If Larry Brown left Philly in hopes of landing this job, it's because of Yao - plain and simple. That's the x-factor that he didnt have with the 76ers You may be right about that. The one thing about Yao is that he is an unselfish talent, which has got to be appealing in todays NBA. Let's face it, you can count those types of players who have the chance to be a superstar on one hand, and the opportunity to mold a team would be too much for a Mr. Fix-It coach to pass up; however, having Steve and Cat is a plus as well...
With Yao and Steve, it's a no-brainer. But even just with Yao alone, it's still a no-brainer. A lot of it has to do with who Yao and Lebron as people, and the situations surrounding them. One, the hype machine surrounding Lebron makes the Cleveland job more difficult than coaching Yao and the Rockets, even if we don't mention Stevie. There would be so many distractions just because he has been annointed "the chosen one." There was certainly a lot of hype around Yao, but a lot of it was of the curiousity ("what can this guy do? how tall is he? will he be another shawn bradley?") variety as opposed to the "he's here to save the world" hype that Lebron has. Would Lebron have gone before Yao if they had been in the same draft? If he did, it'd have been strictly on hype and hype alone. Second, there is tremendous pressure to develop Lebron into "the chosen one." Obviously he has the physical tools, but does he have the mindset of a KG, Kobe, or T-Mac? If Lebron does not develop into the next superstar, his coach will be labeled a failure as well. I'd say most coaches would want a shot at coaching a potential star like Lebron, but given the choice between him and Yao, who showed incredible growth during this rookie season, the choice is pretty easy. Yao is more of a known commodity. We've seen Lebron dunk over pimply faced kids worried about who they are to ask to prom in high school, but we've yet to see how he'll handle being told that he's going to be made into somebody's little girl in the NBA. I'm not saying he won't be able to handle it like T-Mac, but we just don't know yet. It's like choosing between 2 flowers. One has started to bloom, and the other hasn't yet. It might, it might not. It might bloom bigger than the other, it might not. But you know the first one is going to bloom. Also, keeping the locker room together in Cleveland will be tough for any coach. NBA players have egos. That's part of the reason why they are in the NBA... they have shown time and again that they can be "the man." Now, you're going to ask proven players like Ricky Davis (who is a slight nutcase and no coach's dream), or former hot prospects who were in the spotlight like Darius Miles to defer to a new guy who has already said the Cavs should "get some better players to surround me." T-Mac said something to effect of "I'm doing the best with what I have to work with," and that didn't come off very well either. Bruised egos can be hard to heal and they don't make for good teamwork. There will definitely be fricition in the locker room. The fact that Lebron comes off as arrogant doesn't help either. This is a strong distinction between him and Yao. Before Yao joined the Rockets, he never gave the impression that "hey, this is my show now," even though he will be the true franchise player for the Rockets. That's just how he is as a person. Calm, modest, easy going. In fact, Yao did the opposite - he constantly stated that he's here to fit in, work hard and try to improve his game. It was implicit that winning would come as a result of those things. Fourth, It's much easier to develop a team around a big man than it is a guard or forward. What about the Bulls? They were an exception. Michael had Scottie, and they played in a system tailored to their skills - the triangle. The success of the triangle offense depended on the role players doing the things they were supposed to do as much as the stars scoring points. It is one of the few true "systems" in the league today. The motion offenses the Nets and Kings run are pretty close. Ventre believes that the Cavs will end up looking like the Sixers and Allen Iverson, whose offense specifically tried to get the best looks for that one player. Aside from an occasional DC post up, they never ran plays for anyone else. Remember, when Iverson had a sidekick? His name was Jerry Stackhouse and the experiment bombed. Aside from the Bulls, no guard led team in recent years, especially a team with only 1 true option, has won a championship. Finally, they don't call Cleveland the mistake by the lake for nothing. If I'm a coach looking for a job, it's Houston all the way.
I love whoever wrote this article! He is correct! Larry Brown would be perfect for the Houston Rockets!
Everybody keep saying that it's the players on team that is the reason why the rockets didn't make the playoffs. I disagree, and if Larry Brown is the coach you will see the difference.
