Did you hear about a leak to Woj or the media before they talked to Silas or did Silas knew the exact time he was let go or in this case his contract wasn't picked up?
Wondering if we will retain any of the assistant coaches who didn't come with Silas, particularly Lucas and Abdelfattah. I guess we need to see what the new HC wants first.
I really like more than 90% of the candidates mentioned. I would only stay away from people who have exhibited loser or choking mentality such as Brooks or Udoka. Nurse: can't say a lot for player development. Raptors fans see him as stubborn, too iso-oriented and short rotation guy. Kind of like MDA but more of a two way coach. You have to assume he'll have learned a lot in Toronto but the title win might have cemented some stubbornness for him. Otherwise considered an elite coach obviously and I've read Raptors fans saying he has rarely ever been outcoached in a playoff series. Atkinson: Turned down the HC job in Charlotte after being offered it. Stayed with the Warriors and won title as assistant. When he took over the Nets, they had the most negative asset position in the NBA and possibly in history. By the time he was done 2 years later, the team's coffers were rebuilt a little, financial flexibility dramatically improved (max cap space), the players had all developed winning habits and in season 3 they finished higher than they should ever have finished. This convinced Kyrie and thus KD to join the Nets. I've said a million times he would be my number one option as a guy with great experience who can develop and motivate young and veteran players. Has title experience to get over the hump. Love this pick. Udoka: seems like a great tactical coach but a poor decision maker so he's a risk to the team. How does a HC on a title run regularly risk bringing a PR nightmare to the team? Further he got thoroughly outcoached in his last playoff series. Several hiccups according to level-headed Celtics fans. May be a mentally weak person with poor self discipline. I would stay away. There are lots of highly talented coaches with risky profiles (MDA, Sampson, etc). It's not a rare accomplishment for the first year coach of a contender to remain a contender. IMO nothing special here and the team he coached didn't skip a beat without him. Chris Quinn or Malik Allen (Miami): haven't been mentioned as candidates but would love to interview both. I don't want a coach without HC experience, but a promising Spo protege would be enticing. I think Spo is the best coach in the NBA and they have the best athletic department too plus I guess Pat Riley might have some value. Cassell: I would really want him as my top choice but the majority of his experience is under Doc Rivers. I need him to report to a better HC before I give him a HC position. Needs to diversify his experience with a head coach that has an offensive identity.
Is there another quality coach besides Nurse who is expected to become available after the season? Any reason they couldn’t make a quick decision?
[Feigen] What will Rockets look for in a coach? A more fiery style. […] The Rockets could seek a coach with a fierier style, someone that will lean more toward critical when appropriate. If he had returned, Silas, who did drop the hammer on occasions, also would have taken the kid gloves off. The next coach will not be issued any. That could make a variety of possibilities a good fit. The intensity of Kenny Atkinson, the former Rockets assistant and former Nets head coach, now a Warriors assistant, would bring a version of that. Ime Udoka showed similar intensity in his one season as a Celtics coach. (He went 51-32 and to the NBA Finals in his one season with the Celtics before he was suspended following a “violation of team policies” related to a relationship with a staff member.) He does come from the Gregg Popovich school. Scott Brooks and Frank Vogel might not seem too in your face, but they have shown they absolutely have that in them, even if they have so often had teams in which it was best to pick spots. There is also the speculation about Nick Nurse, the wildly creative Raptors coach who won a championship and coach of the year honors in his first season as head coach and comes across as laid back. He also can be incredibly direct and blunt. Sugar coating is for M&Ms. There was a sense that the Rockets liked the way John Lucas so maniacally pushed the Rockets in a win in Detroit this season when Silas was out. That style would seem to appeal to Tilman Fertitta, whose leadership approach is a direct as they come. Among assistant coaches around the league, Sam Cassell, Charles Lee and Chris Quinn are similarly direct and intense. There also could be a question of how the Rockets will be viewed by candidates. Atkinson turned down the Hornets’ job last season. He and others will likely be picky. […]
Scott Brooks coming from left field. Will work for cheap. Harden and ex Rocket connection. Yeeesh he might be the guy!
well, depends how you measure. Not counting the OP (ie replies only), and not counting your post that set the line, the Udoka post was the 9th reply.
I always thought Brooks was the weak link in OKC when they had such insane talent. If now he's getting points because he coached that team I think that would be some terrible revisionist history. I actually found him to be a similar coaching style to Silas. All of these names kind of point to the Rockets really not learning much of anything if these are the prime candidates other than maybe Nurse or Atkinson. The Rockets need more of a hard nosed defensive minded coach or what they really should be looking at are some of the top college coaches. Unless the Rockets are signing James Harden this offseason, they need more of a college "program" type of infrastructure rather than an NBA star driven environment.
nurse udoka vogel atkinson all tier 1 but the issues are: can they get another job with a team more ready to win? will Tillman pay their asking price (he went with the least expensive option last time)? will stone give them control over hiring their staff (he didn't last time, and Atkinson walk from CHA because of this). its good to hope for one of them but they are anything but a guarantee. One thing is certain, I would want someone with HC experience this time around. not another rookie learning on the job. we need someone who specializes in development since Silas didn't. and we need a more authoritarian to build accountability as mentioned in this article. brooks is a name that I'm not very excited about but on paper fits the bill as a fall back if we miss on the top 4.
I agree with liking Atkinson more than the other guys. At least it was a mutual departure from the Nets (and I can't blame him for not wanting to deal with Kyrie). He seems like a tough-minded developmental coach. He might turn down the deal though since he already turned down Charlotte. Maybe if we get Wemby or Scoot...?
Whomever they pick, I hope they pick the right one. We have a clean slate, max cap space possible and hopefully a top2 pick in the draft. The team is primed to take the next step, and most available coaches would jump at the opportunity, especially if We get Wemby and Harden comes back. There's too muck smoke around the Nurse rumor, and I would like to see him back with us, but my pick would be Atkinson. But for us to acquire a good coach and change this team's fortune for the better, Stone and ownership need to shut up and listen (pun intended). Stone is a A level drafter, but all other aspects of his work need a lot of improvement. He needs to let go of the rope and let the coaches do their job. And Tilman needs to pony up and pay for a good coach and his staff. They saw first hand how the league works, and they need to follow suit. I'm hoping that they identified areas in which they need to do a much better job, and that they will improve on that starting this summer.
$60m in cap space plus Green, Jabari, Sengun and a top 5 pick. Guaranteed to have a better record than last season. Relatively big market. I think he would definitely consider it.
I heard or read somewhere that Atkinson turned down Charlotte after he learned that he would not be able to have his preferred assistants on staff. Cant remember if the Hornets wouldnt spend for his guys or if they wanted their people to fill out his staff.
