[Houston Chronicle] Rockets give Van Gundy non-coaching option

glendelicious, you should post more often.

i totally agree with you and couldn't have worded it any better. give jvg more talent and we'll win more. give the current roster a new head coach and we probably won't.

but this is getting ridiculous. if the rockets don't want jvg back then tell him right now and make it official. everybody that looks at the rockets' roster will know what happened when jvg isn't back next season no matter what. there's no point in keeping stuff secret and creating pseudo positions within the organization just to not have to fire the guy. we aren't that stupid.

 

no way would they offer an asisstant job to him. he knows he can get a head coaching job elsewhere.

the thing is... without taking dennis lindsey or darryl morey's jobs, what possition is available?

ill tell you what happened. they want to send a strong messege to JVG that they don't want him back. here jeff, how about being a scout for us? if thats the only contract which is offered i think jeff will understand that there is no way he's coming back.

he could then opt in to his final year knowing that les wants him out. les will have settle on a small buy-out fee and then we can start serious talks with other coaches.

i just hope everything is worked out before the draft.

 

According to Ric Justics, JVG is offered a position of consultant (Maybe CD is too old to remain consultant for Morey).

But my suggestion is: you either five JVG or let him coach. The reason is simple: Rick Adelman wont feel comfortable if the Rockets have an ex-coach peeping over his shoulder. That's awkward and lousy management. It wont bode well if both Rick Adelman and JVG are in the Rockets.

 

What a joke, like he is going to accept any of these positions. He will become a commentator again because he likes to do that or someone will try to hire him again. Not sure he'd accept though anyways.

 

I just came back from school and I just read that news. I cannot said it wasnt a suprise for me, cause it was. Van Gundy not as a head coach but he would stay in the organisation....sounds nice but we still don't have a clear situation. Chron wrote that JVG could be back as a head coach so we can't be sure but that option should be good for Rockets

 

Remember what it was like in the lottery for a few seasons.....

Welcome back

 

NIKE -
Up front, I accept the fact you and I are on opposite ends of the Gundy view. And a good part of that is driven by our differing views on VG's involvement with the Battier trade. I'll go so far as to say any poster wanting to keep VG as a head coach was no less than satisfied but probably thrilled with the trade. The two opinions go hand in hand.

But IMHO the apparent lack of ego and self-deprecating humor is a front. Case in point...Chuck Hayes guesses right on Fisher's drive, takes a charge and becomes an urban legend. Gundy's response? He was "just doing his job...that's what he gets paid millions to do".

Real and true self-deprecation would have warranted (in 4 years) the utterance that "it was my fault..I'll take the blame for this one". We never heard it...not once that I can recall. If I missed it...it was once in 82*4. What we got was a continous loop of "we have enough talent to win" and "our energy level wasn't what it should have been". Van Gundy's self-deprecation is a fascade.

Van Gundy either can't or won't adapt to the speed at which the NBA rules are directing the play. He'd be counter-productive to any organizational moves in that direction. His defensive philosophies IMHO would be worthless even if the next coach would accept them. They would require VG players to execute them. And those are precisely the kinds of players the Rockets need to shed.

As far as a broadcaster? Sign him up. He's great at analysis. And the reason he's great? TV game analysis is a post mortem on what has happened. That's a VG strong suit...but it correlates directly to his lack of creativity.

It's one thing to mentally "know" the statistical likelihood of what a player or coach will do...it's totally at the other end of the spectrum to think outside of the box in making them respond to you.

 

i 100% agree with what you said. people seem to forget that in JVG's 4 years here he's taken us to the playoffs 3 times. the one year being last year when tmac and yao had their injuries. although he hasn't been able to get us out of the first round i believe that's strongly due to the players we have not the coach.

let's say we do hire adelman and he doesn't get us past the 1st round next year or if we don't get 50+ wins. is everyone going to use the excuse "oh, he's a new coach. everyone's still learning his system." so you would rather give him a season or 2 for to show some progress or the players to get comfortable? when Minnesota made 7-8 straight playoff appearances without making it out of the 1st round everyone talked about how it was KG's fault or he didn't have enough players around him. we make it 3 out of 4 times without getting out of the 1st round and it's the coach's fault?

tmac says he's the best coach he's ever played for. yao said although he's glad rudy was his first coach, hes "very fortunate to have had JVG coaching him since". that says it all.

if adelman gets hired, say goodbye to our defense.

 

No, it's smart. It's been said JVG's family wishes to remain in Houston. If he's in the city why not make use of that resource. Another thing would be to protect that knowledge of the players and organisation he has gained.

 

I can't believe people here are actually satisfied with three years of first round exits, with two superstars on their team!

I would not like to have you guys on my team thats for sure

 

True. Why is JVG given so much praise when he just turns the whole scene he is at to a all doom and gloom. He is a very good coach but a change will be a welcome sight. I hope the Rockets interview other candidates before deciding who will coach the team.

 

Position within the organization?

Consultant = Hush money, don't bad mouth the organization.


Smart move by JVG and the Rockets.

DD

 

strange situation. I think its somewhat direspectful to offer a head coach an assistant coaching job, if thats what happened.

very odd. dont know what to make of it.

Welcome to being a GM Morey!

 

I certainly don't think that this squad, if healthy is going to the lottery. And I think that Adelman is one of the two or three worst fits with Yao in the middle.

 

There's no way in hell Morey offered JVG an assistant coaching job. It was a pretty shrewd move by the rockets though. First good sign I have seen in a while with our new GM!

 

Between this and the Justice column, it seems pretty clear what's going on. (I'm just inferring here.) Alexander thinks he's doing Van Gundy a favor by pretending not to fire him. Van Gundy, on the other hand, is following his usual practice of brutal honesty, which is completely screwing up Alexander's policy of polite lying. Morey is cringing at the idea of losing both Dawson and Van Gundy, the two guys who know the team best, in his first week as GM. He wants to keep Van Gundy around, at least as brain trust, but is fast losing hope that he can sell Alexander on anything like that.

Bottom line: We're stuck with a stupid owner. We have little hope of adding new talent. Our new coach will not be any better than the old one. And if Morey decides his boss is too difficult to work with, we could soon be looking at another new GM.

 

Yeah thats it I'm sure...

Some how I think this whole thing will blow up in our faces. I don't think any of the coaches being mentioned could have gotten our team to 52 wins this year. And changing the coach is not going to toughen up our mental attitude either.

 

I guarantee JVG's contract has a clause that stating if he's not working with the Rockets, he cant reveal any proprietary Rockets' information to 3rd party for a period of time.

 

i wouldnt think that they offered him a asst coach job, but its just odd. A front office position? i dont see jeff as a scout or anything like that. who knows

interesting points. Morey does seem to be in a pickle. And les isnt making himself look great.

 

I don't know of too many coaches that would have kept playing his veterans in a 34 win season thus losing a shot at Brandon Roy.

I don't know of too many coaches who would emphasize defense to the point that one-dimensional players like Chuck Hayes and Rafer Alston are your starters.

I don't know of too many coaches who think that they are so close to the WC elites that the would sacrifice the upside of #8 and rotational depth/athleticism for Shane "$Ball" Battier.

Was it 52 wins because Gundy-ball feasts on EC slugs...or was it ONLY 52 wins because he emphasized players which support his defensive coaching style and plays only those that support this style?

C'mon folks...didn't we learn anything about game to game adjustments from up 2-0 with HCA...and not being able to win 2 of 5 with 3 of the 5 in TC? The 52 wins was smoke and mirrors.

I don't expect the next coach to turn VSpan into an All Star or take the Rockets to the Finals in one season. But I have high hopes we'll start rooting out the likes of Battier, Hayes and Alston. That's Gundy-ball folks...certified and appoved by Jeff Van Gundy. Results certified and approved by the NBA.