at center we will have yao and cato. in the past year cato has made a remakable improvent in hisentire game. from shot blocking to rebounding, to only taking good shots, to actually wanting to play. kevin willis did a great job on cato when there was really nothing there to work with. lets keep him on board for yao. you know kev will take him to the weight room and show him a thing or two. then teach him about positioning for rebounds, posting up, defence. kev knows a lot about playing with short arms too. just think of yao perfecting kevs baby hook!
Kareem has been making a lot of noise lately about wanting to be a coach. How about giving his first NBA chance with the Rockets as an assistant and his first job can be to teach Yao the sky hook. Can you think of a more unstoppable shot than a true sky hook from a 7 foot 5 giant? Just a thought...
The Rockets have 10 contracts for 2002-2003. Ming is 11. Oscar Torres will probably be 12. If the Rockets keep the 15th pick or trade it for a vet, that's 13 contracts. A 14th contract is not very likely. I can only see Willis if KT and/or Collier is traded with #15.
I like the idea. The "ghosts" of Dream all around Greenway and the presence of Jabbar...what an atmosphere. Does anyone remember what was said about Kareems coaching ability when he was on the Clipps coaching staff to coach Kandi-man?
Gater, I stand corrected...I forgot Kareem had a taste with the Clippers. So a stint with the Rockets would be a logical next step!
Kandi has generally had nice things to say about his time with Kareem. The following quotes are of particular interest:
Gater, Kareem says it was a miserable experience. Kandiman did not want to listen, and didn't try the things Kareem suggested. Kareem just gave up. But he says that he learned from that. He says now he is realizing that coaching isn't always about teaching, that you also have to cultivate attitudes and shared respect. You cannot demand respect. He had a talk with John Wooden when he took the job in the USBL (?) and first thing out of Wooden's mouth was, "the game nowadays is overcoached." Kareem is now more about trying to connect with his team, learn who they are, and how they like to play, and trying to get the most out of them by teaching them to have a strong attitude and a will to win. Sounds like Rudy to me. They idea is that it is better to let players do what they have confidence in, than to force them to play another way. If they lose at what they have confidence in, they will listen to suggestions on changing that (Iverson/Brown, Stackhouse/Rivers and Shaq); if they lose by being forced to play another way, they will bicker and stop playing for you (Portland/Dunleavy--Boston/Pitino). The idea is that it is their game to play and they are adults, let them fail...just demand at good attitude and hard work. now I'm drifting...oh well Ming strikes me as someone very willing to listen, anyhow. Kareem really wants to succeed as well. Seems like a perfect fit as long as Rudy feels Kareem will know his place. That's the only problem. Larry Smith is our frontline coach and, imo, in line for promotion; Kareem would be a specialist. Would he want that role?
I apologize for pushing this way off topic but - hp - Thanks for the insight. Something on an intuitive level tells me Jabbar would take the "specialists" job if it were offered. He did it for the Clipps, consulted Wooden for ways to improve himself and is currently off of the NBA radar screen. Further, since RT is regarded as a "players coach" perhaps there would be something for Kareem to learn as well. And Yao Ming already has a reputation of being coachable! My turn to digress... Can you imagine the level of excitement and interest a Rockets exhibition game in Shanghai would bring (RT already appears to be well known) and then add Kareem? I guess the larger question is - how much would he cost?
Mose Malone should be recruited to be a Coach. The Ming specialist. I mean have it so Mo goes with Ming to China in the off season to China. Maybe teach some over there. Rocket River
Keep Kev? Keep the guy who cost the Rockets the Western conference title in 1997? Uh, No thanks. The guy sucks. He is the most overrated Rocket ever. Rocketman95, you had to see this coming.
my point is that we need someone other than cato to teach ming about the nba. mr. mean, or kareem can do it, but it works beter when it is a fello player.
Something tells me Kareem is not the best teacher of bball in the world. Why else wouldn't a Hall of Famer not given a *chance* to coach in the NBA when he's made it painfully obvious he wants to? Hell Magic got a chance, Scott, Cooper (WNBA), Rambis, etc. PS. Doesn't Ming have T-Rex arms? I'd think the sky hook would need average to long arms.
I think this idea of Ming having short arms is being taken WAY too seriously...He is 7 foot 6 (in shoes) for Pete's sake. His wingspan might be on the short side compared to most 7 foot 6 NBA players but compared to the average player his wingspan is still enormous - more than wide enough to get off a deadly sky hook!
Yeah I guess if you're 7"6 it should be fine. It helps guys like Elton Brand who has an enormous wing span even tho he's undersized for a pw.
if he had long arms for his size he could dunk standing up.if he raises his arm now he can almost touch the rim. all he has to do to score is get good positioning then jump and extend his arm. 2 points. its as simple as that.
The same reason why the title winning kc jones never got another chance to coach or Dave Cowens got a head coaching job before Silas. The owners and gm's select who they want to, but guys like Hill,and dunleavy keep getting chances. Dunleavy could even take a bucks team to the playoffs. Its a lot of coaches that deserve a chance to coach but never get the chance. Why hasn't Phil Jackson's top aide,Jim Cleamons been giving another chance?
