Would love to bring back ole Kelvin, but I don't think he's budging from the Cougs. He's got a good thing going there till he's ready to head to old folks home.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...ets-coaching-search-rafael-stone-17888855.php GM Rafael Stone says Rockets will cast wide net in coaching search Jonathan Feigen, Staff writer April 10, 2023 Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said the way his phone was ringing Monday indicates a number of people find Houston to be an attractive situation for Stephen Silas' successor. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer On the first day of the Rockets’ coaching search, general manager Rafael Stone’s phone was ringing enough for him to believe he can land the person the next stage of the rebuild will need. The heavy lifting comes next. Stone would offer few insights into what sort of criteria might guide him as he looks for a successor to Stephen Silas. The Rockets chose not to pick up the option on the final season of Silas’ contract — despite effusive praise of Silas from Stone — because of a determination that the team needs a new voice. The next coach will have greater expectations to win than when the Rockets began an overhaul with a complete teardown and a rebuild entirely made up of players starting their careers during Silas’ three-year tenure. “I think this is a very attractive situation,” Stone said. “Based on my phone ringing today, a lot of other people think it is, too. “The next coach … is going to know much more than Stephen did what they’re walking into,” Stone said. “We’ll have free agency and the draft picks. And we have a young core of guys who I think are very, very likely to be with us for the next year or two. And we’re going to get to wherever we get to. And that coach will have an enormous impact on it.” Stone said there is value in again casting a wide net in the coaching search and that he believes there is a large number of attractive candidates to pursue. “One of the reasons I think there are really good candidates is because there are people that I’m aware of who have been very successful in the NBA as head coaches,” Stone said. “They’re available, or at least they’re not under contract with another team right now. That’s interesting. I do think there’s validity and importance in putting out a wider net so you get to know people, so you don’t rule anyone out. I think we will interview people who don’t have head coaching experience. I think you should, because you don’t know what you don’t know. “Right now, the immediate focus is starting this coaching search and seeing who’s out there. And how any player is used … that’s kind of the exciting part. How does this coach think they will optimize their skills?” Stone repeatedly cited the plans to reshape the Rockets’ roster and the tools available in two first-round picks and the most cap room in the NBA to make changes. Referring to the next stage of the rebuild, he said the expectation to be a much more competitive team than this season’s 22-60 squad existed long before the decision to change coaches. “This summer has always been important us … for a lot of reasons,” he said. “We’re obviously going to have another couple picks. But we’re also going to have the ability for the first time to really bring in veteran players and see if we can mesh the thing together. The goal is to continue the growth exponentially. That won’t happen just by bringing in player X and Y, no matter how good they are. We are banking on there being material, internal growth.” When asked about the fairness of Silas losing his job amid a rebuild that gave him no chance to win, Stone spoke more about good and bad fortune than fairness. “It isn’t fair that I have this job,” he said. “There are millions of people who want my job. I have it. I got lucky. I got it. The circumstances under which I received it, there’s some really good circumstances; there’s some challenging circumstances. That’s just reality, and that’s the reality of our profession. Anyone who is involved in the NBA, whether as a coach, as a front office person, as a player, we’re all really lucky and blessed. So this notion of what’s fair or not … life isn’t fair. “I would never complain to anybody, ‘If only I had player X,’ or, ‘If only player X had been in this draft.’ That’s just not the way it works. Stephen did a great job representing us and representing himself and teaching our young guys. He is proud of himself, and he absolutely should be.”
I hope he does, assuming the organization is smart enough to make him an offer, one lucrative enough that if he turns us down, money and influence within the organization had nothing to do with it. I agree that we have a lot to offer. Not just as a challenge, but one loaded with possibilities. Atkinson would definitely be my choice. I doubt if we'll be his. Had to add that.
One of the problems with having a lawyer as a GM is that he knows how to speak for a long time without saying much of anything.
Tracking - Rockets have shown no interest in bringing back Kevin McHale so far, according to my sources.
Heh, nice to see I'm not totally crazy. Buckner is on the list, albeit very low odds. Interesting that there are no odds given on Kelvin Sampson. I'd think that would at least be considered a very long shot, given proximity and shared history. Gimme Atkinson out of the so-called "proven" guys, he has the best excuse out of the bunch for why he didn't hang around long in Brooklyn--Kyrie Irving always blows up anything good you have going no matter where he goes. He seemed real solid there before Irving and Durant arrived, and he seems tough as nails, which I think we need. If we're gambling on an assistant coach, I'd go Buckner, who I think proved he was good at player development last time he was here with us as well as in Cleveland, and is reportedly a defensive guru. Both things we need. No to Nurse, if he was that great we wouldn't be hearing these rumblings about how unhappy they are with him in Toronto and he wouldn't be on the way out after such a relatively short stint as HC there. No to Udoka, he's never proven he can build a young team into a contender, all he did in Boston was get exactly what you'd expect out of already-good players, and the affair thing was a big red flag for his character and decisionmaking. A big "hell no" to Brooks, Jackson, or Vogel, who I am not convinced ever made any of their teams better. No strong feelings one way or the other about the rest.
Most interesting thing to me us do we hire before or after draft? I guess we have to do it before right?
Good question...if we were get a top two pick and were to land a top FA, the coach would have a better idea about what he gets into, and we might be able to land a better coach. On the other hand, hiring the coach first would allow the coach to help shape the makeup of the team.
Mark Jackson will forever be known as the guy who kept the Warriors from winning a title the problem was it was when he was their coach.
