Larry Brown. Jeff Van Gundy. They are my favorites. Please not Paul Silas...or sure...but Heck No to John Lucas. Even a coach who is young like Eric Musselman or Rick Carlisle......not them themselves....but coaches like them....would be great. I just hope this works out.
Thanks Rudy You are the man who delivered the ultimate prize to Houston...................Twice I will never underestimate your contribution, heart and classiness, glad i got to speak to you. As much as I hope you will always be a Rocket and continue to contribute to the organisation, i also wish the best of luck if you decide to continue your coaching career elsewhere. A great coach, and an even better man.
Dear God, please don't let Les hire (a) Larry Brown, (b) John Lucas aka John "Cocaine" Lucas - yeah, I'm still bitter over how he screwed the Rockets in the 1970's or (c) anyone currently on the staff. The search should start with Paul Silas or Mike Dunleavy and go from there. I personally like Donnie Nelson (Don's son). He's young innovative and can flat out coach. Plus he has a keen eye for foreign talent: Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash. Mark Cuban is so afraid of losing him he "made" him President of Basketball Operations but Donnie really wants to be a head coach. He'd be a great fit for the Rockets. I really believe that Jeff van Gundy will be the next coach at Cleveland now that Cleveland "won" the LeBron James lottery.
Okay..........what would be sad is.......Les Alexander begging Rudy to become coach......after Rudy stepped down already. JVG is gone. There aren't that many coaches out there that are better than Rudy with his experience..... NAME THEM!
what a sad day,and I can't believe some of the kids on this page! I will miss rudy on the sideline!!,but a man's got to do what his got to do. Cheers to Rudy,the class act he is and the MAN that he is.
This is very sad. Maybe it's or the better, but maybe not. Even if we make the playoffs this year that doesn't mean it wouldn't have happened anyway. Either way I'll miss Rudy. I do hope it will be for the better. Larry Brown is the better coach, but he won't stick around to provide the stability the team needs. Larry just doesn't do that. Maybe having him in here for a few years to install a good system and some fundementals for our team will be enough. Yao's development might not be as much as it could. Rudy did a great job with Yao. He held off on giving him minutes early when he wasn't ready. That could have destroyed his confidence and his teammates confidence in him. Rudy brought him at the right pace, and Yao had a much better year than expected considering all the circumstances surrounding it. However, Yao will be able to arrive in time for training camp, and doesn't have as hectic of an offseason this time, so that should work in Ming's favor.
Just heard what Kenny Smith and Sir Charles had to say about the whole situation on the Spurs/Mavs pregame show. Both had nothing but praise for him, as should be. The guy is a staple of the Rockets org and of this city, and it is indeed a very sad day to see Rudy go. But I do have to agree with what Barkley said, in that he didn't like how it was handled, for Rudy to go out like that. After watching a clip from the news conference on ESPN, it doesn't seem like Rudy was goin out on his own terms. Seemed very much like a Dierker situation, in that he prob would have liked to stay, but was feeling the pressure and felt best to step down. With that said though, I wish him nothing but the best and hope that the new coach, whoever it may be, brings new life, energy and direction to the squad. Maybe this is what this team needs, maybe not. I guess we'll find out soon enough. In any case, I do wish Rudy was given one more season. It would have been nice to see him move w/ the team to the new arena he helped build (w/ all those winning years and championships).
Sir Charles dosent like the way it was done... He says theres been alot of behind the scene acitvities that led to this(if i understood him right) we can speculate for ever what exactly happened "behind the scenes"
I hope it's not a Dierker situation. The Astros certainly didn't improve after that hometown hero left. People were calling for Larry to go. The prophet in his hometown didn't get the proper respect. People were too willing to believe that the guy was just the head coach because he was hometown guy. Well Larry left and the Astros, brought in a 'real' coach, and promptly got worse. I hope the Rockets don't suffer the same fate.
i would love to have given rudy atleast one more year with a fresh yao ming but.... my first choice would be larry brown followed by donnie nelson. someone else mentioned bill walton which would be interesting. what he could do with yao ming and an offense built around his skills could be something. he's never head coached though right?
For all those who are speculating about whether Rudy was "forced" out, you must not have heard, or watched the entire press conference. Rudy stated that Les brought him to a meeting and, according to Rudy "Asked about me." Rudy went on to say (paraphrased) we didn't even talk about the team [and] once the decision was made I felt a sense of relief - I don't think the stress of being a head coach is the best thing for my health - it's tough, I've been here 11 years, but I am looking forward to being a soldier again, and not a general. FYI - Rudy was most emotional when talking about his assistant coaches, and to a lesser extent, the relationships with the players. There was absolutely NO INDICATION AT ALL that this was Les' decision, and not Rudy's. I do think the decision was encouraged by Les, but when Rudy said they "never even talked about the team" during their meetnig, and that Les only talked about Rudy and his health, leads me to believe that this was really Rudy's choice and not Alexanders. Regardless, I hope Rudy lives a long, peaceful, healthy and happy life, and stays with the Rockets for as long as he chooses to. I also wish the best to whoever comes in behind him. Cheers Rudy!! Good luck to you and your family, and thanks for the memories.
All the coaches that are being mentioned heavily seem to be ones that have already had shots at coaching, and have ptp. "blown the proverbial wad" what they had. Except for maybe Silas, I don't think the Rockets need a nomad like Brown or a quitter like JVG. We want a Rick Carlisle or Bryon Scott, somebody new to the head coach postion but that has been around coaching long enough to what it entails. What about Donnie Nelson: GREAT talent scout, will know how to work an offense and is well respected in the associaton. Or, pull a Dierker/Riley and get out the JET! He might not know how to caoch but he sure could draw the pub. But you would have to hire some great coaches to prop him up. But who knows more about how Stevie needs to play than Kenny Smith.
I think that aside from the basketball, the decision is also right for Rudy's health. I hate to say it but his cancer although in early stage and curable is associated with up to 50 % recurrence rate in one year. (Do not worry, It can be treated again even if it recur.) That means during this one year he need closed follow up and frequent cystoscopy. It may be good for his health if he has less stress. My best wishes for him
Well I hope that is the case, that it was, for the most part, Rudy's decision. A guy like that deserves to go out on his own terms.
