...this is what they were thinking, they had a belief if they moved up in the standings, they had a chance to knock off the Clippers. If we can play the Clippers, we beat them last year, we can beat them again. Thunder people said we want nothing to do with the Rockets in the playoffs because they give us fits. Harden gives us fit, Ariza gives KD fits, Beverley gives Westbrook fits, we wanted nothing to do with them. Rockets thought if they could move up, we'll be competitive in the first round. When they messed around on the back end, it didn't work out, they backed into the playoffs and ended up facing Golden State. How much of this search has Les' finger prints on it? A lot. Is that a good thing? Yeah, he's the owner. He signs the checks. He told me towards the end of the season he'll have an active role. He's always involved. He wanted a more active role this year because he wants to win a championship. He wants to talk to everyone. When they hired McHale, he was involved. They brought the candidates to him because he has to sign off on it. From what I was told, he was not 100% behind Van Gundy. He liked him but he's been down that path before. Rockets didn't interview Van Gundy because they knew who he was. Was Kenny Smith ever a legit candidate? From what I was told, he asked for the interview. Les said "Okay, I'll interview you." They were impressed. Someone from the front office said he'll be a head coach one day. It's a difficult situation for Kenny because he's on TV. He's never coached before. Does he know the game? Of course he does but there is a difference between knowing the game & coaching the game. Kenny, from what the Rockets say, has a chance to be a head coach one day. He needs to get in the mix more and do more interviews. How is Kenny getting this bandwagon together,...he's never coached before. He's been in the broadcast booth. Sam Cassell, he's been an assistant. Mario Elie, he's been an assistant. They can't get interviews. Kenny gets an interview & groundswell of support. It's all about connections & who you know. He's close to Les. That's how it went down. Kenny knew the owner, popular, smart, let's give him an interview. Derek Fisher went straight from the court to the sidelines & it was a disaster. Kidd did the same thing. He had some success in Brooklyn, now in Milwaukee. <iframe src="http://embed.radio.com/clip/60550502?ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fhouston.cbslocal.com%2F2016%2F05%2F22%2Fnate-and-creight-with-calvin-watkins-part-2%2F&station_id=3&rollup_ga_id=UA-2438645-53&ads_ga_page_tracker=UA-20550966-5" width="345px" height="194px" scrolling="no"></iframe> We thought D'Antoni would get the job. Where is that now? I would say he's one of the favorites. Your favorite GM is doing his due diligence. He'll interview as many people as he can. D'Antoni is not going anywhere. People aren't banging down his door to give him a job. The Rockets did. He's cool. I still think he might get the gig if they don't give it to Silas. Maybe someone else will emerge but he's definitely in the mix. The owner likes D'Antoni. Not in a big hurry, are they? Friday, when we found out Silas & D'Antoni were the two main guys, I asked someone in the organization "Will you take the weekend and then make a decision?" They said no. The theory is we'll need more time. They'll interview two more Monday to bring the number to twelve. ... I think they took seven weeks before they hired McHale. It might as well been going on since game twelve. How long does it take to put together your short list? They wanted Bickerstaff to get the job. They wanted to see what he could do. When they realized he wasn't the guy, they expanded the list. Can James run seven seconds or less? Yes. I've seen it. It doesn't happen all the time. Harden's deal is, if he trusts his teammates, he's a willing passer. He's a very good passer. That's an underrated portion of his game. If others aren't hitting shots, he's like I might as well do it myself. I don't like the isolation plays. He led the league in isolation plays. It looks bad. If you do more isolations than Carmelo, that's telling you how bad your offense is. Reason I ask, James is a guy that we've seen needs the ball in his hands to be happy. If he needs the ball and D'Antoni's offense, pace & space, he's a guy who likes to take his time. Can he be happy long term running that offense? Good question. Harden is entering the last year of his contract. He'll be a max guy. Good question because if they hire D'Antoni, can Beverley run that offense? He had Steve Nash. I'm sure they'll run variations of that offense with Beverley unless you get another guard over Pat, which they tried to do this past summer. Harden has to move more. He doesn't like moving. In that offense, he has to move around a bit and be a much better passer in the half court. I think it can work. It's all up to Harden if he wants to accept it. What about a big man? He'll play in Milwaukee or Charlotte. You have Capela. D-Mo is gone. He's done with this team. Can Capela hold it down 82 games + playoffs? I think so. You're not asking him to be the focal point or third guy. He's athletic enough to run the floor, put up layups, good defender. If he's the starting center, I'm okay with it. The Rockets like Al Horford, this other kid in OKC, and Ryan Anderson. Those are their 3 main guys in free agency. It also depends...what's your roster makeup before we embrace the offense of D'Antoni. Who do you have to run that offense? If you don't have the pieces, it don't matter. [...Caller calls in...] (Calvin): Dekker, we don't know if he can play. Lost year. He can be the future three. Maybe. He'll play in summer league. Harden, can he play point? He has good handles. Not Steph/Kyrie/Conley handles but might as well make him the point. The best coach for the job is the guy they fired. Next best coach is Jeff Van Gundy. He won't have the job. D'Antoni, all he cares about is the offense. Silas would bring in Hollins to run the defense. Silas is an "everything" coach. The best coach was McHale. 2nd best coach was Van Gundy. You need a veteran coach who knows what he's doing who they respect. [Larry in Stafford ranting :grin:] When you said McHale was the best coach, I almost checked out. We were all complaining about what he was doing before they lucked into the WCF. Then you talk about Beverley running D'Antoni's offense. Beverley is the second coming of Moochie Norris and Moochie was better. Don't try to ruin the rest of my Sunday, as I watch these sorry ass Astros, that I got to settle for Beverley & D'Antoni. The only thing the Houston Rockets can do is do their due diligence on Silas or the coach from the Spurs...Becky Hammon is a better coach than Mike D'Antoni. Don't do that to folks. Houston media got to quit facilitating these frauds. We fans of Houston sports are sick & tired of being sold a bill of goods on some BS about what they should do. That team sucked and everybody knew it. They had 6 months after firing McHale to figure out what they were going to do. They sittin' on their ass over there trying to sell us this D'Antoni crap and I ain't buying it and I'm gonna get on y'all ass about it. I'm sicked and tired of being in this city where we ain't win a gawd damn championship...Don't call me about no Patrick Beverley and I'll holla. Calvin: Y'all not down for Beverley? ... I don't think he can run D'Antoni's offense. <iframe src="http://embed.radio.com/clip/60550503?ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fhouston.cbslocal.com%2F2016%2F05%2F22%2Fnate-and-creight-with-calvin-watkins-part-3%2F&station_id=3&rollup_ga_id=UA-2438645-53&ads_ga_page_tracker=UA-20550966-5" width="345px" height="194px" scrolling="no"></iframe> In offenses like the Rockets, where the two-guard brings up the ball, the "PG" was a big body guard who was a defensive specialist who could knock down open threes. Ron Harper, Derek Fisher...is that the kind of model they should go to? Beverley doesn't handle the ball well & isn't a good shooter. Ty needed the ball in his hands. There's only one ball. Is there a guy or kind of guy out there they could look at to fill that role? He's under contract & plays for Golden State. Interesting you say that. Hornacek got hired by the Knicks. He's not a triangle guy. There was a statement someone said there, we'll have something of the triangle but we'll be uptempo because of the personnel we have. If they hire D'Antoni and can't find a PG, I'm sure they'll do something within that structure of the offense to help James, Patrick, Trevor or whoever they bring in to help the offense. I like Michael Beasley. Harrell is another guy I like. He can run the floor, dunk, jump. They have some pieces. They need the point guard. We saw D'Antoni from 2002-05, his teams scored more points in the NBA than anyone else. He won coach of the year. He did it with a PG that scored in bunches. Can you run that offense with a PG that doesn't score a lot of points? I would say maybe move Harden. Do you move Harden to the PG position? Is he fast enough for that pace? I don't think he is. So you run a variation of that uptempo offense with someone else. You may have to slow it down. Say Conley signs in FA. Can he run that offense? Yes, then you're good. If not, then...like football. I'm sure Bill O'Brien has a lot of nice plays. Based on who he has at QB, he can only run so much. Now he has Brock, I can run this now. With D'Antoni, if he's the guy, he will adjust to the personnel. That's what good coaches do. If they bring in Conley or a guy like that(or Jeff Teague), a guy who can run that offense, he's gonna have to have the ball. We saw this past year James really wasn't willing to give up the ball. Now he's entering a contract year. If they say you're gonna share the basketball, is he out of here like Dwight? I would say no. Last year, let's rewind, when they brought in Ty, Daryl told me, "I asked James, James said I'm cool." At the WCF, he said "I'm worn down & tired. I play a lot of minutes & handling the ball. I need help." The Rockets did it. We got your boy. The guy you endorse. He went to rehab, got that solved. On the floor, Harden did not come in shape. He hurt his ankle & couldn't train. McHale tried to give it to Ty to run the offense, they started off 0-3 and it was downhill from there. If they get another PG, James will say let's do this again. He'll be in the Olympics. I think he'll make it anyways. When they go into this season, he'll be in better shape. Take the errors up with them. J.B., not "B.J." ... No, Harden is not in a contract year either.
"Harden has to move more. He doesn't like moving." Lol. I don't think Beverley can play Nash in DAntoni's offense, that sounds hugely optimistic.
Am I reading that interview correctly? "Harden, contract year." "Harden, contract year." Am I just under-caffeinated or did I read that right? Harden has two more seasons.
Been hearing for longest time Dmo ends up in Toronto, Miami, San Antonio or Boston. Would be really shocked if he comes back.
You missed the fine print at the bottom. Yes, they did say several times Harden is in a contract year. No, Harden is not in a contract year.
Ah, yes. You see.....there's the under-caffeinated bit that I feared. If Harden were in a contract year and with this roster so unsettled, then we'd REALLY be at a crossroads. Oh, yeah....and it took seven weeks to make the colossal monumental gargantuan fu**up of a decision to hire McHale as coach? I guess I'd forgotten that.
I lol'd at "McHale was the best guy for the job" I mean this man underachieved every season except one. Watkin must have only started following us when he got here last season.
Yeah, i still think Morey will look to trade him during the draft with other guys, if he can't have back at least decent value (let's say a couple of good second rounders) he may be ok in testing the market, a 5/6 milions cap hold is not great obviously but not even terrible for a young 4/5 with still decent upside...the back is clearly an issue but that's the same reason why we could end up with a pretty good contract with a bit of luck.
He's a restricted free agent. He's gone if the Rockets don't wan't him or if he secures a contract that the Rockets don't want to match.
They tried to trade him for a lottery pick in the draft. They were not trying to give him away because they didn't like him.
Let's be clear, when it comes to all-star players the last year of their contract is essentially a giant trade chip only. If the player doesn't want to stay on your team any GM worth his salt will trade him before his deal ends. Sign and trades are dead now.
