i don't understand the judging on Sam's coaching ability. How about we let them interview him and see what they think? I mean come on...how do you know any more about Sam's ability than you do about San Antonio's assistant? In fact, maybe the problem is that you know MORE about Sam. You saw him play, you know his personality, and so you're willing to judge him... but the problem is you don't know most of the guys you're comparing him against at all (and you don't know how, if at all, different he is as a coach)
Doc Rivers turned out to be a good coach. Granted he got screwed in Orlando cause his team didn't have any tough players, but Boston was different.
LOL like the username. This thread would be 50 pages if the title were " [FOX 26] Sam Cassell to Meet With Rockets AND 48/2(9+3)=2"
My gut tells me this would work. My brain says that there's no way they hire a guy with such a short coaching resume.
Who could take "Sam I Am" seriously???..... Sam plays the dozens well I hear....If you get beat by E.T's brother in a joke contest, you should retire!!!
All jokes aside, I don't see why Sam Cassell can't be an excellent head coach. He may have had only 2 years of experience as an assistant coach, but the guy is clearly knows the NBA game. We are talking about a guy who played until age 38-- can't fault a man for not washing out of the league as a player earlier-- and was known for being a heady player and acting much like a coach while he was still playing.
Remember why Chaney lost his gig, he lost the locker room. http://dc.sbnation.com/2011/4/27/2136125/sam-cassell-wizards-assistant-to-meet-with-rockets At this point in time, Cassell would seem like somewhat of a long-shot for the position. He recently completed just his second season on the bench in Washington after a 15-year NBA career. Cassell, long considered a natural fit coaching, could benefit from some more seasoning. Still, his coaching chops cannot be denied. Star-divide Cassell has been instrumental in the development of Wizards guards like John Wall and Nick Young. And don't forget he help breath life Sean Livingston's career last season. Washington -- especially Wall -- would benefit if Cassell were to stick around. Not far removed from his playing days, Cassell connects with the youngsters on the Wizards roster like a veteran player more than a stuffy coach. One instance that comes to mind is set in the Wizards' locker room, post Gilbert Arenas trade, when Cassell messed around with Young -- betting him on who would cry first -- to help diffuse the tension and get the media off his back. Besides, all the kids still do his unique, big shot dance. The Wizards would benefit from having Cassell stick around the organization.
He just sounds like the right guy. Heck i would just watch the Rockets next season even if they sucked under Cassel. Just to see him on our sidelines again.
NBA Players Make Winning Coaches http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/NBACoaches_61208.html Cornell and British researchers run the numbers on 15,000 games Star players make better NBA coaches, according to research by scholars at Cornell University's ILR School and the University of Warwick. Using data from 15,000 basketball games between 1996 and 2004, the authors learned that NBA teams tend to win more games if led by coaches who were star players or who had long playing careers. That upholds the authors' hypothesis that – across many kinds of industry – it is experts in their field who typically make the best leaders. Former NBA All-Star players such as Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Maurice Cheeks, and Jerry Sloan each had winning percentages better than .600 as NBA head coaches during the period the authors studied, excellent records indeed. While not all former All-Star players had winning records as head coaches, the authors found that on average, "Having a former All-Star player as your coach is worth about six extra places in the NBA rankings in team winning percentage," said Larry Kahn, a professor of labor economics and collective bargaining at Cornell’s ILR School. "We were surprised at the strength of the statistical evidence." Kahn's colleagues on the research are Amanda Goodall, a management scholar at the University of Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom, and Andrew Oswald, an economist at the University of Warwick. Both are visiting fellows at ILR, formally known as the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Goodall said, "Forget charisma. Forget the airport-book stuff. Our results are consistent with the common sense idea that organizations need to be led by people with deep expert knowledge of the core business." The authors speculate that a deeper understanding of basketball gives top-players-turned-coaches a significant edge over other coaches. This may come through better tactics or increased credibility with players, they said. In the authors' database, coaches who never played in the NBA never made the playoffs in the coach's first year with the team, compared to about half of the teams taken over by a former NBA player, according to the report. Team performance factors, such as player quality, were controlled in the research which led to the finding that star players make better coaches. The authors' work began as an attempt to understand leadership in general. The NBA is a natural laboratory for testing, they said, because of data availability, small team size and the comparative simplicity of the professional basketball industry. The authors believe that their results are likely to generalize to many economic and organizational settings. Experts tend to make the best leaders, they said. http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/news/NBACoaches_61208.html
JUST MY OPINION... I think the sleeper coach that will have a "Tibbs-Bulls like affect" could be either ESPN/ABS's MARK JACKSON or SAM CASSEL. Either selection would need a strong assistant like a Lawrence Frank, Mike Bud, or a former HEAD COACH. I would love to see a Rockets bench of MARK JACKSON, either/both Van Gundy's, and DREAM (full-time) or Kevin McHale (for the BIGS). Not sure how Cassel and Elle could work together but they are close friends and could succeed. FORMER NBA PLAYERS USUALLY MAKE GREAT COACHES...ESPECIALLY GUARDS, ALL-STAR PLAYERS, & HALL OF FAMERS Doc Rivers Dave Cowens Paul Silas Satch Sanders Bill Russell Byron Scott Magic Johnson Phil Jackson Paul Westphal ML Carr Tommy Heinsohn Bob cousy Don Nelson Maurice Cheeks Pat Riley Scott Skiles Eddie Jordan Lenny WIlkens Nate McMillan Sam Mitchell Avery Johnson
Their data range is only 1996 to 2004. Van Gundy took over the Knicks team in the middle of the 1995/1996 season so does he not count? Also, we have at least one such coach this seas:
Where is Larry Bird and Rick Carlilse on that list? Unless I am misunderstanding what that list is of.
4 LIFE JAJA great Post tinman What is True is that, How wear a Rockets Jersey in the old days have become Great Mentors and Winners around the League and I'm Proud of that. The lakers san antonio and boston have been the last champions and All of them have Rockets Members on it. It's our Turn to develop AChampion Caliber Team
I actually like the idea of Sam Cassel as the Rockets next head coach. He really knows the game and will definately do alot of talking!
