Regardless of who becomes coach, from day one he shouldn't take any crap by the players. He should make it crystal clear to Les and the players before he even takes the job. On the court the coach must be the boss.
I just read that Larry Brown won't be available (full-time) to help the Rockets this summer even if he's hired, due to USA basketball committments. This would make me hesitate on him as a choice if we want to make the playoffs next year. From CBS Sportsline in an article actually about Van Gundy "Van Gundy will be coaching next year, but he won't say where " http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/6388316 " ... An eighth head coaching possibility is in Philadelphia, where Larry Brown is contemplating retirement from the Sixers after another particularly exhausting season and his commitment to USA Basketball to coach this summer in the Tournament of the Americas and the 2004 Olympic team. ..."
Larry Browns resume is only seven words long. It reads: I COACHED THE CLIPPERS TO THE PLAYOFFS. It seems sufficient..
This doesn't necessarily mean anything. Don Nelson and Steve have jawed in the papers, yet between quarters I've seen Steve walk over and give Nelson a hug. Your point about everybody loving Steve and Yao is right, though. But I'd rather just say "everybody would love to give Steve and Yao a shot". It's better than coming to a team with Cato and Moochie leading the show... duh.
Um, for starters, he has a sack on him that when Francis and Mobley are playing stupidass ball, he is going to yank their asses out of the game instead of just throwing his hands in the air or looking the other way like Rudy used to do. As zz said, he coached the Clippers to the playoffs, won a NC at Kansas with basically one player in Danny Manning, took a 76er team that had missed the playoffs like close to 10 years in a row to a finals appearance, consistently won everywhere he has been, etc. Do you need any more convincing?
How do you figure? His whole philosophy in Philly is let AI do whatever the hell he wants.. crazy shots, bad decisions and all (albeit AI usually makes good decisions). He doesn't seem like a hardass to me..
The only convincing I need is that he is available. I don't see it happening. After Brown i'm in the Dunleavy camp but willing to listen to arguements for any of the proven winners other than JVG, who I don't like for many reasons (The Zo incodent, the way he left the Knicks, the fact that he seems to yell more than he coaches, etc etc)
Look what surrounds Iverson, though. Iverson is about the only offense Philly has. I should clarify and say that when Iverson first came into the league, he and Brown clashed as LB didn't care for AI's style of play. However, Brown MADE Iverson play the type of game he wanted...the one that gave that franchise the best chance of winning a title. There is NO doubt in my mind that if Brown comes to the Rockets, he will figure out the best way to use Francis AND Yao and then devise his team around that plan.
I love the idea of bringing in Elie to be an assistant. Two words describe Elie. Overachiever Winner Kenny Smith is better suited for TV. I couldn't take him seriously. But Elie......bring him back! The least he could do is to teach our players how to perform in the clutch.........that is if we ever got in the clutch again.
Larry Brown is a great, great coach. Enough said. And he is probably what the Rockets need at this time, a coach that will get in their face, and force them to grow up. That being said, Larry has a history of running his players into the ground. I think that is one reason he has never won the big one at the NBA level. The season is so long that by the time his teams reach the end of the season, he has worked them to the fatigue point. Ever notice how at the end of every season, Iverson is all banged up, playing with broken bones, pulled muscles and all that? Now granted, this team needs the ..... ran out of them until they start to listen and be true professionals. But, that will only last for so long. And then all that grinding and harping on the players starts to be antiproductive. I remember when Brown was at Kansas. Yes, he did win a championship with Danny Manning. The season was much shorter than an NBA season. But, after that season, Manning made it real clear that he never wanted to play for Larry again. He was fed up with Brown's constant rantings and from seeing Brown at Kansas, I can understand why to a certain degree. The guy never let up. His team could be up 30 and he would be balling out Manning on the sideline for a foul he committed or something stupid, when Manning was the most skilled player on the floor by far. And he shouldn't have even been on the floor at that point of the game. But Larry wanted him to continue to "improve". I'm not saying he should have excused mistakes, but I don't think he always uses the best judgment on how to deal with his players. If he comes here, I would be willing to bet that him and Francis go round and round, similiarly to what him and Iverson did in Philly, except not as violently. I don't think Francis has the same bad boy persona and influence that Iverson has, although I can see the immaturity of Francis and his "me first" attitude. Brown will work him over. And he needs it. But after Brown works him over and changes those things about Francis, it would be best if he left him alone, instead of the constant driving that he does to the point that the player thinks there is no way to please him and gives up trying. Yao is a different story. Yao will flourish with Brown, because he already is the team player, he is humble and unselfish. I would just hope that Brown didn't wear him down, by overplaying him during the regular season. And the rest of the team would get better with Brown. They would play D and they would play together. I can see Les making this move.
Wouldn't you gladly give up a pick to Philly to get Brown, if you expect to contend in the playoffs? What's that # 25 pick worth? Would that # 25 pick get you the extra wins Brown will? A Rockets pick for Brown (or the Chicago obligation) is cheap. 12 mil, a pick - no big deal. It's one bad contract. God knows we have enough of them. Get Brown now. Make the Olympic spotlight a Rockets spotlight. I can't understand accepting anything less until he says no.
Why is everyone jocking Larry Brown so much? The guy has been in the league forever and he has never won the big one. Yeah, he has had some good teams but why do you think he hasn't won a ring? He goes from place to place and never gets the job done. Larry Brown is a loser who in the past publicly admitted defeat in the playoffs before his team was even eliminated. We don't need that kind of attitude here.
Probably because there isn't a single coach available who has WON the championship. So in relative terms he's won quite a bit. Let me direct you to the key line in his resume. <<HE'S THE ONE WHO TOOK THE CLIPPERS TO THE PLAYOFFS>> The fact that he gets more from less would mean a lot here where we are a lot less talented than Les believes and a lot more talented than most of the people on this board believe.... That said he's still not available as yet so it doesn't matter... My top available coach is Dunleavy, my top likely to be available coach is Brown...
laugh, forgot about how the server would script that... the key line was "He took the Clippers to the playoffs" either of those guys will get us an extra 10-15 wins next season, thus making the playoffs where the season starts all over...
Yes, that is what I was meaning to say to Donny (isn't that the real name of the guy that played Ralph Malph, Donny Most?)
Yeah, a shame he traded away all of the best supporting players he had. Get real. I'll be surprised if he comes to Houston unless he has complete control over personnel.
In my opinion, Rockets should get Pat Riley in here to coach this team. It will toughen up the Rockets' players and make them play fundamental basketball which is what they lack last year. I swear to God Pat Riley is a PERFECT COACH for the Rockets. He's going to build Ming into an even tougher defender and rebounder no question about it. NO BROWN...NO GUNDY....NO PLAYERS' COACH LIKE SMITH OR ELIE..IT'S RILEY!!!!
