Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I was just curious if anyone had heard who 'leaked' the info to the media that Rudy was no longer going to be the coach? Seems to me that had they been able to keep it quiet, this whole mess could have unfolded entirely differently. They could have had their negotiations with his replacement well under way before Rudy's removal ever broke to the public, instead of having to both pay out the nose for Rudy so as to avoid an outraged fan base, as well as having to pay a premium for whoever becomes the new coach too.. ouch. Did Rudy leak it himself? I sure hope not, but look who benefitted.. jes wonderin'...
imo, Rudy or his wife "leaked" it (how could he hide it), he was fired, and Clutch broke it publically. The reason I think Rudy or his wife "leaked" it is because his neighbor called into 610 of the fateful Friday and said that "they" had "known for the passed 3 days." There is also a chance that one of Goldberg's staff leaked it. They would certainly know about the negotiations. There's a good chance Les didn't tell anyone but Rudy, Goldberg, and possibly Postolos, but no one on the bball side of things...if it truly meant millions of dollars in compensation.
btw: i don't agree that Rudy would have leaked for nepharious reasons. It's just human nature to tell some close people, and it is human nature for them to talk, too.
dont try to blame this on leaking Rudys retirement. If they want to have Rudy to step down, they should compensate Rudy. No reason to sh*t on Rudy after all hes done and after he's come down with cancer.
I've been wondering about this too. Not so much because of whatever buyout Rudy managed to get but because of the timing of the domino effect that ensued. After the news leaked, the Rockets confirmed, then Larry Brown quit, then Collins was fired, then Carisle was fired and Brown went to Detroit. Would it have made a difference in negotiations with Brown if they could have gotten further along with him before breaking the news about Rudy T? I wonder about it, but I think the answer is No. I think Larry Brown is shrewd enough to let everyone in the market make a pitch before he committed to a team. So, in the end I don't think it mattered, though I wonder.
I agree, but Clutch's source doesn't. Clutch's source said they didn't get Brown because the "leak" screwed Les's negotiating position, and so they didn't have enough left over to spend on Brown. I don't see the logic in that, since it assumes quiet negotiations were going to save Les millions, even though Les clearly had no contractural right to unilaterally lower compensation. Yeah right, like Rudy and his agent would just cave when Les is the one who has to talk them down after being fired. The logic seems to say that Les had to go ahead and close the deal; otherwise, the lie about Rudy stepping down for health reasons wouldn't make sense amidst drawn out compensation negotiations. Well, umm. if that is true, if Les was trying to set up an elaborate lie about it not being a firing, then...#1, no one should ever blame Rudy for that--when Les was trying to not only fire a coach but renege significantly on his monetary contract, and #2, What?, was Rudy just supposed to say, "OK Les, you're right, and don't worry, you don't owe me a nickel...go get your man." I'd blame not having enough money on lack of Luxury Box sales (worth ~$12m/yr) and no naming rights revenue, yet, before I'd blame it on leaking a plan that had little chance of succeeding. bottomlines: if a leak blew it for Les. It blew it because Les was trying to pull off an elaborate plan of lying about Rudy, talking him way down in compensation, and giving Brown Rudy's $6m. Didn't happen But not from the leak, but because Les had no chance pulling that plan off; and neither he nor Brown would give up money to make it work.
