You mean $80 million guaranteed contract. The only thing Steve has to lose is respect from the Houston fans(which he is losing) and the right to call Houston his home if he is traded(doubtful that will happen). It's a well thought out assumption on your part, however to challenge your theory, give us one good reason JVG would want to go to a Nets squad that has already proven they do not have what it takes to win it all, not to mention they play in the inferior conference. My point is that although it sounds possible, no coach in their right mind would try to pull those strings and go from coaching the most promising big man in the game to a team/conference that has little chance of winning the big one. Probably not, but do you really think JVG would care if this were a possibility(which it is not since these are all your theories)? Basically you are trying to create drama where there is none. So you are saying that JVG is lying and that Steve didn't ask to take a later flight so that he could stay for the Super Bowl? Give me a break man! You're wearing blinders! Steve's story has more holes in it than a box of Krispy Kremes! Don't you think he'd be outrageously and visibly pissed off if JVG were making up the story about Steve being in the Reliant Stadium parking lot during their conversation? I believe Steve was not at the Super Bowl when the game finally began, but I also believe he intended on going, but felt guilty about letting the team down, so he left, but was already running so late that he missed the flight. It is not just about a missed flight. It is about his players taking care of their priorities and the game versus the Phoenix Suns was the Rockets priority, not the Super Bowl. Other players had plans to go to the Super Bowl, however their team priorities came first. JVG is a business first kind of guy. It is already known that the flight was originally scheduled late Sunday, but JVG bumped it up a few hours so that his team could have time to make the trip and get settled into their hotel in Phoenix, watch the football game as a group/family/team and have plenty of rest and time to get prepared for their own game on Monday. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like someone that was thinking about his team and not devising a plan to keep his players in check. I highly doubt JVG would have came down on Steve as hard as he did if he truly missed the flight. The problem is that he didn't miss the flight. He while limiting the unnecessary running around(late Sunday/early Monday) trying to travel and get prepared for their own game. How is JVG continuing to agitate the situation? By defending his own credibility everytime Steve comes out with another lame attempt to protect his already tarnished image? Steve and his agent are the one's that keep coming up with vague excuses, yet still haven't denied that Francis was actually in the Super Bowl parking lot. They can't even come out and deny this statement: '"I talked to Steve," Van Gundy said. "He was in the parking lot of the Super Bowl. We had a long discussion about him thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and me talking about the commitment to the team. "I know what the truth is. Steve knows what the truth is. Everyone involved knows what the truth is. That's up to them if they want to try to spin it a certain way. Everyone knows what happened. What agents say doesn't have any bearing.' So far Steve(his agent) has denied being at the game, but hasn't denied having a conversation with JVG in the parking lot, which would have been clearly prior to the SB because it was at the time the rest of the team was preparing to leave for Phoenix(around 2pm). What about Steve claiming he and JVG had a breakfast to iron things out, yet JVG responded and said no breakfast meeting took place? What about Steve obviously getting flustered and stating that "I could have said anything". WTF does that mean?!?! To me it sounds like "I can't think of a legit excuse, so I go with the vague, non-admittance of guilt statement." Steve is the one keeping the circus in town, not JVG. Give me one instance where he made the situation worse. One can make an argument that it should have stayed behind closed doors to begin with, but I won't because I am glad he let the fans know what happened. We are the people that pay these guy's salaries, so I feel we deserve to know. Steve can't explain a damn thing! Family matters? Explain yourself if you are really not guilty of putting your team obligations on hold because you want to go to the Super Bowl. All we want is an explaination. I can't blame him for responding if in fact JVG ripped him, which he did not, and if Francis has a legit explaination. We have yet to get anything other than a vague, canned response from Steve's agent that he "was dealing with some fairly urgent personal family matters" yet they would not elaborate and would "address with the coach and the team". Sorry IROC, but I'm not buying that load of agent spewed crap. The only one defaming Francis' credibility is himself. Again, you must remember he "could have said anything." No one is having a power trip. I'm tired of hearing this crap. JVG did talk to Francis, while Steve was in the Reliant Stadium parking lot and the Rockets team was preparing to fly to Phoenix for their game. JVG is Steve's boss. He is the head coach. It is that way in high school, college and the pros. It doesn't change just because players make more money than coaches. The coach is an authority figure and what they say goes. You want to talk about leadership. A real leader would have been more worried about being rested and prepared to end their 3 game losing streak than attending a <cough> "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" that happens at the same time every frickin year. A real leader would be focused on the season at hand and breaking a career long playoff absence streak. The Super Bowl can wait.
RocketsPimp, good post, but why are you arguing with somebody who says "Yankees go north?" He already showed his ignorance.
My god you people seem to be looking for something to complain about. IT WAS A JOKE! I'm from the north. Would you call me ignorant if I had made that statement? Don't be so serious.
He shouldn't have to announce it. The action is a statement in itself. Francis is the leader of this team. As the leader, one of his responcibilities is to pick his team up and get them going when they are down. If the team is not playing focused, then it's Francis' responcibility to do something to get them focused. Sure, they are all pro atheletes, and for all that money they shouldn't have to be motivated by anyone,nonetheless, they are still human. I think its safe to say that every GREAT team has at least one player like that. This has EVERYTHING to do with the missed flight. Francis needs to take responcibility as the leader of this team. What kind of message does that send to the rest of the team when their leader misses a team flight for the Superbowl? I love how hard Francis playes at times, but as long as he keeps "playing the way I want to play", they wil never win a Championship.
Hardly. There is a difference between you two though. 1. IROC it was serious 2. With all the hate he's spewing, one really question his motives. Like the Shaq joke, there are somethings best left unsaid. Granted, I usually give people benefit of the doubt after a bad joke, nevertheless, the passion in which he bashes JVG is astounding. In any case I don't think he was joking.
No offense, IROC, but other than what you read in the media, I think you know very little about the type of coach JVG. BTW, when you study business, you'll realize that not everyone fits into the same situation. Believe it or not, there are individuals who feel that Bobby Knight was their best coach, in spite of his glaringly obvious shortcomings (Isiah Thomas, Alan Henderson, etc.). If X coach isn't effective, how does that explain Bobby Knight, Bill Parcells, Vince Lombardi, Pat Riley, Tony LaRussa, Scotty Bowman, Greg Popovich, etc.? Did not all these coaches call out their players publicly? What about Larry Bird in the 1984 Finals? Did he not say his teammates had no heart? Did they not go on to win that series following his remarks? I don't think there is any one winning formula. I think that if players see that you care about winning, team success, etc., as JVG's players did in New York, then they will respect you. And the sports world does not mirror corporate America, any more than the military does. Working with individuals for a living as a career counselor, I can tell you that what works in the military does not work in the corporate world, what works in private industry does not necessarily work in federal government positions, and what works in federal jobs does not work in the sports/entertainment industry.
1. Me? Opinionated... seriously opinionated. Not seriously "anti-yankee" or whatever you think I meant by stating JVG's own personal self-proclamation in those terms. I just seriously doubt (remember this is my OPINION) that JVG would be missed if he went back to the Eastern Conference, say for the Nets job, which looks to be headed for Brooklyn, which may suit his PERSONALITY better. Joke or not on his part, his EASTERN style of play is more appreciated in the EAST .....for me at least. 2. Again... Me? Goodness, I have no general hatred of anyone. You don't know me that well to make these assumptions based my dislike for one COACH and HIS way of disiplining his players. It's not a question of Hate... much too strong of a word. Strong dislike. BTW - Parcells is a class type guy. Much more player friendly than you'd think. Watching him up here all year in Dallas... he's way different, even in print than what JVG appears to be. When Parcells has a spat or conflict with a player, know one knows the details... it stays in house. The in the "tabloids" style of JVG is my biggest gripe. I hope it's all over with. I doubt it is though. JVG (as I said before, and as indicated in that CHicago Tribune article) lives for the "tabloid" shenanigans. And that is a sad thing for my favorite team in my favorite city.
I understand there are different strokes for different folks. And I said "tend to be more productive under" in that one part... as in leaving room for the rest that do not. No offense taken. But here again in my OPINION... Bobby Knight would suffer as an NBA coach. If he was all that, I doubt he's be stuck down in lil' ol' Lubbock. Read my response right above this for my thought on Parcells vs. JVG. Pimp... good response. I hear you. I was just sad for the city as well. The timing of it was suspect due to every other thing seeming positive in the media during that week, aside from Janet and the other streaker... BTW - SJC knocked me into reality earlier last night... I'm back on track. MFW2310 seems to still have a personal issue with me appearantly though... Can't please 'em all I guess. No biggie, I think I'll live. At least I'm not juugie.
I don't have a personal issue with anybody. My only point was, after that whole incident, JVG was getting bashed left and right, even though he essentially did nothing wrong (you believe he shouldn't have went public, we'll just have to disagree then). I was fed up with it so I started the other thread. My point is, JVG may not be the best coach, but he always give you 110%. You weren't being fair to him by saying he didn't win. He took an undertalented Knicks team to the finals because they played their hearts out. That's what you like to see... the underdogs playing with heart. You cheer for that win or lose. I honestly believe this team has a lot of talent. Yet on any given night, Steve looks like he still has "head problems," Yao looks like a p***y, Cat takes so many dumb shots you want to throw your beer at him. They are undisciplined and they play without heart. If JVG can get us to play ANYWHERE close to how hard the Knicks played, that would be awesome. The whole Steve business, it's not an unforgivable crime that he missed that flight; but it is an unforgivable crime for him to lie about it and defy authorities. If he just came out and apologized or not said anything at all (including the lousy excuse), I think everybody - the haters wouldn't have said anything. But doesn't matter, I'm over it now.
I can't believe that any rox fan of any period of time can think that JVG is anything but exactly what this group of players needs. Crips ! The rockets LEADING the league in DEFENSE. Smell the coffee .... it tastes better at playoff time, believe me! If you think any ole coach can roll his butt in here and say, "oh yeah, hey stevie will you please stop dribblin and pass the ball once in a while" and get any response you are blind. Jeff is a real good dose of what ailies em, and in life you take the warts with the hog. If JEff is having a bad hair day, so be it. Cuttino Mobley is responding as a professional should, Steve is clearly a child-man still. Rudy had to go, as much as I loved the guy. I fought that till the end. Tell me who in the west would like to face the roxs at playoff time? It's the coach dummy !
Not to defend Knight, but he had offers from several schools about coaching vacancies- and from what I've read living up here (have no choice, have to hear him every day on talk radio), he wouldn't even consider taking an NBA job and has made that so clear that no NBA team would even think to contact him. I understand the difference between BP and JVG- I just think that we only get about 50% or less of the whole picture. Other than the press soundbites and the suspension thing, we really don't have much of a clue as to how good a coach JVG is or how he really treats players. And you have to remember, these guys are used to the way most coaches operate- and it ain't all about positive reinforcement. You think Steve didn't hear it from Gary Williams up in Maryland? Ask Juan Dixon about what it's like to play under him. Most of these guys had coaches in college that most certainly would call out their players- and actually, I've noticed that JVG does not mention specific names for the most part, but he does call out his team. I don't know, if I was a Rocket and I was lollygagging in practice, showing up late, not busting my tail in games on national TV, etc., I'd be the first one to admit that I "lost heart." These players should be their own worst critics. Yes, I'm a full-fledged JVG supporter. Every one to a person states that, although they might not agree with everything the coach says, they all agree that he is extremely hard-working and has them fully prepared. And you can't ask for more than that.
1. Cool. I accept that. You've also gotta take me with a grain of salt sometimes... I didn't really think you had it out for me or anything... sometimes I just lose my cool. 2. I agree, that would be awesome.. if we played as hard as those Knicks did for JVG. 3. I'm over it too. And not sure if you saw elsewhere I am red faced that I fought his actions so hard... turns it there was a pattern (SF had missed an important organizational meeting too.) I'm just hoping for a Loooooooooooooong win streak and a deep trip into the playoffs. Hopefully the national media will drop all this soon. 1. Very true... we have a limited, fogged up window, viewpoint of what really goes on. 2. Definitely agree with you. I like JJ's quote about "shut up juice." They should be responsible enough to know when the need to work harder, and stop bickering. 3. Yes, I'll give you that. JVG does know his game well, and seems to have the guys prepared. Now if they'll give him as much effort in return... look out! ---------------------- On another note... I don't hate JVG, and maybe not even strongly dislike.... as much as I strongly dislike the way he handles the media.... and generally I fail to see why anyone has to be exactly that way. NOT taking up for any one player in particular... a gripe of mine, I guess. Let's just say my personality type (mine) does not strive with the JVG style. For whatever reason. And yes, I was wrong for calling him so many deprecating names. But he still kinda resembles Gargamel.
