Dash Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Kevin McHale’s moment of truth for the Houston Rockets’ coaching job will happen Wednesday, when McHale, the vacancy’s frontrunner, will meet with owner Leslie Alexander in Miami, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. McHale made a strong impression on Rockets GM Daryl Morey and his front-office staff in a second interview on Thursday in Chicago, and separated himself from Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Dwane Casey and Boston Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank. Alexander will huddle with his front office soon thereafter the meeting, and will come to a final decision about whom to hire. The owner will make the ultimate decision on Rick Adelman’s replacement, but McHale will get the strongest endorsement of the basketball operations staff, sources said. Casey is running a close second in the search, but sources said that Alexander loved his initial meeting with Frank, too. Several factors will come into play when Houston makes an offer, including the next coach’s willingness to accept a short-term deal – possibly two years – and strong suggestions on an assistant coaching staff. The Rockets want their D-League affiliate coach, Chris Finch of Rio Grande Valley, to be part of the coaching staff. They see him as an eventual NBA head coach. McHale, an analyst for TNT, is in Miami for the Eastern Conference finals. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski-kevin_mchale_houston_rockets_coach_owner052411&print=1 Take a look at the bolded part. Looks like the Rockets aren't willing to commit to McHale (or any other coach) long term and probably are using him to groom Finch so he can take over in a few years. I wonder if the fact that the Rockets will keep him a a temporary coach will cause him to back out, but then again if he impresses the front office enough in the next 2 years then he could very well be here for the long haul. That said, the Rockets are very, very high on Chris Finch. So much that he was part of the reason that Adelman was forced out. Anyways, there is still a good chance that Casey will be the Rockets head coach. It all comes down to this interview with Les tomorrow. Edited May 25, 2011 by Dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lone Granger Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm just not sure what Houston is thinking here. First, they fire a great coach in Adelman simply because of injuries making his team do poorly, and then they are seriously considering going out and hiring one of the worst coaches in recent history that the league has seen? I'm sorry, but McHale is an awful coach, and the Rockets shouldn't even consider hiring him. If I were a Rockets fans, I'd be pretty upset about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm just not sure what Houston is thinking here. First, they fire a great coach in Adelman simply because of injuries making his team do poorly, and then they are seriously considering going out and hiring one of the worst coaches in recent history that the league has seen? I'm sorry, but McHale is an awful coach, and the Rockets shouldn't even consider hiring him. If I were a Rockets fans, I'd be pretty upset about this. The Rockets parted with Adelman only because they felt it was time to move on and rebuild completely. Rick wanted to continue competing and that is where the two parties began to slowly split apart. McHale is by FAR from one of the worst NBA coaches. He actually did pretty well with the Minnesota squads in 2005 and 2008, honestly he only gets a bad rap because of his shortcomings as a general manager. McHale is a great motivator and got very good reviews from his players in Minnesota. Also McHale is one of the best post up players in NBA history and would almost certainly be a big help to the development of Patrick Patterson, Thabeet, Hill and what other big man the Rockets draft/sign. Basically Houston is looking to rebuild and McHale is probably one of the best persons for that job. As long term coach, I don't know if he'll last here but apparently the true heir to Rick Adelman is Chris Finch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted May 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) The Houston Rockets are in the final stages of deciding on a head coach, with all three candidates having received two interviews for the job of replacing Rick Adelman. “The next step is to make a decision,” a person with knowledge of the process told CBSSports.com Thursday. Former Timberwolves coach and general manager Kevin McHale met with owner Leslie Alexander Wednesday in Miami, where McHale was broadcasting the Eastern Conference finals for TNT. Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank and Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey also have been interviewed twice.Sources familiar with the process have been told that Frank has been losing ground in the three-man race, but that no clear favorite has emerged. The Rockets have not extended an offer or engaged in contract negotiations with any of the candidates, sources said. While McHale’s candidacy has been bolstered by a strong recommendation from former Celtics teammate and current Boston president Danny Ainge, sources said Casey is on firm ground by virtue of the fact that he is the only candidate still coaching in the playoffs. Another person with direct knowledge of the interview process said all three candidates have presented compelling visions for the team, but not all aspects of the candidates’ strategies are on the same page with Houston management. Meanwhile, Warriors management – bolstered by the addition of Hall of Fame consultant Jerry West – remains focused on a list of five remaining candidates the team has spoken with about its head coaching vacancy: Lakers assistants Brian Shaw and Chuck Person; Hornets assistant Michael Malone; ABC/ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson; and Frank. The team also had spoken with former Cavs coach Mike Brown, who was hired Wednesday to replace Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers. A person familiar with the Golden State search said “one or two” other candidates could emerge for the Golden State job as a result of “musical chairs” with other jobs. One example of that could be Shaw, who may not want to remain with the Lakers after being passed over for the head coaching vacancy he had long hoped to fill once Jackson finally retired. Another could be McHale, whose candidacy is expected to be strengthened by owner Joe Lacob’s connection to the Celtics. As a former member of the Celtics’ ownership group, Lacob is open to advice from Ainge and Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, who are solidly backing McHale for a head coaching position. Sources in the coaching industry expect McHale to emerge as a candidate in Golden State depending on how his bid for the Houston job turns out. UPDATE: A person with knowledge of the Warriors' search said Thursday that McHale had an "informal discussion" with team officials about the job. http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/11838893/29590329 Edited May 26, 2011 by Dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.