JVG made the mistake in not accepting the extension he was given twice during the regular season. So I don't feel bad for him not being coach. Do I think it was the right move to let him go? No. Could they have handled the whole firing better? Definitely. But it all works out. We got a good coach. We have a good team. If we fail to make it out of Round 1 again, it's not coaching. It's on TMac. No more excuses from him.
JVG didn't want Stromile. JVG didn't want Spanoulis, or Novak. Heck, he didn't even want to play Juwan or Chuck Hayes at the start of the season. But he had no choice. JVG's gone because of TMac's inability to take over elimination games in the 4th quarter. If we win Game 6 or 7, JVG is hailed as a hero. We make it to the conference finals, maybe even win it all. He still wouldn't have come back this season because the relationship with the owner was tainted, but he would have definitely gotten a nice extension from Les. Jon Barry said it best. JVG had a say in short-term personnel moves, like deciding who to cut and who to sign to 10-day contracts, and minor trades, but when it came to big moves, like trades, drafts, free agent signings, it was all CD and Lyndsey, and that's why JVG wasn't happy. Yes, JVG was responsible for guys like Rod Strickland, Mark Jackson, Richie Frahm, Ryan Bowen, but those guys didn't have a long-term significant role anyway. They were all brought in as the cavalry. The guys JVG wanted (harpring, james, 2 point guards, shooting 4, bonner), management didn't get, and the guys management wanted, they got (swift, vspan, novak to name a couple). I still won't give CD his props. What exactly did he accomplish as GM? Absolutely nothing. Missed the playoffs more than made them. The one year he took over as GM we went to the Conference Finals but that doesn't count. Giving him credit for that is like giving Tim Purpura credit for taking the Astros to the World Series. He held the organization back because of handing out terrible contracts to terrible players. 2005, those were 3 minor trades we made. JVG was involved in minor trades/moves. I'll give CD his props for pulling off the moves, but I'll give JVG credit for recognizing the guys we got still had a lot left in the tank. Jon Barry was retired in Atlanta and all of a sudden re-energized b/c of JVG. I remember Hawks fans were saying they got a steal by getting Lue for someone who played a total of 1 game for them. And a lot of fans were mad we traded Boki and Jackson for Wesley. I wasn't, because I didn't like either player. But those were short-term. JVG knew they were old. He wanted another 1 and more depth in the offseason that followed. But management thought Stromile Swift would cure all ills.
was the extension actually offered? i dont remember. Anyways, there is also something to be said about that. I always knew he wouldnt "force" his way to come back. He is the type of guy who will take the knocks if his team doesnt advance. He's never one to shy away from criticism or accountability. regardless, i dont feel sorry for him, no way. i agree with you...i dont think it was the right move to let him go either. I think he's more than capable of going all the way...the teams that he has coached, however i was not as confident (besides the homerism, of course). we agree on a lot. Im not complaining about adelman. He's a good coach..just like jvg. Although the tmac excuse wont be as solid this year since theoretically, there is so much more talent on this team. But the team will still go as he goes, it just wont be as dependent as it has been. One thing is for sure...jvg's teams got better,regardless of talent, over the last few years (minus the injury season...man that season blew). And rockets fans can thank him for helping the rockets get back on the nba map.
Apparently after the All Star Break in February, he was given his 2nd shot at an extension but asked that his assistants be extended and he wait until after the season. Management balked obviously. Ever since he got the axe, he claims his biggest accomplishment as coach in Houston was "instilling a winning culture into a franchise that had 5 straight years of losing". It's on the PTI interview, don't know if it's still up on YouTube. He and Les just never saw eye-to-eye. Not many people see eye-to-eye with Les. Major reason why Postolos quit as CEO.
hard to argue against a man who fought for his people. Thats one of the things you have to respect about him.
Agree with you on all points there, esp. the last. However most will want to make it seem as if the JVG era was plagued by cellar dwelling, probably something that will be enhanced as time goes on by some of the Anti-JVG clan
I agree. In case that JVG is going to GW we will see some defense style Warriors that we didn't use to
Doc Rocket stated specifically in a post once that JVG yelled that he wanted Stromile after a game against Memphis(The year before Stro got here).
Nope. Doc Rocket posted that after a game, he yelled in his office saying "Trade his ass to Atlanta", with regard to Swift. Mike Fratello supposedly told JVG Swift is the biggest idiot ever. That's why everyone was saying we were going to win the championship that year, except JVG. He knew we had a hole at the 4 with Juwan's health and Fratello's bad recommendation of Swift, and he didn't get the 2 point guards he was looking for, in addition to Alston.
What total horse****. First of all, there wasn't "5 straight years of losing". '98-'99 wasn't "losing". They were 31-19. After that they got rid of Pippen and brought in Francis. Hakeem and Barkley were hurt for half the year and the entire year respectively. So I guess you could call that losing if you wanted to be disengenous. The next year they went 45-37. That's "losing"? After that they suffered MAJOR injuries when Francis had the headaches and ended up with Yao. The following year, they were 43-39 and missed the playoffs by a game, with Rudy missing the last 16 games. I guess JVG instilled a winning culture by winning two extra games the next year. Then, the Rockets brought in McGrady and got pretty darn good, which JVG must have had nothing to do with by your own admission, since he only had a say in short-term deals. That's bringing in a "winning culture"?
The TMac trade was all TMac. I don't give Dawson, JVG, anyone credit for that. TMac said specifically, "I want to go to Houston and play with Yao Ming". Indiana and Phoenix both had much better deals, but he said he wouldn't sign an extension if he went there (damn that would have been crazy had he known Nash would turn into an MVP and he went to Phoenix). What JVG meant by "winning culture", is not accepting mediocrity, which we did all those years. We never talked championship. It was always about hopefully making the playoffs. Ever since his 1st year here, we've been talking championship, and we've actually had a legit shot before or during every season. Now we're talking about how "It's time". It damn sure wasn't time 5 years ago when we had Franchise and Mobley. It definitely is now.
WARNING - Do not click spoiler if you want to avoid a JVG rant. Spoiler THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU !!!!!!! If I said it, people would be whining that I was repeating myself. Talk about revisionist history, I can't believe that people think JVG improved the team all that much. Yeah, he took a Francis and Mobley and an improving 2nd year Yao team to TWO whole more wins than Rudy T the year before...woohoo, what a great winning tradition !!! But, at the end of the day, he failed in his tenure as a coach of the Rockets, sure the team was competitive, but never a championship contender, which is where I expect Adelman to take the team, immediatly. And the dude just up and quit on the Knicks, at the first sign of the team in decline, he bailed out. True winners do not QUIT ! I was getting tired of the JVG nuthuggers in this thread going, "oh, I agree with you" ..."me too" .... "JVG instilled a winning tradition"...blah..blah..blah...what a bunch of utter CRAP !!! Keep drinking the Kool Aid, "Guyana punch...uh oh..uh oh oh !!" JVG was a good coach, a hard working guy who gave the job everything he had, I can appreciate that, I just think what he has to give is not enough. IMHO, we need a person who is more of a risk taker, someone who can make adjustments in game and in a series. He is gone, and I will happily give up my obssession with him as soon as people quit swinging from the comb-overed brown and curlies on his nutsack ! SHEESH ! And not giving CD credit, come on the guy was constantly trying to improve the roster, the problem was in vision, clearly the vision that CD had was not the same as the coach. CD has been involved on a championship team, he has made high powered trades, taking a swing to make the team better, they don't always work out but at least he tried, and that is the best a GM can do until the chemistry is just right with the coach and team to create something special. DD - Keeping it real - and a bit on the sauce at the time of posting.
Having a nice mini keg of Spaten, and other than my time in the bathrrom every 10 minutes, I feel pretty good ! And when I wrote the post, I put on my Sam Fisher glasses to type....how did I do? DD
