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Ime Udoka new Rockets head coach!

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Spooner, Apr 24, 2023.

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CXbby Member

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Frank great as usual.

#841 CXbby, May 1, 2023

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J.R. said: ↑

On Tuesday, with the interview 24 hours away, Udoka reached out to Stone via text. He informed Stone he was flying into Houston and asked to meet later that evening.

This was an atypical request with regard to formal proceedings, but a necessary one. In the same manner Udoka wanted to get to know Stone, Stone wanted to get to know Udoka.

After some coordination, the two agreed to meet at the Post Oak hotel that night, settling on an area adjacent to the pool behind the lobby. For the next few hours, well past midnight, the two talked poolside. Naturally, some basketball talk came up, but it was more a philosophical conversation than anything else. The early nerves of their first meeting wore off quickly, becoming a natural, easy session. It was an important icebreaker.

The next morning, Udoka arrived at the Toyota Center for a tour of the facilities and a meet and greet with members of the organization before joining Stone and Witus in the war room for the interview. When he was first asked about the current roster and how he would get the most out of the group, Udoka opened by admitting the team was more talented than he had initially assumed. He had discovered that by watching the games he had been assigned beforehand.

[…]

As part of the Rockets’ interview process, the group would break before returning for the second half. So after the morning’s session, Udoka, Stone and Witus relocated to The Palm, a steakhouse less than a mile from the arena, for lunch. There, the trio was joined by Patrick Fertitta, son of owner Tilman Fertitta and a key figure in Houston’s decision-making over the last few seasons.

Patrick outlined why the Rockets were in their current state, having inherited a team on the verge of becoming a perennial contender but had plummeted over the last three seasons. He explained that despite the optics, every decision the organization had made recently was through the lens of getting back to being a championship team. Udoka made it clear he wasn’t looking for a team that would be fine with returning to the playoffs or out in the first round. Having been on the game’s biggest stage, he wanted to return. That sentiment resonated with Houston’s brass.

After lunch, Patrick brought Udoka back to the Post Oak for the final and most important meeting — one with Tilman Fertitta. Given that Stone and Tilman were already well aligned, he knew Tilman trusted his word. Stone, wanted Tilman to meet Udoka for himself and come to his own conclusions without any preconceived bias.

Udoka and Tilman were supposed to meet for roughly an hour. In the midst of their conversation, they learned they had some commonalities.

“What we like about (Udoka) is his ability to coach a basketball team,” Tilman said. “He’s going to hold these guys to toughness, respectability, accountability. It’s everything how I like to run a business — structure and everybody having the right guy they can communicate with.”

Udoka asked Tilman about his level of involvement with the team, his commitment to the city, franchise and ultimately, winning. Tilman’s desire for an NBA championship is well-documented dating back to when he first purchased the team in 2017. He’s made no secret of his expectations and expressed that to Udoka.

“Hopefully, soon, I won’t be up here for anything except to tell you how great it was to win a championship,” Tilman Fertitta said. “That’s in Phase 3. You had to crawl, now we’re gonna walk and then we’re gonna run.”

Udoka expressed a willingness to be open and creative, especially with a Rockets roster featuring different types of players. Most importantly, however, he would bring order to a team that was beginning to grow accustomed to chaos. The meeting lasted several hours longer than expected before Udoka met Stone and Witus again for dinner around 9:30 p.m. By the time Udoka left the building Tilman was sold. He spoke to Stone and his son Patrick, and expressed a readiness to finalize something with Udoka as soon as possible.

The next day, the Rockets brass met again. Stone and Udoka continued to correspond over the next 48 hours, shorter conversations by text and longer ones by phone. When Nurse was officially fired by the Raptors on Friday afternoon, emergency talks were held. Nurse’s camp had already communicated interest to Houston and there were thoughts as to whether or not the team should proceed with their original plan of a second round of interviews the following week, bringing Udoka, Vogel and now Nurse into the equation. The Rockets figured the new opening in Toronto might appeal to Udoka, especially given a more talented roster and his close relationship with Raptors president Masai Ujiri. The Detroit Pistons were another rebuilding organization looking for a new head coach.

Still, Stone kept his aggressive approach. Although the Rockets didn’t want to rush things, they hoped to have the interview process done before the upcoming draft combine. Internal talks continued well into the weekend and despite Nurse being championed on social media as the popular choice, the winds were blowing stronger in Udoka’s direction. By Sunday evening, it was clear, according to league and team sources, that Udoka was the choice.

On Monday morning, the remainder of the front office received a notification to join a Zoom call. It was a briefing, notifying them that their near-two-week process was coming to an end. Later that afternoon, Udoka signed a four-year contract, reportedly worth $28.5 million.

It’s been less than a week since Udoka was officially unveiled by the organization as the Rockets’ new head coach, but he’s already begun the process of immersing himself in “Phase 2.” According to team sources, he’s started reaching out to potential assistants. Given many of the supporting staff in Boston worked under Udoka, the Celtics assistants might be a logical starting point, but that’s more of an educated guess.

[…]

In his introductory press conference, Udoka said he plans to get in contact and spend time with the young players in Houston. There’s a lot of anticipation and excitement about working with Udoka from the players, notably guard Jalen Green, according to sources. At the conclusion of his second season, Green was told he was going to be pushed and held accountable in the next phase of Houston’s rebuild, a notion that lines up with Udoka’s hire and one that the 21-year-old was fully on board with, sources said.
Click to expand...

Thanks breh, unlike Ime I would be content with going back to the 2nd round, one step at a time.

That is tough enough.......

#842 daywalker02, May 1, 2023

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AroundTheWorld Member

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a time to chill said: ↑

[Iko] Inside Rockets’ hiring of Ime Udoka: Poolside chats, pragmatism and new beginnings
https://theathletic.com/4449700/2023/05/01/rockets-hiring-ime-udoka-houston/

This seems to align with Jake Fischer’s report about potentially packaging Green in a trade

Rockets we’re concerned that Toronto or Detroit may sign Udoka so they signed him instead of bringing Nurse, Udoka, and Vogel in for another round of interviews.
Click to expand...

Woah, the main thing I learned from this article is that Stanford lawyer Rafael Stone has a big ass tattoo on his biceps lol.

#843 AroundTheWorld, May 1, 2023
Last edited: May 1, 2023

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saleem Member

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I hope top assistants won't balk working with Udoka after the Celtics debacle.
I hadn't thought of that until right now.
@Clutch

#844 saleem, May 1, 2023

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CXbby said: ↑

Toronto is an extremely woke organization/media market. Ramona Shelburne mentioned that after Nurse was fired and Ime was viewed as the front runner the media was already in a frenzy in Toronto over the off court allegations before he even interviewed. Rumors are that played a role in Udoka choosing Houston which is a more easy going media market that wouldn’t try to scrutinize his personal matters and attempt to cancel him at every turn. Go woke go broke, better for us!

Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it a media frenzy, but definitely in terms of public opinion, Toronto is definitely more woke than Houston. If you read Raptors forum vs Clutchfans it's a pretty stark contrast about how people felt about Udoka's history and potential hiring.

#845 apollo33, May 1, 2023

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J.R. said: ↑

On Tuesday, with the interview 24 hours away, Udoka reached out to Stone via text. He informed Stone he was flying into Houston and asked to meet later that evening.

This was an atypical request with regard to formal proceedings, but a necessary one. In the same manner Udoka wanted to get to know Stone, Stone wanted to get to know Udoka.

After some coordination, the two agreed to meet at the Post Oak hotel that night, settling on an area adjacent to the pool behind the lobby. For the next few hours, well past midnight, the two talked poolside. Naturally, some basketball talk came up, but it was more a philosophical conversation than anything else. The early nerves of their first meeting wore off quickly, becoming a natural, easy session. It was an important icebreaker.

The next morning, Udoka arrived at the Toyota Center for a tour of the facilities and a meet and greet with members of the organization before joining Stone and Witus in the war room for the interview. When he was first asked about the current roster and how he would get the most out of the group, Udoka opened by admitting the team was more talented than he had initially assumed. He had discovered that by watching the games he had been assigned beforehand.

[…]

As part of the Rockets’ interview process, the group would break before returning for the second half. So after the morning’s session, Udoka, Stone and Witus relocated to The Palm, a steakhouse less than a mile from the arena, for lunch. There, the trio was joined by Patrick Fertitta, son of owner Tilman Fertitta and a key figure in Houston’s decision-making over the last few seasons.

Patrick outlined why the Rockets were in their current state, having inherited a team on the verge of becoming a perennial contender but had plummeted over the last three seasons. He explained that despite the optics, every decision the organization had made recently was through the lens of getting back to being a championship team. Udoka made it clear he wasn’t looking for a team that would be fine with returning to the playoffs or out in the first round. Having been on the game’s biggest stage, he wanted to return. That sentiment resonated with Houston’s brass.

After lunch, Patrick brought Udoka back to the Post Oak for the final and most important meeting — one with Tilman Fertitta. Given that Stone and Tilman were already well aligned, he knew Tilman trusted his word. Stone, wanted Tilman to meet Udoka for himself and come to his own conclusions without any preconceived bias.

Udoka and Tilman were supposed to meet for roughly an hour. In the midst of their conversation, they learned they had some commonalities.

“What we like about (Udoka) is his ability to coach a basketball team,” Tilman said. “He’s going to hold these guys to toughness, respectability, accountability. It’s everything how I like to run a business — structure and everybody having the right guy they can communicate with.”

Udoka asked Tilman about his level of involvement with the team, his commitment to the city, franchise and ultimately, winning. Tilman’s desire for an NBA championship is well-documented dating back to when he first purchased the team in 2017. He’s made no secret of his expectations and expressed that to Udoka.

“Hopefully, soon, I won’t be up here for anything except to tell you how great it was to win a championship,” Tilman Fertitta said. “That’s in Phase 3. You had to crawl, now we’re gonna walk and then we’re gonna run.”

Udoka expressed a willingness to be open and creative, especially with a Rockets roster featuring different types of players. Most importantly, however, he would bring order to a team that was beginning to grow accustomed to chaos. The meeting lasted several hours longer than expected before Udoka met Stone and Witus again for dinner around 9:30 p.m. By the time Udoka left the building Tilman was sold. He spoke to Stone and his son Patrick, and expressed a readiness to finalize something with Udoka as soon as possible.

The next day, the Rockets brass met again. Stone and Udoka continued to correspond over the next 48 hours, shorter conversations by text and longer ones by phone. When Nurse was officially fired by the Raptors on Friday afternoon, emergency talks were held. Nurse’s camp had already communicated interest to Houston and there were thoughts as to whether or not the team should proceed with their original plan of a second round of interviews the following week, bringing Udoka, Vogel and now Nurse into the equation. The Rockets figured the new opening in Toronto might appeal to Udoka, especially given a more talented roster and his close relationship with Raptors president Masai Ujiri. The Detroit Pistons were another rebuilding organization looking for a new head coach.

Still, Stone kept his aggressive approach. Although the Rockets didn’t want to rush things, they hoped to have the interview process done before the upcoming draft combine. Internal talks continued well into the weekend and despite Nurse being championed on social media as the popular choice, the winds were blowing stronger in Udoka’s direction. By Sunday evening, it was clear, according to league and team sources, that Udoka was the choice.

On Monday morning, the remainder of the front office received a notification to join a Zoom call. It was a briefing, notifying them that their near-two-week process was coming to an end. Later that afternoon, Udoka signed a four-year contract, reportedly worth $28.5 million.

It’s been less than a week since Udoka was officially unveiled by the organization as the Rockets’ new head coach, but he’s already begun the process of immersing himself in “Phase 2.” According to team sources, he’s started reaching out to potential assistants. Given many of the supporting staff in Boston worked under Udoka, the Celtics assistants might be a logical starting point, but that’s more of an educated guess.

[…]

In his introductory press conference, Udoka said he plans to get in contact and spend time with the young players in Houston. There’s a lot of anticipation and excitement about working with Udoka from the players, notably guard Jalen Green, according to sources. At the conclusion of his second season, Green was told he was going to be pushed and held accountable in the next phase of Houston’s rebuild, a notion that lines up with Udoka’s hire and one that the 21-year-old was fully on board with, sources said.
Click to expand...

Wow great job by Tilman, looks like we really ****blocked Toronto.

#846 CXbby, May 1, 2023

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CXbby said: ↑

Frank great as usual.
Click to expand...

Chop Shop faves.

Lopez 13-15 mill
Naz Reid 6-8 mill
Grant Williams around lower 20 mill
Cam Johnson 25-28 mill

Against Harden bc lackadaisical culture, age and injuries.

#847 daywalker02, May 1, 2023

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His eyes are like tattooed on.

AroundTheWorld said: ↑

Woah, the main thing I learned from this article is that Stanford lawyer Rafael Stone has a big ass tattoo on his biceps lol.

Click to expand...

#848 daywalker02, May 1, 2023
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daywalker02 said: ↑

Chop Shop faves.

Lopez 13-15 mill
Naz Reid 6-8 mill
Grant Williams around lower 20 mill
Cam Johnson 25-28 mill

Against Harden bc lackadaisical culture, age and injuries.
Click to expand...

No to Grant Williams at that price, yes to everyone else. In fact I’ll go 30m+ for Cam in the first year on a declining scale contract to try to steal him from BKN. People don’t understand, he’s the second best player on BKN, if we have to overpay by 5-10m a year to get him it is worth it for increasing our BKN picks value alone.

#849 CXbby, May 1, 2023
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a time to chill said: ↑

[Iko] Inside Rockets’ hiring of Ime Udoka: Poolside chats, pragmatism and new beginnings
https://theathletic.com/4449700/2023/05/01/rockets-hiring-ime-udoka-houston/

This seems to align with Jake Fischer’s report about potentially packaging Green in a trade

Rockets we’re concerned that Toronto or Detroit may sign Udoka so they signed him instead of bringing Nurse, Udoka, and Vogel in for another round of interviews.
Click to expand...

Two Celtics fans with their perspective under that article:

#850 AroundTheWorld, May 1, 2023

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AroundTheWorld said: ↑

Anywhere to watch the whole thing?
Click to expand...

ashleyem said: ↑

Where can I watch the full interview?
Click to expand...

#851 i3artow i3aller, May 1, 2023

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Really nice shoutouts to Clyde and Hakeem and their influence on him (Portland and Nigerian connection).

Said Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan would be good role models for the young Rockets.

Pop taught him the relationship aspect is more important than the Xs and Os.

Self-described coaching style: Direct, honest, caring, loving, competitive.

#852 AroundTheWorld, May 1, 2023

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Feeling better about this hire everyday. On several occasions the media has asked him about FA's and summer additions he always seems to circle back to the players we already have on this roster and his relative surprise with the overall talent level.

I really like his focus on improving what we have and looking at FA and Draft as bonuses and support for getting things done with these guys. I believe the young guys on this roster had the worst situation of all their peers the past 3 seasons and he can see just how much of their struggles was due to non-existent veteran depth, avalanche of demotivating losses and grooming a large volume of exceptionally young players simultaneously.

It's the perfect time for all these guys to take the next step. They practically all need to take a step up in understanding the amount of preparation, sacrifice and teamwork that is needed to win in this league. Next season is way too far away!!

#853 Mathloom, May 1, 2023
Last edited: May 1, 2023

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i3artow i3aller said: ↑

Click to expand...

Can we have Clyde showing him clubbing baby seals.....

#854 daywalker02, May 1, 2023
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i3artow i3aller said: ↑

Click to expand...

Thank you again for posting this.

I hope Vanessa will still be doing the job next season. She seems really smart and knowledgable about basketball, and a kind person.

#855 AroundTheWorld, May 1, 2023

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28.5M over 4 years.

That's top ten salary status.

#856 Invisible Fan, May 1, 2023

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Invisible Fan said: ↑

28.5M over 4 years.

That's top ten salary status.
Click to expand...

Tillman is out here cutting checks....line up Cam and a few other vets and lets get this party started!

#857 csc177, May 1, 2023

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#858 Rockets34Legend, May 1, 2023

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#859 Rockets34Legend, May 1, 2023

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Celtics definitely miss this guy

#860 Pringles09, May 1, 2023

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