Same, I’m not going to be mad about Nurse but Udoka is the real prize. Udoka being part of second interviews despite the complete silence is encouraging, but I’m not holding my breath.
I think Udoka has his pick between Houston and Toronto. He might like Houston, because he would probably be able to demand more control than he would with Toronto. If not, the Rockets probably get Nurse. To me those are the only true targets for what the Rockets need. I would be impressed if Udoka chose Houston over Toronto. Things are progressing how I thought they might, it was pretty obvious Toronto preferred the shot at Udoka over keeping Nick Nurse. Also, I notice a lot of guys spreading rumors like they are facts in this thread to discredit Udoka. Saying things like: He had repeated incidents He was asked to stop having relations with staff and didn't He was messing with his boss' or boss' boss' wife He has poor personal relationships He obviously has no morals or values @Pistol Pete @Verbal Christ I haven't seen any proof of any of these things, but some guys keep making the same accusations over and over. We do know Udoka: Has gotten at least to the NBA finals in every season he has coached...(Anyone who can get to the finals in their first year with a team is at least a good coach, right Kerr, Vogel, & Nurse fans? I think it is even more impressive to do it without a top 5 player or by helping a top 10-15 player rise to top 5 level. Has been hired by multiple ex-coworkers and doesn't have any former coworkers subordinates or bosses speaking ill of him publicly (even Danny Ainge hasn't) Was in a committed relationship for 13 years without any other similar affairs uncovered even after this was discovered Stayed with his baby momma for 13 years even though they never had plans to get married according to Nia Long's statements in 2012 and in 2020 and evidenced by their 7-year engagement We don't have first-hand information about Udoka's relationship with Nia Long or with the other woman or her husband. We don't know what conversations or agreements they had. We don't know Udoka's cultural or religious beliefs on marriage. We don't know why Danny Ainge had his 2 Mormon Church buddies collecting pay as 'consultants' and 'assistants' with the Celtics. We don't know how many other coworkers the woman had affairs with, what the woman was doing at the door when Udoka made the 'inappropriate' remarks. For all we know he could be in an open relationship that he just stays in for his child. This woman could be a serial cheater who has seduced hundreds of men and told him she was in an open marriage or convinced him that Mormons were swingers. He could have resisted her for months until she opened the door naked doing a handstand while playing with sex toys next to a sign that said 'Free BJs' and a forged permission slip from her husband when he came to pickup his dry cleaning. Either way, it's not our business what the man does with another consenting adult.
nurse is also my top choice. championship experience, player development, competent on both ends, quick to adjust along the way. could be a bit gimmicky at times, but overall great combination if high ceiling and high floor. vogel is a close second for me. not as well rounded as nurse but comes with some elite strengths and some weaker areas. championship experience, elite defense and accountability. weaker at offense and adjustments. but this would give us an identity to build off of. overall lower upside but highest floor. and I can't risk another 3 years of poor coaching for jalen and jabari. high floor matters more to me this time around than higher ceiling. we're pretty far from needing a high ceiling coach at the moment. udoka is third for me, only because he has 1 year of coaching a great team. made the finals, but they haven't lost a step under mazzula and we saw how good of a coach hardy is too. hard to say how much of their success was the result of udoka, or his amazing staff, or amazing roster. we may not have any of that. to me he's higher risk/reward than the others. if you're into upside go with him. I'm more risk averse this time around. I want a guaranteed high floor. so for me vogel and nurse are the safer picks with more proven track records. that being said we'd be lucky to land any of them. lucky they're available. lucky no playoff teams have vacancies to compete with us, lucky tilman appears willing to pay for one of them. give me any one of them and I'll be happy.
I think Nurse being available is a combo of the GM's relationship with Udoka and Nurse wanting to move on.
Danny Ainge hired the first woman (Lynch) who at the time was a practicing Mormon just like Ainge and who apparently had known each other for many years. You think he was cool with the scandal? If you do a quick search you could find data that points you where Ainge would go if asked. There was a private law firm who conducted the investigation - you think BOS would want continue to air out their dirty laundry? That was the part Nia Long hated most for the sake of her son who was in a Boston school at the time. I'd assume all parties were content just releasing as little as possible, but my bias tells me that this wasnt an isolated incident, but Im not here to prove that or convince anyone or further speculate on Udoka as a person. @Nook who has a better finger on the pulse of this team and others also mentioned the second issue of misconduct is he rumor mongering too? You can even dig up some claims that Udoka also cheated with a travel agent that helped Nia Long relocate to Boston! So cheaters who break vows DO have morale values, but just not as they pertain to relationships? Cheating on someone you profess to love is not a mistake - its a CHOICE! Udoka was engaged to Long and had fathered a child with her - why not break that off and go find another single person without wrecking two homes? Am I to believe Udoka was the victim and that a Mormon mother of 3 swept him off his feet? If you dont think cheating is that big of a deal and it doesnt phase you fine, but that sentiment shouldnt be expected of everyone. Obviously he wasnt in an open relationship because Long dumped him even as a person who didnt see marriage as a necessity to a committed relationship. The whole drama shifted from consensual to unwanted advances on Udokas part. Total creep, but some of you guys see "player" and high five about it. Thats where my jabs at the alphas in here were about that confused some came from and are viewed as "weird". This macho man ideal of what constitutes a real man and what is forgivable in that lens and in the same breath use guys like Harden as a red herring when Harden as far as I know is a single dude that can bang whoever he wants and has yet to be accused of being a homewrecker. Cmon man apply some common sense to this thing before you go white knighting for a guy who's been lucky to work under some of the best coaches ever and whose body of work as a HC consists of a good post all star break run after starting off that season 18-21. Some of you are giving him a free pass as if he's the only guy that can right this ship - he isnt. This is turning into a circular argument and If you or anyone else who jumps into the topic late wants they can just scroll back and catch up - most of this has already been covered.
You're talking about Masai as if he's some sort of sage, isn't he the same Masai that HIRED Nurse in the first place? Either he's a frickin genius because he hired Nurse, or an embicile batting o% because he just fired the coach he thought was going to be the new and improved Phil Jackson! I think he's the the former who got it right by hiring Nurse who happens to be the coach who brought the Raptors their one and only championship! I also think a changeof scenery is going to do good for both the Raptors and Nurse! Go Rockets!!! ....... ....... .......
Mike Budenholzer was let go with 2 years left on his deal in Atlanta, and the Bucks went from a first round exit to a 60-win juggernaut in his first year, and winning the championship 2 years later. 10/16 coaches still in the playoffs have been fired at least once. Coaching change in the NBA is inevitable; everyone moves around other than Popovich. I lean a bit more towards Nurse over Vogel, just because I have very little confidence in what Stone/Pat Fertitta are doing in the FO, and I want a coach willing to stand up for himself. I though that Vogel pretty much allowed himself to get hung out to dry in his last year in a similar manner to Silas. Meanwhile, the only reason I see Nurse coming to what is probably the worst roster in the entire league is if he's wanting to have more input into personnel. As for Ime, I personally don't think that the Raptors go through with the firing of Nurse unless they already have a clear plan in place, which likely means a commitment from Udoka. I still can't quite get over the fact that the Nets, one of the all-time dysfunctional teams with Durant/Kyrie, but with a highly competent front office who handled their superstar breakup far better than the Rockets, took a hard look at him and decided to pass. I do worry about an Alex Cora situation, where he could find some amazing success early on, and then be brought down years later as more facts come to light, and be forced into resigning again.
Yes Masai is as close to a mfing sage as it gets in the NBA. I already said that I wouldn’t be unhappy with Nurse, he is a good coach, that’s why Masai hired him in the first place. And the reason why he is getting fired isn’t because he suddenly forgot how to coach, it’s because someone head and shoulders better just became available. If we have a chance to hire that guy in the first place why should we settle for anything less, even if 2nd place is still a good coach.
Nurse’s ‘22-‘23 team was lifeless. Where’s Windy talking about their disjunction, locker room??? Betcha twas worse than Rox’.
It was the business of the Celtics and whatever he did was bad enough for them to relieve him of his duties after a very successful season. The Celtics are trying to protect the name (more likely to not embarass her husband that is rumored to be a Celtic employee) of the woman who did stop when told the relationship with the coach violated team rules. The Celtics canned Udoka because he would not stop. That's a stupid decision that cost him his job. Udoka knew he was relieved of duties for just causes so don't wait around on the Celtics to out others just to satisfy you.
Either guy is light years ahead of our current staff. Toss up on who is better and that’s why this interview is critical. Couldn’t give a fart about Ime’s affair….just want the best coach. May not matter with Ime as I hear he is a lock for Toronto. Win win for both teams.
Masai is light years ahead of stone, we should probably go after the coach Masai is going for not the coach he fired. I'm not saying Nurse is gonna end up as bad as Dwane casey (who Masai dropped after he won COY), but it's something to b wary of. Nurse is still better than silas, so that's something
Are you basing your head and shoulders comparison on his 1yr win loss record with Boston? If so, do you think he’s a better coach than Popovich, who this year had the same record 22-60 as our beloved Silas? You’re head and shoulders above the rest when you have a good/great core of players at your disposal, which he did with the Celtics! He left and the Celtics haven’t fallen off a cliff because of it, no they’re still very much in contention for the title! Like I’ve already stated, I prefer Nurse over Edoka because he has a much longer successful track record! I’m not saying Edoka is a fake 3 dollar bill, I’m saying he’s a bigger gamble than Nurse and we can’t afford to botch getting a good/great coach! Go Rockets!!! ……. ……. …….
Personally I would take a coach who had affairs over a religious nut pushing their beliefs on others or a shitty coach any day of the week, at least until said behavior interferes with work performance. Marriages are social constructs anyways.
To be absolutely fair to Vogel, no one really stands up to LeBron James. Not even his own front office. Of course he had to play Westbrook, it was James desire all along. Of course Vogel was the scapegoat, what did you all want LA to do, trade James away?? Lol.
