Clutch’s headlines on the main page confirm a fear I have been having but was too afraid to mention. I was worried that the reason CD and Les have been taking their time and getting into a rush with this entire coaching search was because Van Gundy does not become available until the 15th. When CD and Les did not respond to Larry’s public statement that he was waiting to hear from the Rockets I became suspicious that Larry was not the Rockets top choice at all but that it was someone else. Van Gundy’s reaction to Jim Paxon’s request that Lebron James be guaranteed a certain amount seemed unusually severe. Even if a coach is unwilling to agree to a certain amount of minutes to a player there are other ways to step down with out trying to upstage a GM while you are still searching for a job. I am starting to believe that JVG had already been told that he would receive an offer from the Rockets. If Cultch’s headlines prove to be correct then I will believe that JVG was Les and CD’s main choice all along regardless of Larry Brown. All of those accusing CD for messing up the coaching search will have to eat crow because CD and Les knew all along who they wanted and that there was no rush since he would not be able to sign a contract before the 15th. The second meeting coming up will probably just be ironing out the contract and other small issues. As much as it pains me to say it, I think JVG will be the next Rockets coach for better of for worse. IMO JVG is a useless waste of skin and I personally dislike the man and the way he treats people. I also think his coaching dull, boring and will prove to be all defense and much worse offense than we saw with Larry Smith. There I said it for the last time. After I am through getting sick and finish cleaning myself up because of the shock that my all time least favorite coach in the league will be coaching my all time favorite team I will begin the proccess of reeducating myself in an attempt to accept JVG as one of our own, but it wont be easy.
Your argument fails to explain why the Rockets don't just come out and say Van Gundy is our man, and then sign him when they can sign him. I don't think that is against any rules. More likely, they haven't decided who they want yet, especially if the 610 report of the meeting with Carlisle is true.
Good points (and sadly, I don't think this is a potential conspiracy theory to be washed away) - very tough to accept
Well it contradicts what Clutch has been saying, that Larry was #1 since the beginning. Then again....Les wants you to think that whoever he hires is the #1...so you're on the "right" track...
Van Gundy is under contract to the Knicks until July 31st. What does this have to do with anything? The Knicks haven't denied him permission to interview or even publicly requested compensation. Isn't Clutch on record as saying Brown was the Rox 1st choice? The Pistons came out of nowhere to steal Brown and the Rox folded like a cheap tent. It only proved to me it was not about the best coach but the best affordable coach. Dunleavy will work for less and be hired...although Jeff has a thread saying the Rox may interview Carlisle and he may be cheaper yet...
SICK?!? True Rocket Fan! Okay....I'm glad! Great indication that Van Gundy will be coach then! Takin their time... But RICK CARLISLE is available. And he doesn't demand too much! Crash..who do you like most? Rick, Jeff, or Mike? Or do they all make you sick?
This brings up something interesting. In the "CD is interview by 740 am radio" he mentioned how they were going to visit the rules commitee, perhaps that was why. You know so they could know was was acceptible to do.
If your going to get someone with a different approach, then JVG is your man. If Dunleavy eventually becomes coach, it will, in my mind contradict the firing/stepping down of Rudy T. Whats the point?? Gumby is growing on me slowly......
This never happened according to JVG. LoL, man, so what do you think of Yao now crash5179? I remember you were such a Yao hater... Yao = Bradly and all. Your were so sure of it too and posted all thoes no Yao forums before the draft. LoL, dumba$$.
Crash -- I agree with you about the way the scenario unfolded. I think the Rox also knew all along that they wouldn't be able to afford Larry Brown with Rudy still pulling in big bux. I'm wondering, though, what you mean when you say (about JVG) "the way he treats people"? His coaching with the Knicks was dull, but the Knicks had a dull lineup which JVG inherited from Pat Riley, who had installed a dull system there. I'm hoping JVG will be a little more open for pizzazz with the Rockets.
crash5179, <B>I'm not sure why you dislike Van Gundy.</B> With Gundy you know he is going to work his butt off to make this team succeed. <B>And he does it in a way that I agree with, watching countless tapes after practice into the night (see bags under eyes), drawing up strategies unlike some coaches who rely on inspirational speeches.</B> If you listen to the Knick players who played for Gundy they say he was the <B>hardest working coach they ever played for.</B> That is music to my ears and that is where his credibility begins and ends with. I believe Gundy resigned in part because he was burnt out trying to get the talent less Knicks back into contention. If anyone can get this team into contention it's gotta be Gundy. Plus, I like what he said in TNT interview. Gundy said something in the lines of that <B>his one goal is to win a championship and whatever team he might coach has to share that same goal.</B> This is a passionate bold statement and Gundy is a passionate coach who will give excellence but wants excellence in return. <B>Ladies and Gentleman, the question shouldn't be if Gundy is good enough for the Rockets, The question should be are the Rockets good enough for Gundy.</B>
Band Geek Mobster, It may be July 1st but for some reason I was thinking it was June 15th. JayZ750, Why should CD come out and say that Van Gundy is our man? To make you and I happy? CD does not owe that to you or me. Better yet, why say anything at all until the contract is signed? GATER, As I recall Cluth said he had a gut feeling that Brown would be the choice. I believe he also said that Brown was the top candidate. Perhaps that is all true and maybe it all changed after the interview with JVG. We will never know and all we can do is speculate. Since you have zero idea of what was offered if anything to Brown or what the Rockets will pay Van Gumby then we have no idea if the Rockets are just trying to low ball the coaching candidates. If your theory about the Rockets being cheap is true then it certainly shoots down the theory of Les forcing Rudy T up stairs. It would make no sense to push your current coach aside when you still owed him money if all you were interested in was the cheapest possible replacement. SLA, MD would be my first choice because he has accomplished much more in much tougher circumstances than either JVG or Carlisle and he has proven he knows how to win in the West. I also like the fact that MD knows how to run as well as offense and defense. Carlisle would be my second choice because I think he did such a good job with Detroit although all that proves is that he can win in the East. NYKRule, Actually I have met the man…on more than one occasion. The Knicks used the Mavs DC-9 a few years ago when their charter had some problems. I met the guy 3 different times during that time and saw the way he treated the people around him including some of the people that I considered good friends including Don Carters son in law. In case you don’t know who Carter was he was the guy that owned the Mavs at the time. I was working directly under Carters son in law on the DC-9 and that is how I met Van Gundy. Nothing major to most people and it really does not affect if Van Gundy is a good coach or not but as I said in my initial post I personally don’t like the man. It’s as simple as that. drago_ubc, I was never a Yao hater. I mentioned concerns about Yao Ming and suggested that a trade might be better than drafting him but I got on board with him well before the draft and well before Doc Rocket predicted he’s coMING. Perhaps you are thinking of a thread where I reported Cuban predicting Yao was not a top 10 draft pick and Shawn Bradley was better. If you can find that thread you will see that I never bashed Yao Ming in that thread and that I was only reporting what Cuban said. I was a fan of Yao Ming the second the Rockets took him with the 1st pick and have done nothing but praise him all season even before he put on his Rockets uniform for the first time so get your facts straight dumba$$.
As I said, if only you knew him personally. Here's an example: I've had conversations with Derek Jeter more times than you've seen JVG, that doesn't mean I know the guy personally.
crash, You don't know how much I'd love to sit and argue, but I have to wake up in 4 hours. Just one note. Read your last post, and please tell me you see that your points are absolutely horrible. Almost everything you said was false or twisted. I'll try and come back later to converse, but really...I don't think anyone agrees with your points.
Sane, Most of my first post is nothing more than speculation. Maybe its true but it is really nothing more than just me speculating the way it went down. As far as my last post let me know what was false or twisted. Maybe it is nothing more than a different point of view than your own. Let me know and I will be happy to discuss it with you.
Look I don't like the guy or the way I saw him treat people on more than one occassion. It is just my personall feelings about the guy and nothing more. It is really nothing that is all that important in the grand scheme of things other than I don't like him. As I have stated previously though, if he is in fact hired by the Rockets I will get on board with him and I will hope he turns into the best Rockets coach of all time.
crash - I beg to differ and will restate my cheap scenario even considering RT. Here's how I see it: 1) Rox and Rudy part ways. The Rox are on the hook for RT's $6m/year. Not the way they planned it, but the story leaked and they lost the ability to negotiate a buyout. 2) The Rox underestimated the going price for a Tier 1 coach (sorry, I consider JVG, MD & RC 2nd Tier) AND to compound matters they made an assumption that every coach would think the Rox were the best team to coach and sign for less than market value. Unfortunately, that's probably how they approached Brown. 3) The Rox will have to pay RT his $6m regardless of who the new coach is. My guess it's Dunleavy for $4m. So that's $10m in coaching fees. 4) Larry Brown signed for $5m with incentives to $10m. Assuming Brown would have signed a similar contract had the Rockets even bothered to make a counter offer, it would have then taken the 2 coaching salaries to $16m or $6m more than Dunleavy + RT would cost. IMO, if a $280m business with a $50m payroll that has taken more than it's share of $6m risks for Cato, Taylor and Rice won''t cough up $6m for Larry Brown who (unlike Cato and Taylor and an aged Rice) has won big time everywhere he's ever been and would create the most PR buzz of any available coach for not much more than an MLE signing that is just flat out cheap. Please don't quibble with me about whether or not LB would have signed with Houston for the same contract as he signed with Detroit. Just add another million to the $6m difference I have established. There is a $ point where HOU becomes the better choice. If Larry Brown were only marginally better than the current choices, he would still be a value long after he was gone (and RT's contract was even more long gone). With the exception of the Clippers, all of the teams LB left continued to win for years after he left. The was due to what he taught those teams. And when Steve Francis - who got into a p*****g match with LB over the Rox running up the score and who publicly stated that he didn't know if he could play for another coach - personally calls Larry Brown, I know Steve is ready to learn. We blew it because we were cheap.
