The team has such slim hopes of making the playoffs in spite of what people may say. So the coach goes to the owner and confesses the team is not what he had hoped and if you want your team to make it to the playoffs than you need to let me make some changes. And Les thinks about it and decides well I would like to fire the guy but his got this huge contract so let me give him so more string to play with. So Les tells JVG go ahead trade anyone you want but Yao and TMAC and let's see what you can do. Knowing unless JVG makes a major turn around in his coaching style and this team's attitude JVG will be following all the players he has dumped as well. What do you think is this JVG's last stand?
I'm not sure but there are other coaches who would love to coach the Rockets.. I hope we are trying to make some more trades
I think the JVG-hate in this city has become far too palapable for Les to ignore. I understand the principle behind waiting until the end of the season to switch coaches but in this case, the sooner the better. The season is only 1/3 through and I beleive we have the talent to sneak into the playoffs still but we can't do without a motivated squad and fanbase and neither of those will ever occur under JVG's regime.
You think? With a team with at least one star and I guess one potential star, I am sure the Rockets job has got to be looked as an extremely appealing one for anyone who is not a head coach right now. Yes, this is despite our absolute lack of players anywhere right now. I was all for JVG when he got hired. I thought we needed discipline during the Franchise era, but now... I was hoping that JVG would work out, but it does look like the players quit on him. If the players quit playing then the only real solution is to get a new coach. We can't trade everyone (although it does seem like we are trying). Trading is not going to solve anything in my opinion. Time for a new coach and a new GM to take over. Sooner the better. We need a breath of fresh air before this season completely gets out of control (I mean it is out of control, but hey it is only 1/3 the way done). Finally converted from a JVG supporter to a bring over a whole new coaching and GM regime.
Les is giving JVG a free hand for now but if things don't improve he might not make it past this year. CD also needs to go. I wish we had someone like Donnie Walsh as our GM. He did a lot of good work for the Pacers with young talented players which has helped Bird in his job. My gut feeling is CD will be removed but JVG will stay on for at least one more season.
I mean I am with all of you with les is probably letting JVG hang himself but this is killing me. But like stone said up there is the city turns on JVG. He will make a move he will not sit there and let everyone just hate the rockets and the coach.
If the Rockets continue to simply lose, it seems likely that JVG will be given another year to show something. If the team begins to start tossing out these laffers, however, he's going to have to answer questions that don't have flattering excuses. I didn't really mind the Ward signing until I realized the mother****er got a THREE YEAR DEAL. There's no way JVG wasn't heavily involved in that deal; even those of us who have been trying to support him know that Ward is his boy. I can't fathom the reasoning behind that deal when it was obvious Ward wasn't even going to have a job this season otherwise. I have no clue what the deal with Yao is. I had all the confidence and excitement in world about what that guy was gonna do this year. I don't understand his inconsistency. At this point, we should all be PRAYING that it's the coach's fault, something that can be fixed... I'm not sold on all that. A coach can't rebound for you. A coach can't prevent you from getting punked by scrubs. I though we'd have seen more pride from this man, especially after the Olympics. TMac? Well, it's clear he could just go out and score 40 literally any night he wants. But he's tried that before: It doesn't win. All he can do is play the system and hope it works. I'm sure this isn't how he envisioned things. I know it's not how I did. Bottom line, if this team starts showing some fight, JVG will get another year. If they turn b**** like they did against the Bucks, all bets are off. Damn.
I agree that part of the problem is Yao himself, but rebounding does have something to do with coach's strategy. Yao won't get many defensive rebounds if JVG keeps telling him to go to the perimeters to help our guards.
So your suggestion is when Yao's man is setting a screen for a PnR, Yao should just stay back near the basket? This is ludicrous. If there's a rebounding problem it is more Yao's footspeed and effort than Van Gundy's defensive scheme. Or did you not notice that a reluctant Shaq heeded Phil Jackson and came out to defend PnR and rotate?
No, I have no problem with Yao defending PnR, the thing I have problem with is that when ever our guards missed defensive assignments, Yao have to be the one to come out to the perimeters to help out. And for your information, Shaq doesn't come out to defend PnR that often at all, just watch last year's playoffs match between us and the Lakers, we killed them in first 4 games with that PnR play with Steve and Yao.
On the 610 pm show (12-28-04-live from Hooter's in Sugarland) with Rich Lord and Mark Van De Meer, a caller asked if CD or Van Gundy was making these personell moves. Lord said that he thought that it was Van Gundy who had final say over all trades. Lord also stated that CD was ready to retire / walk after they fired Rudy - he did not say specifically why CD wanted to walk.( I think CD is just burned out tired--IMHO) Rich Lord said that Van Gundy wanted to pick players to trade and who to trade for, but wanted CD to stay on to work the mechanics of the CBA, salary cap issues, and use his NBA - agent contacts to expedite the dealing. Looking at the Weatherspoon, Ward, Ewing hiring-all appear to be Van Gundy type deals. Rich Lord also said that if Les Alexander is paying Van Gundy 5 mil per year- then he is responsible for the team makeup. Mark Van De Meer responded that Van Gundy's language in the media plays CD as the creator of the deals. I personally think CD is a buffer of accountability to the media and fans for Van Gundy, but Van Gundy is ultimately responsible to Mr. Alexander.
Bingo. CD is JVG's fall guy. CD goes along with it because of the contract extension, and because this is his last real job before retiring. He's been with the Rockets for years, and is a company man. This brings back memories of when Steve Patterson did Charlie Thomas's dirty work and accused Hakeem of faking an injury. When JVG says "management" wanted apparently wanted a change, what he didn't say is he is a big part of "management."
Thanks TBAR for this info. This is exactly what I have felt all along. CD was kept on by JVG for a buffer. So he could be JVG's fall guy. Jvg makes all decisions have been made by JVG and then he says "management has decided" to cover his a$$. How sweet for him. Then in the end he could say well you know this is not all my fault CD is afterall the GM and he was here before me. JVG sucks. I spoke with Eddie Griffin a while back and he hinted to me that JVG was behind his firing. Everyone wants to fire CD and maybe we need a stronger GM to stand up against JVG but that was not his role under JVG. All of the trades have been suggested and finalized by JVG. Even under Rudy CD was only the negotiator. Rudy had the final say so. Of course Rudy listened to what CD had to say and of course Les as well. I heard Les was the one who wanted to keep Moochie. Rudy thought he was asking too much and wasn't going to pay it. BUt Les thought Moochie was a fan favorite and we should keep him. So if you want to fire CD go ahead and suggest it. But don't blame him for JVG's choices. JVG fired EG for nothing in return. He hired C. Ward over Damon Jones, JVG brought in Weatherspoon and Jim Jackson and chose not to resign Posey. He brought to washed up Knicks in Oakley and Mark Jackson. JVG resigned Padgett, when we already had 3 PF's. JVG signed Sura, traded for Deke added Bowen and now JVG has dumped Boki and his own beloved Jim Jackson. He wasn't even man enough to call JJ and tell him directly. He made CD do his dirty work. I'm not saying all of these transactions are bad I for one like TMac even though we had to give up to much for him. But all of these decisions or JVG's doing. He wanted Francis and Cat out and if the TMAC hadn't come around he would have traded Francis for Jason Terry and swome throw ins or something similar. As we can see Francis and Cat or Flourishing and JVG has dismantled what Les once called one of the most talented teams of all time.
Most of that sounds entirely reasonable except for blaming JVG for the breakup of the team. Francis and Co.'s days were numbered when Rudy was fired. It's no secret why Rudy Tomjanovich isn't coaching this team right now. Ousting the Stevie era was one of the reasons JVG was hired, so you can't really blame him for doing his job. Being a strict diciplinarian was one of the reasons JVG was hired, so you can't really blame him for doing his job. These personnel decisions, particularly the Ward THREE YEAR DEAL, have NOT been exciting. Any team out there would have given the Magic what they wanted for TMac; there's no use crying over giving up a lot for him. So soon we've forgoten his miracle comeback? Only a couple players in a generation can do that. The rest of the deals haven't been too exciting. Mutomobo was a good one. Getting Howard along with TMac has tied our hands considerably; until we can get rid of that guy, the Magic will have gotten the better end of that deal, but it had to be made so there's no use b****ing about it. At lease JVG was able to get rid of Lue. Like I said, the moves this year haven't been outstanding after the TMac deal. But as we've discussed, you can pretty much only get garbage for garbage. You can't package three turds in exchange for an ice cream cone. Rebuilding a team in his own image is the task of any new coach; you can't really blame JVG for TRYING to do his job. There is ONE job that JVG was hired to do that he hasn't been doing. WINNING. He's tried getting new guys in here, he's tried pushing the ball, but he hasn't won. If you can't get this job done, all the "trying" in the world doesn't mean jack. JVG has done everything he was brought here to do except win. If he can't get that job done, he'll be gone, simple as that.
