According to what you may have read in the Chronicle, but my facts aren't from the Chronicle or other official media sources. They didn't come from a press release. You can believe me or not, I don't care. I posted about this story in more detail around the time it happened (you're welcome to search on it) and I'm pretty confident that my account of the events is accurate.
I think we can semi-compromise on this: -I don't believe Rudy was truly healthy enough to continue coaching @100%, though I'm certain he was willing to try. -Rudy was going to get fired regardless of his health -Les can't fire a Rockets legend that just got diagnosed with cancer -Les told Rudy as much and offered him more money in a buyout to step down on his own accord -I think Rudy appreciates being able to say that he left the Rockets because of his health issues vs. people remembering that he was fired as Rockets coach. For people bashing the Rockets for not being a classy organization, that is kind of the classy thing to do -- allow the coach to step down instead of having the stigma that he was fired.
Sorry but I can't compromise on that. You're leaving out the worst parts of the story: 1. Rudy was indeed and explicitly told he was coming back, with his whole staff. (Les was for keeping Rudy, as late as during the Larry Smith era, before he was against it.) And Rudy was blindsided by Les changing his mind. 2. After choosing to fire Rudy and lying about it being about his health, Les was quoted in response to a reporter asking who would be the next coach saying/lying (paraphrasing here): "My first choice, Rudy, said no so I'm not sure."
By the way, I was agnostic about Rudy's actual firing. I loved the guy and always will, but I admit I thought it might be time for a change. It wasn't the fact of the firing that bothered me, it was the nasty way it was handled.
In fact he appreciates it so much that he's scouting for the Lakers 8 years later instead of making Less pay him to work for the Rockets.
I don't. For an "intelligent owner" there is a lot more to balance than just winning. It is a business afterall, not a charity for us fans. The good news is that in MOST cases winning is the solution to running a good business. However with so much uncertainty and luck involved in many basketball moves sometimes you have to take into account other factors as well. As far as Les goes, he is certainly a shrewd business man which is what got him where he is in the first place, but overall he has not neglected "winning" when balancing the other factors. That is as much as fans can hope for from any "intelligent owner".
Reality is a crutch for people that can't handle drugs. No fan has any business thinking of his city's sports franchises as businesses, you damned heathen. Now first, OP, I'm not giving up my pettiness. You give up yours. Second, I think Adelman was a great coach, though we'd have been really screwed if DM hadn't made up RA's mind for him on personnel. Third, now that we know what the argument was, what would sticking with RA look like? Sounds to me, it would pretty much be, let's stick with the players we have. I guess RA would let DM make his draft picks, and maybe make one trade - for a center, I guess. That could work pretty well for the upcoming season - I can see being the sixth seed, maybe taking the opening round of the playoffs to six games. What then?
