This was a whatif type question. To be honest if JVG quits on us I would not be as nice as the NY fans. If you quit screw you!!! I wouldn't hate the guy but I could care less on someone who quits on your team. Kind of like LBrown quitting on the Sixers and Detroit. So I would want to stat away from someone like LBrown that has wanderlust. My top picks would be 1. Del Harris deserves another shot as head coach plus he is also Yao's coach during the summer. I think he would bring a nice blend of offense and defense to the team. 2. Phil Jackson would like to coach in Houston I know he's mentioned it before and I think he feels Yao/Tmac make a great combo. He could be the coach that pushes us to the next level. I would like a coach with definate head coaching experience because I dont want to waste too many of our star's prime years. J
If JVG decides to take a hike, I don't want another 'established' coach. I would want us to follow the Mavs' example and hire a younger coach who isn't far removed from his playing days with the same fiery personality as Avery...Mario Elie comes to mind. Then, we give Sam I Am the MLE for two years when he's a free agent this summer, and voila! passion issues are not a concern anymore, we will be better for it..
The Hell with all of you..... I would Hire... ME!!!!! Can't do any worst than most coaches... Plus all I would need is one year of a coach's salary to get out of debt.
if JVG quits, the same morons who resuscitate the "FIRE GUNDY!!1111!!!!1" threads will start posting "FIRE [successor]" threads five minutes after the press conference naming him.
I want Mario Elie or Mike Dunleavy as coach. They should have hired Dunleavy instead of JVG to begin with..
Another guy to consider, who I thought of tonight, for some reason, would be turnaround specialist George Karl.
Heck why not..... Let's get Rudy T to coach the Rockets again. Have him call The Dream late at night and see if he'll be the big man's coach for Yao. Give Clyde and Elie a call to coach guards. Put Kenny smith and Charles barkley somewhere in there too but if not put them as our permanent announcers with bill worrell. They'll probably call Sam Cassell and Horry to play back up roles for us. We can be one big happy family all over again. Maybe as an added bonus we can Pippen be the team's punching bag at practice.
It's possible for Phil wanting rings more than money at this age. For some geezers D) it's more about achieving immortal status than making money. If Phil is after the rings, he'd have better chance in Houston than in LA, unless LA lands some top FAs in the future.
I find it quite interesting how Rudy T has actually come up in the suggestions as a possible coach if JVG quit. I actually believe that Rudy would have been a better coach for this group than JVG. The reason I say that is this team does not appear to have the straight up discipline problems that the Rockets had in the Francis/Mobley era. I loved those guys but they were stubborn as hell about going ISO and doing whatever they wanted out there. Rudy was too laid back for a young group. However, he was the perfect group for a veteran squad. Veteran players appear to like playing for a guy who will "let the players play" as opposed to a task master like JVG. That being said JVG really helped regarding keeping Mobley and Francis under control, but those players needed that. The players we have today are not the trying to go 1 on 4 to jack up a bad shot, or turn the ball over buy dribbling off their leg. The group we had was a veteran squad. We may have got a lot out of guys like Derrick Anderson and Jon Barry, and I cannot think that under Rudy these players would have been waived. I belive that Phil Jackson is the guy you spend the money to get and if need be you give him coach and GM responsibilities if that is what it takes. Outside of that, I think Rudy would be a great coach for THIS GROUP of VETERANS. Rudy was the wrong coach for the younger undisciplined players.
The Problem with Rudy T is :- 1) We would still have Francis, Mobley and Moochie running Dribblemania. 2) Rudy would have selected Mike Dunlavy and not Yao Ming if Les Alexander hadn't put his foot down and insisted on Yao Ming. 3) Rudy was a very fortunate Coach who inherited a Team with the Dream as its driving force 4) Rudy T has moved on in his life and being the Head Coach is not for him. We need to think fresh and bring in a coach that has rocket blood in they veins and fire in their belly. Mario Ellie comes to mind.
I want Rick Adelman for assistant coach if he gets fired by the Kings at the end of the year. He would be a great compliment to JVG as an offensive-minded coach. Someone also mentioned Pete Carril in a previous post. Either he or Rick Adelman would do wonders for this offensively challenged team.
