A Deep Dive Into The Coaching Market

Here is a list of almost every notable head coach or assistant coach in the league, or currently a free agent. I did a deep dive into their experiences, preferences, and achievements. I bolded those who are reportedly part of the Rockets search. By providing background on our candidates and others in the field for comparison, I hope this helps inform opinions and conversations as the Rockets conduct their interview process.

Free Agent Head Coaches:

Spoiler

Ime Udoka - 7 years under Pop. Made the playoffs all 7 years and won 1 championship. Spent time with team USA under Pop. pop says udoka is better than him at managing player's personalities. Made the finals while leading the C’s to the best D in the league. He leaned heavy into switching everything and running a motion offense. >20% of the C’s offense came from C&S looks. He also had a great staff (Will Hardy, Joe Mazzula) so I wonder how much can he replicate on his own, and if his personal life would be a distraction for the young guys.

Frank Vogel - won a championship managing Lebron and ADs personalities. He had success defensively at every stop. Adapting to his team and the trends of each era (pack the paint in Indiana and orlando, drop and switch everything in LA, and even threw in some series winning wrinkles like peel-switching off harden’s drives). He’s gone so far as to tell his teams to try to defend free throws! ”Without stepping into the lane, I want you to try to block his shot,” Vogel implored Bradley, waving his arm for emphasis before gesturing to the rest of the defensive team to raise and move their arms as well. “Try to change his shot. Try to guard the free-throw, without coming into the lane.” He pays less attention to offense. His teams have been average at best at offensive ratings. However he keeps it modern with pace and space, and read-and react.

Terry Stotts - Stotts is known more as an even-mannered teacher. His system stresses exploiting mismatches, creating floor space to give players freedom to improvise and create, and remain flexible to change. Lots of read and react, horns sets, flare screens, and PnRs… very similar to what Silas was trying to do. Defensively his teams often finished in the bottom third of the league, but he did have a top 10 finish once. Blazers fans also complained about the lack of in game adjustments. He seems so much like a more experienced version of silas, with Jalen’s camp calling for more structured play calling I don’t think he would be the best fit.

James Borrego - spent 10 years with the spurs and won 2 championships there. Also assisted Monty Williams with the Pelicans and Vaughn with the Magic before landing the Hornets job. the year he was fired from the hornets they were 8th in offense and 22nd in defense. He was fired in part for not holding players accountable on the defensive end. He described his offense as pace, ball movement, and 3’s. He also reduced the hornets post ups to a league low 3.3 per game. Defensively he tried to switch everything but the team was just not good at it. As interim HC in Orlando he tried the same thing and saw success (could be small sample size, or regression to the mean) as he significantly raised the Magic’s defensive rating after taking over. So maybe he can coach on both ends, but the accountability issues, not adjusting to your players strengths, and removing all post-ups (while we still have sengun), is hard for me to overlook.

Mark Jackson - credited for installing the warriors defense. But are his schemes outdated at this point? Being aware of modern schemes as a broadcaster and being able to coach them are probably two different skills. I like that he emphasizes accountability "I really believe that any team can play a good defensive game, by holding guys accountable, by working on the principles, by believing and by covering each other's back," Jackson said. "Even though we have individual limitations, we're going to become better individual defenders by having a team of better help-side defenders.” I think our top guys could benefit from some of this, and it sounds like his philosophy would be to build a help scheme around Sengun rather than force him into schemes where he’s not effective. however, the reference to help and recover is a bit dated now that teams are hunting 3’s. Offensively he relied heavily on iso scoring which is actually more on trend now then at the time. However, again jalen’s camp is reportedly calling for more structured offense. There’s also the issue that his assistant coaches hated him, Scalabrine stopped talking to him for weeks during the season, and Erman felt the need to secretly record Jackson as evidence of how he was treating people. "Part of it was that he couldn't get along with anybody else in the organization," Lacob said. "And look, he did a great job, and I'll always compliment him in many respects, but you can't have 200 people in the organization not like you.”

Mike D’Antoni - a name we are familiar with. Leaned into 3’s and iso’s under morey. Switched everything on D as learned from coach Bzdelik. Tilman likely burned that bridge by offering an insulting extension rather than just saying they wanted to bring in someone else. I doubt he’d want to come back.

Jeff Van Gundy - He’s not as outdated as you think. He’s been coaching USA Basketball’s qualifying teams. Recently he was asked about the most important lesson he learned in his career and said “I just think overall, coaching is teaching, and the best coaches, to me, are the best teachers. It starts with caring deeply about the people that you're in charge of educating. So, that would be your players, and if you keep that servant mentality in mind, I think it absolutely benefits those that you're trying to impact.” This sounds like a very different coach from the authoritarian we knew in Houston. Not only in his approach but in his coaching style, adapting to the FIBA international game and succeeding there. The nba is now leaning into international style offense where passing and cutting are paramount to combat switch everything defenses. He’s always has been a great defense and accountability coach, but now appears much more well rounded.

Alvin Gentry - runs a fast break offense. Pushes the pace. He’s also known as a strong relationship builder and mentor. He trusts his players to make plays in a read and react style offense like MDA, Stotts, and Silas… once again there were reports of Jalen’s camp (among others on the team) asking for more structured play calling, so he probably isn’t the right fit. Defensively his teams have typically struggled, bu he’s been willing to try a variety of schemes. With a good defensive assistant (like in NOP with Erman) his teams did well defensively (9th, 14th in drtg consecutively). However that was not the norm across his 35 years on the sidelines.

Head Coaches on rumored to be on the hot seat:

Spoiler

Doc Rivers (PHI) - made his mark as a motivator in Orlando. Thibs ran the defense in Boston that won Doc a championship. He hasn’t had great success since. Slow to make changes and overly trusts vets ahead of young guys who might be better.

Nick Nuse (TOR) - He’s been the big name linked to our search but he’s not yet available. If he is available I’d expect his ties to the Rockets to make him a serious contender for the job if Tilman is willing to pay up, and if Nurse is interested in starting from the bottom. He’s got a development background starting with RGV. In Toronto his success has been in large part to player development (siakam, OG, and FVV were all bench players during their championship). Nurse has shown a mix of styles, starting with his use of a double big lineup that ran Gasol in the high post and ibaka on the wing which would work perfectly for Sengun and jabari. He’s leaned into the position less style lately which also benefits jabari, tari, kpj, and jalen as more of a combo guard. I think the complete disregard for PGs and Cs is more the fault of roster construction than nurse’s preference. He’s shown the ability to adapt to his players strengths and creatively design both ends of the floor around his players.

Mike Malone (DEN) - You wouldn’t know it by the style he plays today but he has assisted and learned from Lenny wilkins, mike brown, and mark jackson before becoming a head coach. All of his mentors were known for defense and lack of offensive creativity. however, his teams in SAC and DEN have always been in the top 3rd of the league in offense. He even had Denver staying in the top half of the league on defense. He’s pretty well rounded, can sometimes be criticized for rotations or game plans. Overall though, if he were to become available he’d be a great fit to build the offense around jalen and Sengun the way he did with jokic and murray. There is no indication that he’d be on the chopping block even if he doesn’t make a deep playoff run, but its possible. Even if he was fired after the playoffs, the timeline likely doesn’t add up with our search starting now.

Billy Donovan (CHI) - he’s interesting to me because of the success he has with this age group in college. However it hasn’t translated into the NBA. He’s likely a good development guy from his NCAA days, good tanking coach. But its time we start winning.

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Associate Head Coaches:

Spoiler

Greg Buckner (CLE) - Got his start in Houston on McHale’s staff as a player development coach, followed JB Bickerstaff to Memphis and Cleveland. JB might have improved as a coach since his Houston days, or he might have found a roster who can win with his somewhat outdated style of play (double big, pack the paint). Either way this experience alone isn’t likely transferable for Buckner to bring to a new team as HC. These schemes likely wouldn’t work for our personnel and without experience in other systems as an assistant coach I’m skeptical he could design something to work for us.

Dan Craig (LAC) - 7 years assisting Spo in MIA, including 1 championship, and 3 years in LAC with Lue. Both Spo and Lue are great at game management, superstar management, and well balanced coaching both sides of the court. Both have leaned into 5-out on offense and switch everything schemes on defense which is typical for modern nba. Craig has been around some top notch coaching and has been promoted to AHC. Could be a HC candidate soon, if not now.

Charles Lee (MIL) - has been assisting Budenholzer for 9 years , won a championship, and worked his way up to AHC. Bud has a great coaching tree with Snyder, Atkinson, Jenkins, Ham, and Lee is next. Lee worked with all of those coaches during his time under Bud. I’m sure he’s learned a lot from them and I’d be interested to see which pieces from each he’s adopted as his own philosophy.

Johnny Bryant (NYK) - spent 6 years assisting Snyder in Utah and spent the last 3 as AHC in NY under Thibs. He appears to be being groomed to be thibs successor if/whenever thibs moves on. He was also in the running for the jazz position before they went with hardy. He began his career in player development with the jazz being credited with turning millsap, hayward, mitchell, and randle into all stars. Alec Burks credited Bryant for helping him double his scoring average by their second season together. He’s helped emmanual quickly turn into one of the best 6th men, toppin into a useful roleplayer, and helped Barrett improve on his terrible rookie season shooting splits of 40-32-61. If he’s learned any X’s and O’s, game management, or culture/iidentity building from Snyder or thibs while being able to bring the player development, then I’m interested.

Kevin Young (PHX) ran the Sixers offense under Brett Brown to an offensive ranking of 12th, 8th, and 13th. Up from 30th in his first season there. Spent his last 3 years in PHX under Monty Williams. He improved the suns offense from 12th to 5th and 4th in his first two years there. This year they are down to 17th but may be due to Paul and booker missing so many games. He’s a proven offensive coach who’s built schemes around various types of stars: embiid/simmons, booker/paul. He’s spent 8 years in the G league before making it to the nba and brings that player development aspect as well. Worth an interview for an intel gathering standpoint to see how he would structure an offense around jalen similar to how he has around booker. Maybe he impresses and becomes a serious candidate.

Jordi Fernandez (SAC) - started his career with 3 years at Impact Academy, 4 with the Cavs as a player development coach (1 year there under mike brown and Michael Malone), then 3 years with the Cavs G League team, for a total of 10 years in player development. However he’s not as decorated for his work in that area as some others on this list. He then spent the next 6 years assisting Malone in DEN before becoming mike brown’s AHC in SAC. In Denver he coached their SL team. “Fernandez’s job this summer was to teach the Nuggets’ style of play — spacing the floor and playing through their big men on offense, along with protecting the paint and defending the 3-point line on defense.” Now that makes me interested since he coached jokic and sabonis. Knows how to space the floor and play through a big man huh? I think he’s worth an interview just to gather intel as to how to best use sengun. He was recently a candidate for the hawks job before they hired Snyder.

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Former head coaches:

Spoiler

Igor Kokoskov (BKN) - been an assistant in the nba for more than 20 years. Worked for Gentry, Larry brown (won the 2004 championship), flip Saunders, mike brown, then Quinn Snyder before getting his only chance at head coaching for the suns. The team went 19-63 and he was removed. He then worked for Walton in SAC, Kidd in DAL, and this year under Vaughn in BK. Kokoškov’s European roots have translated over to his style of offense: plenty of ball and personnel movement, handoffs, progressions, and decoy actions that add an additional layer of complexity to half-court sets. He’s credited with the nets offense this year which ranked 15th, and in Dallas last year which again ranked 15th. Defensively he’s known for his “Corsa” defense which is meant to be sort of a read and react defense blending a switching different coverages so the offense (and sometimes even the coaching staff) doesn’t know what coverage the team is in.

Mo Cheeks (CHI) - had success as a defensive minded coach, then a top assistant in the defensive coordinator role. I think he’s in the Lionel Hollins stage of his career where the game might have passed him by but he’s still useful as a defensive coach and quality assistant.

Luke Walton (CLE) - remember when he was billed as the next great coach? Got his start under Kerr with the warriors. In his second season he lead the team to a 39-4 start when Kerr was recovering from back surgery. No small feat, even with a dynasty roster and system already installed. He was then hired to help rebuild the ingram/dlo/kuzma lakers. He never got them above .500, even in his final year when Lebron joined. He went to the kings and couldn’t get them to .500 either before being replaced 2.5 years later. To his credit during that time they were 18th and 11th in offense. However his time with the lakers was more successful on defense getting them up to 12th in both of his last 2 seasons. This year he’s assisting JB Bickerstaff in CLE but not even as AHC, just AC. His career seems to be settled back in the assistant role after proving he’s not really a strong HC.

Kenny Atkinson (GSW) - got his start in Houston as a player development coach. His first assistant coach job was under MDA in NY for 4 years. Then spent 3 years in ATL under Budenholzer. When he got his chance as a head coach in BK. Coaches who have worked with him describe him as an elite teacher and a master of player development. Under Atkinson, players like Spencer Dinwiddie, D'Angelo Russell and Joe Harris came from other organizations and thrived. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert -- two Nets first-round draft picks -- developed well with the Nets. Offensively he liked to get out and run like MDA, focused on 3’s and layups. He played more of a rotating, help the helper, style of defense but it worked well for the nets who improved defensively each year under his leadership from 23rd their first year up to 9th in his last year there. Since then he spent a year assisting Lue in LAC, where he might’ve picked up some of the game management he is known for. He got the job in CHA but backed out due to details regarding hiring his assistants. He landed in GSW where he might be picking up some for great coaching around ball movement and switching on defense from Kerr.

Brian Shaw (LAC) - Understands how to manage superstars having played with kobe, Shaq, bird, mchale, and iverson. Shaq called him the most respected teammate he ever had. spent 7 years as phil Jackson’s top assistant, then a year under frank vogel in IND. he was not successful in 2 seasons as HC of the nuggets posting a winning % under.400. he returned to the lakers under Walton for 3 seasons and now under Lue for the past 2 seasons. His time learning from the best coach of all time (jackson) and two of the best current coaches (vogel and lue) is also intriguing, although his time in Denver is discouraging. What I am interested in is his time in the G League with Jalen. His best coaching was in the g league and he might be best as a development coach. He liked using the triangle offense from phil, which fits with what Jalen’s camp is asking for, more structured playcalling. He mixed in some modern analytics (3’s/layups) offense, and on defense he used a few standard nba coverages. I don’t think he’s a guy who comes in and gives us an identity which we need, but I think he can act as a player developer and help us win more via internal improvement.

Dave Joerger (PHI) - after 5 seasons under Hollins in MEM he took over and won 50, 55, and 42 games and 3 straight playoff appearances. He kept the grit and grind style playing physical defense, but also one of the slowest paces in the nba on offense. Although a competent half court offense coach, he’ll need to adopt a faster pace to be successful today. still, good to know a few things about half court offense for playoff basketball or just against a the better defensive teams during the season. The grizzlies fired him because he took swipes at management in the media and they believed he was not committed to staying there. Joerger landed with the Kings, and in his third year there he lead them to their best season in 15 years (39 wins) before once again tensions with the front office lead to his dismissal. He has since been an assistant with the sixers. Is hard to imagine a GM wanting to hire someone with his reputation for getting into it with the front office, but people mature and there’s no denying he was good at winning basketball games.

Scott Brooks (POR) - he got his start under Bzdelik then George Karl in Denver. Interesting mix of defense and fast paced offense. Took those skills to head the rebuild in OKC. Heralded for his development of 3 future MVPs. He was supposed just develop them, but he won as well. however, when hired to win rather than develop in Washington, he did not win. The wizards lost more games each year under his tenure until he was fired. Actually he was hired by the wizards to help recruit KD to play for his old coach in his hometown but it didn’t work. He’s now assisting Billups in Portland which is one of the worst coached teams in the league (aside from us). I see the appeal as a development coach, and as a recruiting tool for harden (although that didn’t work for the wizards and KD).

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Assistant Coaches:

Spoiler

Mike Longobardi (ATL) - he’s known as a defensive coordinator. Got his start under JVG and thibs, then followed thibs to Boston with Doc. After leaving Boston his teams haven’t always produced defensively, but that’s not always the assistant’s fault. He isn’t necessarily a HC candidate but could be in the mix for top assistant if defense is needed to balance skillsets.

David Vanterpool (FA) - was Terry Stotts’ assistant for 6 years. Praised for his work ethic and relationship building. Went to MIN as AHC and defensive coordinator for 2 years but they were terrible on defense both years. Spent a year in BK and doesn’t appear to be coaching anywhere this year. His name always comes up as “top assistants” for HC jobs but I just don’t see it. Before coaching he worked for the thunder as director of player personnel. Maybe he’d be a good assistant to hire to recruit harden.

Sean Sweeney (DAL) - he’s recently received some interviews for HC jobs with UTA and CHA. He’s only ever worked for Kidd and Casey. I’m a big believer that coaches usually don’t fall far from the tree, and I’m not a big fan of either of his mentors. however, he was credited with some of Giannis’ development from his and Kidd’s time in MIL. He was giannis’ preferred practice coach. He’s also known as a defensive coach, helping the bucks improve from the worst to the 4th best defense the year he joined the staff. The bucks steadily declined defensively the rest of the kidd/sweeney tenure. Sweeney is also credited for improving the Mavs defense from 20th to 6th the first year he and Kidd took over. Of course they were much worse this year but possibly due to roster changes. Who here has the stomach for hiring another Dallas assistant? amirite?

Rex Kalamian (DET) - he’s spent much of his 27 years working for pretty average coaches like casey (at 3 different stops), theus, and Walton. But also had some talented HCs along the way in bill fitch, George Karl, and Scott Brooks. He’s best known for player development through the years, most notably in OKC with rus, harden, and KD. He has recently been credited as a defensive coordinator during his time with the raptors (their defense was 11th, 11th, 5th during his time), and with the clippers (21st and 5th). Although I find it hard to believe Casey, a known defensive coach, had little to do with the defensive success in Toronto at that time. He could serve multiple purposes, as a harden recruiter, a player development coach, and defensive coordinator. Probably best suited as an AHC for whoever we hire.

Jerome Allen (DET) - started his coaching career under brad Stevens in BOS for 6 years before leaving for DET with Casey. In Boston Allen shares in the credit for the development of Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. His coaching responsibilities reportedly focused on how Boston would attack their opponents’ defensive schemes. He recently interviewed for the jazz HC vacancy last summer. Doesn’t seem like he has enough on his resume for a HC spot just yet.

Jay Larranaga (LAC) - 9 years in Boston under Doc and Brad before spending the last 2 years with Lue in LAC. He’s definitely received some great mentorship. Like Jerome Allen he’s credited with some of the development of the Celtics core players. He has a strong reputation for player development and was a candidate for HC jobs in the past but seems like more of a top assistant at this point.

Phil Handy (LAL) - started with the lakers under mike brown as a player development coach. Got his first AC role with the Cavs under Lue. Spent a year in TOR under nurse, 3 years with the lakers under Vogel, and stayed there under ham. He’s worked with some great mentors, and is considered one of the best player development coaches in the league working with a bunch of stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Lowry. He was also credited by many members of the Cavs as giving a speech that inspired them to come back from being down 3-1 to the warriors in the finals. He hasn’t interviewed for any HC jobs and it doesn’t look like he’s willing to leave LA, turning down an assistant job with the nets last year.

Chris Quinn (MIA) - 9 years in Miami under Spo as a player development coach, now assistant coach. He’s run one of the most successful player development programs in the league. He was a candidate for the jazz HC job last summer and is on the list for the pistons right now, he’s also interviewed with IND and WAS as well.

Darren Erman (NYK) - started in Boston with Doc and Thibs where he was part of the 2008 championship run. Went on to work with Mark Jackson and the warriors, and when things got crazy there he was fired for secretly recording Jackson. He found himself back in Boston under Brad Stevens. Spent a few years under gentry in NOP and now under Thibs in NY. One thing is for sure, he learned from Thibs, Jackson and Stevens and became one of the best defensive coaches in the league. He’s given credit as the architect of a defensive scheme that is still foundational to the warriors today. The warriors stars point to him as the coach that made them appreciate defense at an early age. Draymond Green called him a defensive mastermind. Is he ready to be a HC? Probably not. But he is ready to be a top assistant or AHC.

Chip Engelland (OKC) - the 17 years with the spurs is a great start. He’s known as the best shooting coach in the league and pretty good overall at player development. I don’t think he’s got the X’s and O’s for head coaching, and since OKC offered him a promotion from player development into a full assistant spot, we’d need to offer him the AHC spot as a promotion to steal him away. This would only be worth it with a real strategist like nurse or Vogel as HC.

Nate Tibbets (ORL) - started under Byron Scott in NOP, but spent the majority of his career, 8 years, under Terry Stotts in POR working his way up to AHC. He now has the same role in ORL under Mosley. He’s regarded as one of the top assistants in the league. He interviewed for some HC vacancies in the past including the hawks, grizzlies, pacers and thunder. I can’t find anything giving him credit for something major like player development, defense, or offense. He was the blazers defensive coordinator but they were not a good defensive team.

Dan Burke (PHI) - started in POR under Adelman and Carlesimo. spent 18 years in IND under Vogel, Carlisle, and others along the way. Spent the last 3 years in PHI under Doc. He’s a defensive coordinator who’s guided the pacers to a top 8 defense in 6 of his last 8 years there… and helped the Sixers achieve 2nd, 12th, 8th in defense during his time there. He never was a HC candidate but is a top defensive assistant.

Sam Cassell (PHI) - got his start under Flip Saunders and then Randy Whitman in WAS, and since has spent 9 years and counting with Doc in LAC and PHI. Largely due to his work with Wall, Beal, and Maxey, he is well respected for his ability to develop guards. However he’s not necessarily known as a specialist at defense or offensive strategy. A player development coach who specializes in guards is appealing for Jalen, KPJ, Tyty, and JC… however I don’t see him as a HC candidate just yet. Possibly an AHC for development if we hire a HC who’s weaker in that area.

Adrian Griffin (TOR) - started in MIL under Skiles where he also worked with Kelvin Sampson. Two notable defensive coaches. Went to CHI under Thibs, another great defensive coach. 1 year in ORL under Skiles again before joining Donovan in OKC as his defensive coordinator. Spent the last 5 years in TOR as Nurse’s defensive coordinator. In his entire coaching career he never finished lower than 16th in defense. Most of the time they did a lot better than that. he’s also getting his doctorate in leadership studies. Between the leadership skills/knowledge, and the defense I think he’s ready for a HC gig. You can hire a top assistant to run the offense or player development.

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My takeaways based on what we know about each coach, and where I think the Rockets search so far has hit and missed:


- Hits -
Nurse - best overall combination of player development and strategy.
Vogel - proven championship defense and accountability, needs help on offense.
Atkinson - proven player developer with the ability to win some regular season games.
Udoka - 1 year of success with a championship roster is tough to judge, but very interesting
Griffin - proven defensive coach with leadership skills
Young - proven offensive coach with a structured offense Jalen’s camp wants.

- Misses -
Borrego - successful X’s/O’s guy, but issues with accountability and tailoring to player strengths. Too similar to Silas’ faults.
Brooks - could add more player development than Silas, but not much more in the X’s/O’s
Kalamian - solid combo of development and defense, but there are better development coaches and better defensive coaches out there. As a top assistant? Yes please.
Cassell - unpopular opinion, I know. I just don’t value Doc’s mentorship as much as I do other coaches better known for strategy. As a top assistant? For sure.

- Missed Opportunities -
Lee - the track record for Budenholzer’s AHC’s (snyder, atkinson, Jenkins, ham) is enough for me to at least interview him. Structured offense Jalen’s camp wants, player development we need… seems like a great candidate. More interesting than borrego, brooks, and kalamian.
Quinn - a rebuilding team should want to look into player development. The heat have a constant flow of guys turning into rotation players or starters under quinn. Worth an interview I think. If for nothing more than intel gathering. Pick his brain on player development.
Fernandez - Like Quinn, I may not consider him for the HC spot, but he’s coached Jokic and Sabonis. I would want to pick his brain about how to build a scheme around alpy on both ends.

Final thoughts:

The Reach - Nurse. IMO he can paint the strongest vision for success based on his player development coupled with on court success, and potential staff. He would likely want to bring Griffin and Bjorkgren. Adding griffin (a top candidate himself) would make for the strongest coaching staff in our search. Will he become available? He may or may not. If he is available he’s an easy choice for me.

The Target - Vogel. I think he can outline a plan for a defensive identity, and put together a really strong staff. I’m putting him over Atkinson because I value the defense and track record over Atkinson's player development. We can always find development coaches like kalamian, Cassell, Lucas, etc… for Vogel's staff. Hopefully he can bring in his former assistant Phil Handy who’s one of the best player development coaches in the league. We already have one of his former assistants on our staff (Hollins) who could be retained to make for a smooth transition for our players. I have him right below Nurse because I think Nurse will be more creative in how to use Alpy, whereas Vogel might want more of a rim protecting center.

The fallback - Atkinson. The player development and fast pace of play I think are great for our group. If he can add some half court sets from his time with Kerr and Bud I think we'd be a very potent offensive team. Pure speculation but I don’t think he can assemble the staff that Vogel or nurse can. His former assistants are either not very notable or they are Jaque Vaugn and not available. Maybe Prigioni as a PG development coach? This might be the 1 flaw in his candidacy since I think we can find a better AHC (Kalamian, Burke, Erman, Cassell etc…) but since he walked away from CHA over hiring his own staff I don’t think he’d be open to it.

Honorable Mention - Udoka. I almost put him above Vogel because I love the structured offense (>20% of the C’s offense came from C&S looks which is exactly what Jalen’s camp is asking for), the switch everything defense, and his connections to build a great staff through the vast and talented Pop coaching tree. My only concern is he had 1 year of success with a ready to contend roster and great assistants to support him. Vogel and Atkinson are more proven and we can’t afford the risk here.

 

Thank you! Hopefully as you provide updates on the coaching search, if lesser known names appear (like young or Kalamian did) people can refer back to see why the Rockets find them so interesting.

 

for Atkinson its mostly player development as a primary strength, followed by some success on both ends. For Vogel its his dependability, defense and accountability no matter where he's been. He's not perfect but he's a sure thing.

no coach is even close to perfect. they all have their flaws. the trick is for you to figure out what strengths do you value in a coach and what type of coach do you think would be the best fit for our group of players.

the two you picked are perfect examples of this. do you think the rockets, given their young group, should lean towards player development for the next 3 years? improve internally and the wins will come? or do you think its time they start playing to their strengths in order to start winning? if its the latter, do you think this group would be better served with an offensive or defensive specialist coaching them?

when I approach it like that I'm a lot happier with the options and all the different directions the organization can go. it'll be interesting to see what they value.

 

I agree with the lack of trust in the organization... but I think their list of interviews has more hits than misses. it'll be up to Tilman to pay for a top notch coach. He didn't last time, and let Lue walk. It'll be up to stone to allow them some level of authority or scare them off. I think missing out on the top 4 (nurse, Vogel, Atkinson, Udoka) would be a strike against stone and the front office.