Kenny Atkinson interviewed for Rockets HC position this week

Any which way I dont care.. can we just get back Jeff Bzdelik too?

 

Play like the Yankees in here...

Lose to the Yankees out there...

 

I give Atkinson credit for developing guys like Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris Levert, Joe Harris, and even D’Angelo Russell relative to what Russell was before him as a Laker.

i think a guy like that is just what the Rockets, after four years of a 7.5 man rotation, could use to build our depth and make us more durable for the playoffs.

 

Agree completely. He’s a very good coach with the ability to max out talent. We have no money, no assets and no picks. We need to have guys like Bruno and Frazier blossom to compete. The more I think about it, it seems Kenny may be the ideal candidate. Get Charles Lee to come in and be his associate head coach. They worked together in Atlanta and Lee speaks highly of Kenny. I believe Lee can be that guy who makes sure that James and Russ are happy with Kenny. He’s doing that in Milwaukee now with Giannis. Lee would likely get a HC job next year after the team thrives so it would act as a transition into Kenny learning how to relinquish some control to star players.

 

Kyrie Irving is so ****ing dumb I can't even believe that

I remember Atkisons face cause I was always impressed with his coaching and had to look up who that is.

 

I’d be down with this. He’s a real coach, not just a popular name.

 

So are we gonna knock Brad Stevens for not being able to control Kyrie? How much of a chance was Atkinson even given? Kyrie played in just 20 games, and KD did not play or practice with the squad since he was out rehabbing. Atkinson had a 20-12 record in the games Kyrie didn’t play in, and that 20-12 record was also with KD out and D-Lo gone. So that roster was even worse than the prior season after u subtract all that talent.

I really don’t see the significance of them going from 21 wins to 20...bottom line is that roster was horrible...it’s a roster that gets u the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft...no coach is doing anything with that level of talent...doesn’t matter if it’s Atkinson or Pop

Bojan improved because that’s what many 3rd year players do, but if we want to talk about improvement, Dinwiddie was a 7 ppg scorer in 16-17, and then developed into a 20 ppg scorer under Atkinson...Russell was basically given away by LA...he became an EC All-Star with Atkinson...Caris Levert, the 20th pick in the draft, is now looking like a low level All-Star after developing under Atkinson

So I take it u want Ty Lue?

 

I'm in the more and more I think of it

 

It's Kenny or Sam Cassell. I'm sorry but I doubt Ty Lue's capability.

 

And losing with him would prove more.

 

Lucas can act as a bridge between Atkinson and Harden/ Russ. I like Atkinson. My gut feeling is Morey will look for a cheaper alternative.

 

Because Sam has never been a head coach?

Atkinson has more coaching experience than any of them?

I am not out on any of those guys but there is a reason Jackson has only had 1 HC job.

 

D Russell was getting the bust label before he went to the Nets.

 

I would love Kenny Atkinson as a coach. I can't believe you guys would be calling out this guy based on those Nets team. It's amazing what he was able to do with little talent. It's not as if Levert or Dwindiddie were the players they are not when Atkinson got there.

 

Coaching experience doesn't mean anything lol. Jackson's record speaks for itself, Lue's accomplishments do as well, and Sam's a risk id take over Atkinson who hasn't won anything

 

Lue is the most accomplished. he won a championship as a HC. he's known for game management which is what we need since the offense (iso harden) and defense (switch everything) is preordained by morey.

Atkinson is more qualified than the rest of the pack. I don't mind explaining how. first he assisted some amazing coaches. Adelman, while here in Houston, so he has ties with morey. MDA in NY. Budenholzer in ATL. As a head coach he implemented a bit of all of them into his offense and defense. he pushed the pace with the nets, playing one of the pastes paces in the league, he mixed in some wrinkles of motion offense from adelman and Budenholzer. he got an average at best roster into the top 10 on defense, once again implementing similar defensive philosophies of Budenholzer aka spurs-east. another selling point for morey is that he's very analytics driven. he is maybe the most well balanced (offense, defense) coach available, but another major asset is his player development. want to extend our window beyond the next 2 years? want to be able to afford a decent bench to lower James' usage/minutes so he's not burnt out in the playoffs? the answer to both is developing cheap young talent. I can see KA being the best fit not only short term, but 3 years later he can lead us through a rebuild and still be here for the next title run a la Carlisle and spoelstra. that stability and culture attracts top tier players.

that's the case for Atkinson but I'll add why we shouldn't be so hot for Jackson or sam.

in Jackson's case, he did implement a good defense in GS. he did turn them around from a perennial loser to a perennial winner. however, he was surrounded by terrible drama within the organization while doing all that great work. Lacob was quoted as saying almost the entire organization of 200 people hated him and didn't want to work with him. sure he had a good relationship with Steph and the players, but if you're going to lead a modern NBA Team, you can't just befriend the players. you have to be able to work with the analytics department, the scouting department, the video department, the bball ops department including the president and gm. the owner saying not one person liked him or could work with him is pretty damning. not only that but his own assistants were at war with him. they admitted things got so toxic they were secretly recording coaches meetings to show ownership what was going on. again not taking anything away from his bball IQ or his ability to coach a game. but again to lead a team you need more than just being able to coach in order to be a good coach. you need to be able to manage a large staff and he couldn't. I'd rather not bring that drama to our team. same as Joerger. when asked which coach is the hardest to prepare for, pop and Stevens agreed that joerger was the trickiest and most creative. great coach on both ends. had two chances as a HC, both times he lost the locker room and burned his relationship with the front office within 2 years. great coach but it takes more than that to succeed in the nba. Adrian Griffin was given a second round interview to be the HC in 2016 by morey. great defensive assistant coach. leads the raptors championship defense. no one is interested this year because he's facing some domestic dispute charges. its just not worth the drama. plenty of other options out there.

in Sams case, outside of nostalgia I'm not sure how much he can bring to the table. over a decade of being an assistant is in his favor. his bball IQ as a player is in his favor. everywhere he's gone he's helped a PG excel, from mentoring a young rondo in Boston, to John wall in Washington, to shai in LAC. he's a great development coach (although we're not rebuilding yet) and he's a great PG coach (although our PGs are already MVPs). most assistants run similar systems to their mentors. see the pop coaching tree and JVG coaching tree. the apples don't fall far. cassell spent most of his coaching career behind doc. doc is one of the best motivators and leaders. that's sam's strengths as well. however doc is not a strategist, he makes no adjustments (like MDA) and he's not actually great on offense or defense. sam is a wildcard because he may bring some systems from his playing days, but those are most likely outdated. he may bring some systems from his coaching years but those haven't been effective. as a rebuilding team I'd take a shot with hiring a great player development coach like sam. but not for a win-now team like we are. however, sam is currently the 2nd assistant in LA. we could offer him a job as the associate head coach and that would be a promotion for him. for example say we go with Atkinson who has all the strategy on both ends, but no playing experience and no championship experience. sam would be an excellent AHC for him. sam would help command instant respect for the coaching staff by adding championship experience as a former player.

in short I think Lue, Atkinson, or Silas are our best options. I don't think we can get lue because tilman probably won't get into a bidding war (clippers have the inside track, pelicans also interested), and lue turned down the lakers job because they wouldn't let him pick his own staff. we know morey wants to pick the top assistant. has lue softened his stance since then? only an interview can tell. I think we can get Atkinson if we want him. the thunder and pelicans are interested but his first nba job was with the rockets and I think his previous relationship with morey, and the fact that we're in better position to win-now and bump up his career coaching record, should make us his top choice. I think Silas is a fall back if we miss on the first two. Silas would be a solid option as a great offensive coach who would need a defensive assistant.

 

Jackson is a conman weirdo that no one wants to coach their team. You can forget about him.

Lue is likely going to the Clippers

Sam Cassell hasn’t proven anything and is more a player development guy

 

So KA or Silas? And who is your choice and why?

 

Im honestly not huge on Lue either. We'll see how he performs with the Clippers but color be as very skeptical as far as he is concerned.