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[ESPN/Bucher] West may follow Hubie out -- Would You Want West In Houston?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Deuce, Dec 2, 2004.

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  1. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    This is an NBA article but I am throwing a ROCKETS slant in here. But according to Ric Bucher's article, Jerry West might be on the way out of Memphis.

    With all of the talk of firing JVG, how about we clean house and fire CD and bring Jerry West here to Houston to help put the pieces around Yao and Tmac!

    There is a salary cap for the players, but there isnt a salary cap for the coach, scouts, GM etc. If Les is REALLY serious about making Houston a winner, then it starts with the TOP down.

    I say bring in West and bring in Phil Jackson and let's roll!


    West may follow Hubie out
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    By Ric Bucher
    ESPN the Magazine
    http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=bucher_ric&id=1936809

    Were the NBA's Memphis franchise to go south geographically as far as it has metaphysically in the last few weeks, the pregame intro for Friday's home game against the 76ers might go something like this: "Annnnnnnd now, in-tro-ducing, YOUR Yazoo City Grizzlies!"

    For the Mapquest-challenged, that's in Mississippi.

    Have you ever seen a team coming off 50 wins and a promising playoff appearance dissolve so quickly the following season?

    Actually, I have. The 1993-94 Golden State Warriors went 50-32 before getting swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns. Then the problems arrived -- contracts, the loss of a key veteran in Avery Johnson, fissures that the previous year's success camouflaged coming to light -- and the next season the Warriors crashed to 26-56, a .313 winning percentage.

    The Grizz, as you know, won 50 games last season before getting swept out of the playoffs by the Spurs. They're now 5-11, a .317 winning percentage.

    If all the talk coming out of Memphis is true, don't expect any major reversal.

    Here's the short of it: everything that made the Grizzlies better than the sum of their parts last season is gone -- namely, a confluence of people willing to put aside their personal agendas to win. They didn't have 50-win talent, they had 50-win chemistry.

    Hubie Brown, blessed by an 0-8 start under coach Sidney Lowe, inherited a pliant group of players desperate to do whatever he asked for a taste of success. They submitted to a 10-man rotation that allowed them to play at a pace and with an intensity that most teams couldn't match during the regular season. It also disguised their lack of a genuine go-to scorer and iffy interior presence.

    It was fool's gold, of course, because that formula doesn't fly in the postseason. In the playoffs, there's no time to find out who's playing best on a given night and roll with them. Good teams can dissect an opponent's weaknesses and execute a game plan to exploit them. The playoff schedule, which rarely includes back-to-back games, also greatly reduces the endurance factor.

    Whatever chance the Grizzlies had of duplicating their regular-season success started to evaporate over the summer. Several members of the hungry 2003-2004 team had their bellies filled. Shane Battier and Pau Gasol signed six-year extensions. Brian Cardinal came on board for a six-year, $40 million deal.

    That left a whole bunch of other Grizzlies -- especially Bonzi Wells, Stromile Swift and Earl Watson -- wondering how they were going to get theirs. Or, more specifically, how they were going to showcase themselves to get theirs in a dad-burned platoon system. Cardinal being signed to replace a hardworking, incumbent vet, Bo Outlaw, only created more doubts.

    Next came reports of a dispute between Hubie and president Jerry West over who should start -- Bonzi Wells (West's choice) or Mike Miller, because West wanted to showcase Wells in order to deal him. Then Hubie abruptly retired. Now sources say West plans to do the same at the end of this season, which GM Dick Versace apparently wouldn't mind.

    No offense to Mike Fratello, who is expected to take over as head coach any minute now, but no Xs and Os can pull together a franchise splintering from top to bottom. He can shorten the rotation, but the talent isn't there to win conventionally. He can slow down the tempo and emphasize defense, but it's hard to make that work if you don't have great defenders and their hearts aren't in it.

    The word around the Grizzlies is no longer "Yahoo!"

    It's Yazoo.
     
    #1 Deuce, Dec 2, 2004
  2. snowmt01

    snowmt01 Member

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    It was PJ who drove West out of LaLaLand
     
    #2 snowmt01, Dec 2, 2004
  3. rocketlaunch

    rocketlaunch Member

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    i would love Mr. West... I doubt it would happen but that would make my day. He always finds the guy you have never heard of in college. His scouts are always on top of things. He also makes trades that would help make this franchise grow.
     
    #3 rocketlaunch, Dec 2, 2004
  4. jo mama

    jo mama Member

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    i was under the impression that the main reason for west leaving lakers was phil jackson? they didnt get along or something.

    at this point id rather see JVG gone than CD.

    funny...i wanted JVG over larry brown and now i want him gone. how fickle of me!
     
    #4 jo mama, Dec 2, 2004
  5. pasox2

    pasox2 Member
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    Yeah, Baby!

    Bring them on! Let's raid the Grizz when they implode, too.

    Phil + West

    Tmac + Yao.

    Mix in some Grizz like Stro. Swift and Battier. Maybe even J.Dub. You can have Taylor and Boki for him, Fratello. ;).


    Sweet.
     
    #5 pasox2, Dec 2, 2004
  6. barbourdg

    barbourdg Member

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    Except when he chewed them out for not realizing the potential of a high school kid drafted by the Phoenix Suns. :eek:
     
    #6 barbourdg, Dec 2, 2004
  7. emjohn

    emjohn Member

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    Getting West is a double-sided sword. While he has certainly earned is rep as the greatest GM in the league's history, he has found that it's increasingly hard to go about business.

    1. Other GMs are reluctant to deal with him (just like it used to be with Aurbach) because it's well known that he comes out on top 90% of the time. So anyone that talks with him is secretly worried that they're being fleeced and often pull the plug.

    2. West is also gaining a rep for being hard to work with. Prima Donna label. Rumors have it he doesn't deal well with coaches that steal his spotlight (Jackson) and that factors into his decisions. Bringing in West brings with it a risk that he cans JVG (not necc a bad thing) and replaces him with a buddy or puppet (a bad thing) instead of the best man for the job.

    Evan
     
    #7 emjohn, Dec 2, 2004
  8. gucci888

    gucci888 Member

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    Jerry West left the Lakers because of Phil Jackson. There is no way the 2 will ever work with each other again.

    From what I remember, it had to do with Phil Jackson wanting some GM power, and West didn't want that. However, I think Buss was willing to do basically anything Phil Jackson wanted, so West left.

    But bring West in. He's Mr. Basketball for freak'n sake. He's always had a great eye for evaluating talent, clean the front office, change the coach, and bring in West to do the rest.
     
    #8 gucci888, Dec 2, 2004
  9. bob718

    bob718 Member

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    Yes! Yes! Hell Yes!:D
     
    #9 bob718, Dec 2, 2004
  10. thirdcoastTXpulse

    thirdcoastTXpulse Member

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    Jerry Freakin' West!!!!!!!!!

    I have to start doing a new dance for the gods to get this one!
     
    #10 thirdcoastTXpulse, Dec 2, 2004
  11. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    I would take West in a second, were I Les, and West was available. Give CD a pat on the back for his years of hard work, and maybe find him a position with a nice title. I agree that there's no way Phil Jackson comes here if West does. Who cares?

    West would really shake things up. Too bad Hell will probably freeze over first.
     
    #11 Deckard, Dec 2, 2004
  12. pasox2

    pasox2 Member
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    Ok, no Phil, fine. We can get Del Harris, I guess. Not too shabby.

    Bring on Jerry West, anyway, and raid Memphis.

    CD, thanks for the memories. Bye.
     
    #12 pasox2, Dec 2, 2004
  13. JumpMan

    JumpMan Member
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    West>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Dawson

    < EOM >
     
    #13 JumpMan, Dec 2, 2004
  14. HillBoy

    HillBoy Member

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    I'd kill for someone like Jerry West but I feel that if he does retire from the Grizz, he's headed off to the golf course. But we desperately need somebody - ANYBODY but CD.
     
    #14 HillBoy, Dec 2, 2004
  15. HillBoy

    HillBoy Member

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    1. Which situation would you rather have: Being the fleecor (West) 90% of the time or the fleechee (Dawson) 98% of the time?

    2. Even if this is true, his track record more than speaks for itself so he must be doing something right. Unlike the guy we have now, he actually knows what NBA talent looks like and he knows how to find the right coach for this team. Don't know about you but I've just about had my fill of Classic Knicks-style basketball.
     
    #15 HillBoy, Dec 2, 2004
  16. ima_drummer2k

    ima_drummer2k Member

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    It would be a perfect fit but it'll never happen...

    :(
     
    #16 ima_drummer2k, Dec 2, 2004
  17. gucci888

    gucci888 Member

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    Yep. So don't get too excited people.
     
    #17 gucci888, Dec 2, 2004
  18. basso

    basso Member
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    yes. in the backcourt! :D
     
    #18 basso, Dec 2, 2004
  19. hotballa

    hotballa Contributing Member

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    CD has done a great job of signing one dimensional non-athletic players, with the possible exception of Sura. JVG has done a great job of making the current version of the Rox one of the most yawn and cringe inducing teams in recent memory. How many more 4-20 3pt shooting nights from the team before he realizes that we just dont have good shooters??
     
    #19 hotballa, Dec 2, 2004
  20. The_Yoyo

    The_Yoyo Member

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    No keep CD I would say, but I am starting to think about joining the Fire JVG crowd at the rate the team is playing right now. I think a lot of the recent FAs signings and smaller trades had a lot of influence from JVG.

    I love West but imagine another teams GM now dealing with West: Hmm it looks like I got the better of the deal, but I know Jerry is up to something... I'm sure that the guy gets more proposals rejected than any other GM in the league.
     
    #20 The_Yoyo, Dec 2, 2004
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