He's working with the Sixers isn't he? In what capacity? I wouldn't mind him as an assistant to Messina or JVG.
The Rockets have spoken to Sampson about there head coaching vacancy. I do not think he would be the favorite but there Rockets have interest. Most likely Mike D'Antoni is going to end up with the Sixers job. Both Colangelo's want D'Antoni over Brown. Brett Brown and Dave Joerger both could be squeezed out and the Rockets would be interested. The interest in Van Gundy by Morey is legitimate, but I still have yet to hear a single person connected to the Rockets to say that Les has any real interest in Van Gundy. Also, don't rule out the possibility than it is in the Rockets and Van Gundy's best interest to leak a false rumor. Van Gundy wants to be an NBA head coach again, and the more in demand he seems, the more likely he is to get interest from other teams. The Rockets just want their brand in the news.
Rick Adelman's tenure here was a success, probably more so than ANY other coach besides Rudy given injuries and roster turnover. Him walking was pure arrogance from Daryl Morey and nothing else
Wouldn't Kenny Smith be an interesting idea? Former PGs seem to have a knack for making a good coach.
Yeah.... No, Adelman left because he wanted more money, control over personnel decisions and to hire his family members. Also, Morey didn't fire Adelman; Les Alexander did. Adelman got everything he wanted in Minnesota. His personnel decisions were terrible.
For those wanting Dave Joerger, right now he has ZERO input over personnel decision in Memphis. He isn't even consulted over trades or the draft.
How much say/input did Morey give McHale? Would love Joerger. He might be at the top of my list right now. If he was available, is he a "big enough name for Les?"
I dont see him leaving after that press conference. It would make memphis look bad to fire a guy who cares that much about the team.
The only positive about Sampson is that he actually posted up Dmo when McHale had to take some time off due to personal reasons a couple years ago.
I think that he is a very smart man, but the Rockets are likely want someone with NBA head coaching experience.
McHale had more input than many fans believed. He was heavily involved in the draft and free agency. Joerger is probably a big enough name for Les, he has had a successful run in Memphis and the Rockets are already familiar with him having interviewed him twice in the past. What will matter to Les and Morey will be the type of relationship they believe they can have with whomever they interview. He isn't sure he wants to return.
He'd be a very good hire. He's done a really good job in Memphis, he's only 42 years old(g-ddamn, I'm almost as old as him!), and he probably wouldn't cost 7 mil a season like Scotty Brooks or demand player personnel control like Thibs. We could really luck out if he becomes available. I don't know why Memphis would can him. It's not his fault that team lost half its players due to injury. And remember, he and the Grizzlies had the Warriors on the ropes in the Semifinals last season and might've won had Conley and Allen been healthy that entire series.
Rebuilding might be inevitable given the makeup of the roster IMO. Dwight, Terry, and J-Smooth are all UFA and don't see any of them coming back. TJones and DMo are RFAs and think DMo is the only real toss up. That's 1/3 of the roster that could possibly leave without having any or much say. If Ollie gives us a chance at Durant, then I'd go for it. Think he could also get the most out of Harden which should be 1A in looking for a coach.
I would still love to hire ollie even if we dont get durant. We have a lot of options as a team and have a chance to build a very good team around harden moving forward.
