CD got him Tmac.....JVG had a LOT of say in who was on the roster......thank GOD he is not here any longer. DD
It's simple: Adelman does not have more talents, he developed more talents. Half of this team's core : brooks/vafer/landry/scola have become decent rotation players in less than 2 years under the coaching of Adelman. Do not keep on showing the list of spoon, bowen, wesley, .... JVG had 4 years to find/develop some second rounders like landry, some nobodies like vafer, ....
Plus, JVG was against giving rookies any PT. I don't think we'd be able to have someone like Wafer, Landry, or Brooks develop very well under JVG. I think that's also one of the reasons RA let's them play on, more as a pedagogical device to have them figure out some tough situations come playoff time. Better that they learn from their mistakes during the regular season than during the playoffs. Phil Jackson does the same. Plus, Ron works well with Adelman--I doubt we would've landed Ron w/ JVG. There's a reason why Charlie Ward and an old Mark Jackson played for Van Gundy and not someone more athletic.
JVG would rather stick with washed up vets like Mark Jackson, Charlie Ward, and Charles Oakley than develop the new guys. Who knows how good V-Span would have been under Adelman? One thing's for sure: No one would've known how good Carl Landry would've been under JVG. And I personally like JVG.
VSpan was an example of JVG being exactly right. You dont see him playing for another NBA team do you? Bonzi is another, people were crying for JVG to play him. Is he playing now?
Mr. Clutch. First of all, I'm not an Adelman apologist, but facts are facts -- V-Span was never given any chance to show what he could do, his value was destroyed, hence he's never getting another look again. A good comparison to this would be Adelman's nurturing of Von Wafer. If Wafer hadn't joined the Rockets this season his career would've been most likely done. Van Gundy would give all the chance in the world to a washed-up Charlie Ward, but he wouldn't if he had inherited guys like Landry and Wafer. JVG comes from the Pat Riley school of thinking. There's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't work for us. I'm glad we have Adelman now. JVG makes a great announcer on ESPN. - RiceDaddy7
He was great his contract year.........the problem with him now is that he refused to alter his game as the players around him changed. He still wants the ball and make all the decisions....that is a losing proposition. Oh come on, he would surely be playing NBA ball if he chose to stay....the guy was a rookie and needed time to adjust, he has NBA skills, no doubt about it. DD
He might have had the talent, but he obviously didn't have the mental reqs. Yes, I'm aware that JVG screwed him over, but it was his choice to go home and not come back. It takes two to tango.
The fact is VSpan sucks and Wafer is much better. It has nothing to do with coaching. JVG gave Luther Head and Chuck Hayes chances to play. You can't say "JVG didn't play VSpan while Adelman played Wafer, therefore Adelman is better at developing players." That is a total BS argument. JVG wasn't given guys like Landry or Wafer, he was given scrubs like Howard and VSpan.
I am not absolving him, but I always take the players side, they have a short career, they should do whatever they think is best for their OWN career. He got more money out of the deal and we got Scola, if he decides he wants to come back though, I believe a lot of NBA teams will be lining up to sign him. And JVG was notorious for having SAFE PGs....he would always get the veteran - no turnover guy - over a creative, risky guy....I don't think JVG ever had a quality PG......one that has a lot of turnovers but also a lot of assists, it would probably drive him nuts. DD
Maybe he could be the NBA, but would he be good? Would he be as good as Brooks or Lowry? Highly doubtful.
We may never know. Don't forget Azubuike...and he cut Chuck too, had to be talked into letting him back on the team. Love the revisionist history you got going there.....Adelman was on board with trading Rafer, they had been trying for years...but Rafer had ZERO value around the league until Nelson went out and SVG needed a PG that could run his offense.....the Rocket's could not move fast enough. JVG was fired for failure.....and deservedly so.......GO RICK ADELMAN....GO ROCKETS !!! DD
Azubuike is good several years later and all of a sudden he's a poster child for JVG not playing young players. I dont remember you guys bringing him up when he was cut. Fact is he did play Chuck and Head, so he should get credit. I made a post about it before, the minutes distribution among the players Adelman inherited were practically the same as with JVG. (except Yao played more and got fewer shots)
First of all, I'm not anti-Adelman. I haven't even voted in this poll because I think they are both good coaches. I'm just fixing the revisionist anti-JVG rhetoric here. Facts are facts: Adelman started and played Rafer far more than he played Brooks.
I want both. I think if we could hire Van Gundy as a defensive consultant, not even a full time coach necessarily, but just to come in and work on defensive structures and fundamentals, this team would be even better. Why not have a defensive coordinator in basketball, like they do in football? I realize the game is more fluid, but some coaches are clearly better on one end of the floor than the other.
