Who would you prefer: Jeff Van Gundy or Larry Brown?

If we get Larry Brown, do we get KT back as a 2?

 

i think it was more of the fact that he couldn't get them to the Finals with the talent they had (i.e WCFs vs the Lakers). Dunleavy is a pretty good coach as well it's just that I don't see the Xs and Os in him....we need that discipline kind of guy like Larry Brown

 

Van Gundy's nice, but the Rockets find themselves in the extremely fortunate position of having a coaching vacancy when the best coach in the NBA might be looking for a new gig in Larry Brown. If the decision has been made to look for a new coach, I would be sending gym bags full of money to Philly right now trying to pry Brown away. The man has a genius and track record unmatched by any of his colleagues:

1. Won Kansas' only national championship.
2. San Antonio Spurs went from worst to first (25 wins to 50+ wins) in Brown's and Robinson's first season.
3. The L.A. Clippers have been to the post-season only 3 times in the past 24 years. Two of those times were the only two years Brown coached them. Also worth noting that in those playoff appearances, the Clippers took the Rockets 5 and the Jazz 5 in the first round in best-of-five format.
4. Took the 6th seeded Pacers from the 6th seed to the eastern conference finals in Brown's first season as Pacers' coach. Before Larry Brown came to Indiana, the Pacers were a perennial first round exit. Without adding any players to the team, Brown had the Pacers in the eastern conference finals his first two or three years with the franchise before moving on which brings us to.....
5. Philadelphia. Brown came to Philly when they were one of the worst 3 teams in the league. After missing the playoffs in Brown's first season, Brown pulled a miracle in season two and had the Sixers in the playoffs. In year 3 the Sixers were in the NBA finals and are now perennial contenders in the eastern conference.

There is NO ONE else in the league that has taken on this many coaching challenges without ever experiencing failure. So like I said when I started, Van Gundy would be a good replacement, but Brown would be a great one and the Rockets had better take advantage of the situation their in and try to use the lure of an immature Francis and Yao to bring the best coach in the league to Houston. There is never a better fit than Larry brown.

 

I voted JVG.

I think Brown is better, but I in no way trust him. I don't see him even staying beyond three years - keep in mind that Philly is an aberration as far as tenure goes. I, like JV, also think that Silas is a good coach.

 

That's just it though. Yeah, Larry Brown moves around a lot, but he always leaves the franchise resurrected from the deepest depths of mediocrity when he leaves and that's the kind of miracle Houston needs moving into a new arena.

 

Bio on Larry Brown: http://www.nba.com/coachfile/larry_brown/

Paul Silas: http://www.nba.com/coachfile/paul_silas/index.html?nav=page

Van Gundy: http://www.nba.com/coachfile/jeff_van_gundy/?nav=page

 

I think he's still under contract with Golden State.

hahaha

 

We need a Coach with a fresh untainted( NY and Philadelphia) mind that can develop the Team arround Yao Ming. Its going to take some creative thinking on the Owners part. I would like to see Calvin Murphy as Assistant Coach, at the very least.

 

I say Brown generally, but with a young team it's safer to go with Van Gundy coz Brown talks of retirement every season end!

 

As long as we have Yao Ming, I'm positive we will never have difficulty trying to find a coach. He's a coach's wet dream...

I think this is a great time to take Larry Brown, quite possibly the best basketball coach in the NBA and arguably in the NCAA. He'll definitely be able to right this ship, and even if he leaves, we'll still have Yao Ming to lure another good coach...

 

<B>1. Won Kansas' only national championship. </B>

--(This argument does not hold water (see Rick Pitino)

<B>2. San Antonio Spurs went from worst to first (25 wins to 50+ wins) in Brown's and Robinson's first season. </B>

--(I believe Robinson had more to do with this than Brown)

<B>3. The L.A. Clippers have been to the post-season only 3 times in the past 24 years. Two of those times were the only two years Brown coached them. Also worth noting that in those playoff appearances, the Clippers took the Rockets 5 and the Jazz 5 in the first round in best-of-five format. </B>

--(Okay, I'll give you this)

<B>4. Took the 6th seeded Pacers from the 6th seed to the eastern conference finals in Brown's first season as Pacers' coach. Before Larry Brown came to Indiana, the Pacers were a perennial first round exit. Without adding any players to the team, Brown had the Pacers in the eastern conference finals his first two or three years with the franchise before moving on which brings us to..... </B>

--(A team with a backcourt of Antonio Davis and Dale Davis and having a perimeter player in Reggie miller. The question I ask is how could they have not played better then they did?) By the way, Larry Bird also succeeded to take the Pacers to the playoffs with far less talent and a far older Reggie Miller.)

<B>5. Philadelphia. Brown came to Philly when they were one of the worst 3 teams in the league. After missing the playoffs in Brown's first season, Brown pulled a miracle in season two and had the Sixers in the playoffs. In year 3 the Sixers were in the NBA finals and are now perennial contenders in the eastern conference. </B>

--(To bad the sixers have one of the highest team salary in the East and yet they lose in the 2nd round in the EAST? But, more importantly Brown is the one who makes all the player moves on the Sixers (see Keith Van Horn) which suggest that it's really his fault if the talent isn't good enough to get to the next level, which they were not this year.)

<B>There is NO ONE else in the league that has taken on this many coaching challenges without ever experiencing failure. So like I said when I started, Van Gundy would be a good replacement, but Brown would be a great one and the Rockets had better take advantage of the situation their in and try to use the lure of an immature Francis and Yao to bring the best coach in the league to Houston. There is never a better fit than Larry brown. </B>

--(If you say so..but I think Van Gundy as others have mentioned is more of a strategic coach, which this team needs desperately. The only thing I question is Gundy's leaving the Knicks, but who knows why perhaps there was a lot of turmoil in his life at the time.)

 

We need a coach who can remain with us for the long haul, and that is what JVG provides over Larry Brown.

 

Best scenario: Larry Brown to babysit the bondheads on our teams for about 2 years, then when they grow up, retire to let Rudy back to win the championship.

 

Was everyone really impressed with those Knick Heat battles during the mid nineties. I wanted to boycott NBC for shoving that crap down our collective throats. I would hate to see Van Gundy coaching this team. His offenses were stagnant, and he was just a disciple of Riley's ugly ball. He did do a good job in 99 considering what he had, but hey, we are talking about the Eastern Conference.

 

JVG, Brown, and Silas would all be great choices. Hopefully the team doesn't have to settle for a lesser candidate.

 

Bring in CALVIN MURPHY.

 

Even though I love Jeff Van Gundy (the Knicks are the only team I like in the East), I can't discount Brown's track record.

He is probably the smartest coach in basketball -- maybe even better than Phil Jackson. I mean, he got those (1994?) Clips to the playoffs! Ken Norman?? Stanley Roberts?? Playoffs?? He drove a not-so-talented 76ers team to the Finals three years ago, and I forgot how far he took the Pacers in the playoffs during the mid-90's.

He may be the only guy who can control our guards.

 

I voted for Brown, but really....I think it's a toss-up. I'll really miss Rudy, but I think we need some discipline.

Actually, it might be better for us to get the less strict of the two simply because I think it will be such culture shock for the team.

Like I said....I'll miss Rudy, but I don't think either of these two choices are a bad one.

 

What he said.

 

Well, this is a hard question...

Larry Brown a great coach and has been for years...

Jeff Van Gundy, a very good coach but he left NY and then a year later he's commentating...

I just don't get it... IF you leave once, who's to say he won't do it again... Not sure why he left but he did and then a year later was commentating...

I'd have to go with Larry Brown, why well this is the main reason...

We have our superstars in Steve Francis and Yao Mingh...

We need to add vet. players/role players...

Who has done a better job of that the last 4-5 seasons with AI being the only true offensive player(Coach Brown has brought in players that would do the dirty work and let AI score)...

Here Coach Brown would have to find those role players/vets to go with our nucleus of Francis, Norris, Mobley, Hawkins, Posey, Nachbar, Taylor, EG, Yao and Cato... (Not saying that Cato, EG, Norris, Mobley may not be here next season but at this point they are still apart of the team)...

I think Coach Brown could do all of these things while bringing a team concept that guys like Yao Mingh, Nachbar and Franchise will love... Basically anyone not on board would not be here very long...

So I'd pick Larry Brown at this time...

Honestly, what coach wouldn't want to come to Houston right now(we have a bright team-just need some retooling)... Who doesn't want to coach Franchise and Yao...

Only thing is how long would a guy like Larry Brown stick around(not sure about his age).... Same question for Jeff Van Gundy(he left during the season in NY)...