Since we can't start new threads: I know Phil Jackson has 1 year left on his contract (well, I think so, not sure...) what are our chances of getting him? I'm positive this has been mentioned before, but you'll have to forigive me for not wading through the hundreds of posts and pages already on this thread. who else? Adelman, Silas, Carlisle, Larry Brown, or even Stan Van Gundy (that's a stretch, I'm sure).
What I do not understand is what did JVG learn as an assistant under Don Nelson? I am for looking at all the coaching options, but in addition to the usual suspects I am also for looking at the coaching trees, current assistants of D'Antoni, Nelson and Popovich.
Well, Fox Sports is reporting that Vun Gundy is retiring: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6781726?MSNHPHMA But right now on ESPNEWS, they just stated that the Chronicle says Van Gundy denies any word on retirement.
Don't bother clicking the Fox link. Like the dozens of other posts in this thread, Fox is just regurgitating what the NY Post wrote.
Exactly. There are two things on this issue. 1) The lie that Vescey told in the Post. I'm sure his statement was speculative... but safe speculation at that. 2) The lie that Alexander told in the Chronicle. There is an 80% chance he is gone, but obviously JVG deserves more respect than retirement or dismissal 12 hours after the Rockets are dispatched from the playoffs. Don't believe anything until it is told to you by Houston radio, the Houston newspaper, JVG himself, or Clutch.
Fox and NY Post is owned by the same company. PJ gave several indications of retiring a couple of years ago, and it looked like he was pulled back because the Lakers VP is a hot babe.
With the great he'd done while our two superstars were out, JVG shall come back for another year. I really like to see these guys win a ring together. However, we probably need to have a better supporting cast.
I really don't think I can take another year of JVG ball, surely there are coaches out there who can better utilize Yao and TMac, but they will need a better supporting cast. I love Chuck, but really, he is a midget PF. Rafer is not a starter. Repeat after me, Rafer is not a starter....... Battier may be a glue guy, but is he really a starter either? I am not sure. Howard and Mutombo have given their best, but they are simply too past their prime. Talent makes the difference and the Rockets simply don't have enough of it. AND, they need a mad dog type of player that can SCORE and kick TMac and Yao in the butt, when they go into "lost" mode.
If they can't manage to find a player in that mold, they should put one on the bench as a coach. Hire Mario, whether Van Gundy stays or not! (I don't think JVG is staying)
No man, I didn't understand what you meant with the SF stuff in relation to a Vecsey article written 9 years ago before JVG was given the Knicks job. I reread my post and I realized I wasn't clear, but JVG's referenced that article both sarcastically and seriously, so I thought it was old news around here. I kind of thought you were being funny, but I didn't know how to respond. My apologies for not writing more clearly.
I'm one of the rare people who is not sold on getting rid of JVG yet. But, if we did, I think this guy would be a great coach here: Marc Iavaroni I haven't read the whole thread, so I'm not sure if his name has been thrown around in here or not but I think he would be a great fit here. Here is some of his background: ---------------------------------------- A 14-year veteran of the NBA as a player or coach, Marc Iavaroni joined the Suns coaching staff in 2002. Previously he served as assistant coach/director of player development with Pat Riley from 1999-2002. Iavaroni's responsibilities consisted of all general duties of an assistant coach plus the direct responsibility of developing Heat players year round. Prior to that he was an assistant coach under Cleveland Head Coach Mike Fratello for two seasons (1997-1999), concentrating his efforts on big man development. Iavaroni owes much of his teaching expertise to his 20-year association as a student and instructor under Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell. ---------------------------------------- He has been with the Suns and knows how to build, run and succeed with a team under the 'new', quicker NBA especially on the offensive end. He still has the defensive background from coaching under Mike Fratello and has serious pedigree assisting under both Pat Riley and Pete Newell. Plus, the fact he was a successfull player in the league (along with all his coaching credentials), gives serious credibiity to the players.
A paper in the YahooSports gives more infomration about the HVG retiring. It looks like it is going to happen.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...cB?slug=aw-vangundy050607&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Van Gundy out By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports May 6, 2007 Adrian Wojnarowski Yahoo! Sports Unless Jeff Van Gundy has a change of heart about wanting to continue as coach, he will not sign a contract extension and stay with the Houston Rockets, league sources said. This has been a decision that Van Gundy has considered for months, something he has discussed at length with his wife, Kim, and his closest confidants. Van Gundy turned down a contract extension in February, an offer which came too late considering how little confidence the organization showed in him after the 2005-2006 season. After that 33-victory season in which his team was decimated by injuries, Van Gundy associates said he was taken aback by a volatile meeting with owner Les Alexander, who blamed him for poor attendance and a doom-and-gloom attitude that made it difficult to market the franchise. Van Gundy would've signed an extension then, but he was told to enter the final year of his contract. Once he delivered a 2006-2007 season that made him a top coach of the year candidate, more than one extension offer was made, but he told management to wait until season's end to discuss his future. The Rockets' season ended Saturday night in a Game 7 first-round loss to the Utah Jazz. ADVERTISEMENT Now, Van Gundy has all but decided to leave the job after four seasons. His family is comfortable in Houston, and sources said he has no interest in pursuing other coaching jobs and moving again. His future could include a return to TNT as a television analyst. Van Gundy has had some heartbreaking playoff losses with the Rockets, including Game 7 defeats to the Dallas Mavericks and Jazz in two of the past three seasons. Nevertheless, Tracy McGrady has played the best all-round basketball of his career under Van Gundy, and 7-foot-6 Yao Ming has made significant strides toward becoming one of the league's most dominant forces. Houston hasn't drafted well, nor have they signed significant free agents in his four years as coach. Still, Van Gundy resurrected Dikembe Mutombo and Juwan Howard for productive seasons, and found a way to maximize the limited potential of Chuck Hayes, an undrafted player, as his starting power forward. Daryl Morey, who takes over for Carroll Dawson as the Rockets' general manager this offseason, told Yahoo! Sports recently that he had hoped to re-sign Van Gundy, and said that he believed it worked in the Rockets' favor that Van Gundy had "the best talent he's had in his coaching career" with the Rockets. "He's the best coach that I've ever played for," McGrady said after the Game 7 loss. "I have a lot of respect for him. I hope he's back." Van Gundy would be a sought-after free agent, but he recently told Yahoo! Sports that his wife and oldest daughter, Mattie, do not want to move, and Van Gundy said he has no interesting uprooting his daughter when she's so happy with school and friends. Considering that Morey's background is in statistics (he's a former colleague of Bill James), it would make sense for the Rockets to include Van Gundy as a peer when it comes to player personnel, but Alexander hardly seems inclined to do so. In fact, the Houston owner has told friends in the league that he wishes the Rockets would play a much faster style, like the Phoenix Suns. With Yao as his franchise player, and one of the most un-athletic rosters in the Western Conference, it's hard to understand why a coach would try that with the Rockets. As it looks now, Alexander will get the chance to find his man. Adrian Wojnarowski is the national NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Next news could be that Yao will be traded to the Lakers because Les wants to see a fast style basketball.
hahahahahah def an upgrade to Rafer Alston were you here last season, Wesley was horrible, right after Bowen...
