Dash Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Hiring a head coach Before the Rockets can even think about planning their offseason moves, they need to hire the man that will determining what playing style and gameplan will be. The Houston Chronicle reported early last week that the Rockets narrowed their coaching search 3 candidates. Lets take a quick look over each of them. Lawrence Frank – Frank was a hot name when he began his head coaching stint with the Nets in 2004. His New Jersey Nets would start 13-0, which is an NBA record by a first year coach, under Frank and would go on to make 4 playoff appearances in Frank's 6 years. The Nets would post a 225-241 (.483) record, which included a 16 game losing before Frank was finally canned. Frank is the youngest of the finalists at the ripe age of 40 and stresses his team to play tight defenses, something the Rockets could benefit from as they were a bottom 10 defensive team. He is currently an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. I don't see Frank developing into a better like the rest of the candidates have a potential to do but Frank is definitely the safest pick out of the three. Dwane Casey – expect Casey's name to come up a lot if the Rockets do not hire him. Casey made a name for himself this season as the Mavericks' defensive specialist under Rick Carlisle as the Mavs would be one of the top defensive teams by holding their opponents to 96 points per game on 45% shooting. Dallas would go on to defeat the Portland Trailblazers in a tough 6 game series and then stomp on the defending NBA champions in the 2nd round. Dwane Casey's lone season as an NBA head coach came in 2005 when he was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves would go 53-69 under Casey before he was fired in 2007. Out of all the candidates Casey may have the most potential but he's also risky and doesn't have the best relationships with his players. Kevin McHale – this is an interesting candidate to me. McHale spent much of his post-playing career as a front office man, running the Minnesota Timberwolves as Vice President of Basketball Operations for more than a decade. In that time McHale would make two of the best draft picks in Timberwolves history, taking Kevin Garnett 5th overall in 1995 and trading for Kevin Love in a draft day deal in 2008. McHale, however, would fail to surround Garnett with sufficient talent to win anything significant (with the exception of 2004). McHale's ability as a talent evaluator are questionable as he would make a few blunders on draft night such as trading Brandon Roy for Randy Foye. As coach McHale would have two short stints with the Wolves, coaching them to a 19-12 record in 2005 and 20-42 in 2008-09. I would say the poor records are more due to the lack of talent on those Timberwolves teams (which McHale is responsible for). McHale is praised as a players coach and has a spectacular talent as a motivator and is said to be loved by the players. However, can how good of an x's and o's coach is McHale? Can he keep his team motivated for than just half a season? The Rockets would get a good idea of these answers after the 2nd interview but even then hiring Kevin McHale as the next Houston Rockets head coach is going to be a big risk but so would the reward. Darkhorse – according to ESPN, the Rockets and Warriors are teams that are hoping to interview Lakers' top assistant Brian Shaw for their head coaching positions. Shaw got the thumbs up from legendary coach Phil Jackson to take over reigns as the next Los Angeles Lakers' head coach. The Rockets are likely going to await word from the Lakers about Shaw's situation before finally making their decision. My prediction: Dwane Casey gets the nod with Lawrence Frank finishing as a close second. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted May 17, 2011 Owner Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Shaw pulled out of the race. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/topic/49671-brian-shaw-pulls-name-out-of-rockets-head-coach-search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Shaw pulled out of the race. http://thelakersnation.com/forums/topic/49671-brian-shaw-pulls-name-out-of-rockets-head-coach-search Nice find. I'm a bit disappointed that he dropped out but I guess I can understand why he wasn't a serious candidate. sam_amick Sam AmickSource close to the situation tells me that McHale and Casey are neck and neck in that race for Rockets job with Frank third. Shocker. I had no idea that McHale left such a strong impression on the Rockets management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showtime16 Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 Casey or McHale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showtime16 Posted May 18, 2011 Report Share Posted May 18, 2011 And I mos def agree they need to hire coach before draft and off season moves occur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 WojYahooNBAOnce Rockets officials return to Houston, they'll huddle with owner Les Alexander and decide among Casey, Frank and McHale. Ken Berger (CBS) reports that Casey is the favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 @WojYahooNBA Adrian WojnarowskiAfter a strong final push in the interview process, Kevin McHale has emerged as the frontrunner for Rockets coaching job, sources tell Y! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I wouldn't mind McHale. He's a smart guy that could further develop our young bigs (Hill, Patterson and Thabeet). Just don't let him be anything more than a coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 I've really warmed up to Kevin McHale the past few days. He's not a great coach but he's not terrible either and is one of the more underrated coaches out there (mainly due to his general manager stint). The thing that stuck out to me is that he's a player's coach and the players apparently loved him in Minnesota. The Rockets are in a rebuilding era and someone who can squeeze the most out of their young players is what we're looking for. Rick Adelman did the same thing but McHale would be playing the young guns and trying to develop them. The fact that McHale was once one of the premiere post players in the NBA is a major plus to the development of our bigs. Kevin McHale has made some awful draft picks but the man knows big men and made a few great picks with Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love and Rasho Nesterović. When you consider that one of the Rockets most important objectives this offseason is to draft/sign a center, McHale only makes more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 22, 2011 Report Share Posted May 22, 2011 Well I definitely don't support the McHale signing but it looks like he's going to be the guy. I wanted Dwayne Casey I found him to be an intriguing choice out of the three. Oh well like Dash said McHale is a players coach, we have seen his personalty on television he seems like a chill coach. I was never in favor of seeing Rick go so it makes no sense to me still other than Morey and Les just wanting to part ways with Rick because they didn't get alone. But from a fans standpoint that sucks and I don't like how we just downgraded in our coaching department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Well I definitely don't support the McHale signing but it looks like he's going to be the guy. I wanted Dwayne Casey I found him to be an intriguing choice out of the three. Oh well like Dash said McHale is a players coach, we have seen his personalty on television he seems like a chill coach. I was never in favor of seeing Rick go so it makes no sense to me still other than Morey and Les just wanting to part ways with Rick because they didn't get alone. But from a fans standpoint that sucks and I don't like how we just downgraded in our coaching department. Think of it as a developmental period. Not only are we going to develop our youth but Morey also wants to groom a coach that he thinks has the potential to be great (enter McHale). Casey was my pick early on but McHale works so much better with players and could do wonders for our big men, and considering that the Rockets are looking to rebuild it only makes sense they're going with him. Also I think it says a lot about Rick Adelman as a coach, he was one of the main reasons a team that was expected to finish in the bottom 3 or 5 in 2010 ended up winning 40+ games. Thing is that the Rockets missed the playoffs and would have likely preferred the top 5 draft pick going forward. And Adelman wasn't playing some of the young guns *cough*T-Will*cough* but Kevin McHale will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Ric Bucher is saying Dwayne Casey is gonna be the head coach of the Rockets. If true I am much happier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Ric Bucher is saying Dwayne Casey is gonna be the head coach of the Rockets. If true I am much happier! Link? I don't see it anywhere on twitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 He was on the LeBatard show saying it i'm sure the podcast will come out soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Looks like you heard right although it appears its still neck and neck. Broussard: With the Lakers realizing their hopes of landing Brown, runner-up Adelman would move to the Warriors' short list, sources told Bucher. Former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale is also among the Warriors' top candidates. McHale was expected to meet with Rockets owner Les Alexander on Wednesday, but a source cautioned not to interpret that as McHale being on track to get the job. McHale is battling assistant coach Dwane Casey to succeed Adelman in Houston, a source said, and the Rockets could make a decision as early as Thursday. The Warriors, conversely, will not hire a new head coach until next week at the earliest, a source said. http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6587752 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 Hey Dash have you heard much about Chris Finch? Everyone throws his name around for the future possibly within the next couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 Hey Dash have you heard much about Chris Finch? Everyone throws his name around for the future possibly within the next couple of years. All I know is that the Rockets are very high on him and probably view him as the true successor to Rick Adelman (unless Casey/McHale makes them change their mind). The reason he's become so popular on the Rockets board is because one of the first articles we read about Adelman's "firing" mentioned that the Rockets wanted Rick to take on a protege for 1-2 seasons, and named Chris Finch as the guy they wanted him to take under his wing. Also he's Luol Deng's coach for the British Nation Team. That is just about all I have on the guy. Here is an interview posted on Clutchfans, sounds like an intelligent guy judging from it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_p7lsnmO8&feature=player_embedded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 WojYahooNBA: Houston has offered Kevin McHale coaching job and are in advanced talks on a deal, sources tell Y! Agreement may not come til after weekend. WojYahooNBA: There's no guarantee terms will be agreed upon with McHale, but sources believe both sides are determined to make it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htown11 Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 McHale is getting the same deal as Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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