Houston Rockets: Lawrence Frank Should Emerge as Next Head Coach
Think of all the times a friend or relative dumped a significant other and moved on to someone, shall we say, less appealing.
The old mate was nice, attractive, fun to be around—the perfect fit. After spending a few hours with the new one, you whisper in the closest ear, "Wait, he/she left her/him for that?"
That's exactly how fans of the Houston Rockets are going to feel when the organization's never-ending search for its next head coach finally reaches a conclusion. Word out of Houston is owner Les Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey have narrowed it down to a list of three finalists: Dwayne Casey, Lawrence Frank and Kevin McHale.
Seriously? Those are your finalists?
I tried my hardest and couldn't come up with a group that made me utter "ho-hum" faster than these three. Apparently all those young, promising assistants bombed at their interviews.
Clearly, Kelvin Sampson, who was run out of his post as head coach at the University of Indiana for disgracing the program, was still wearing a black eye.
Jeff Van Gundy and Larry Brown must be washed up.
Casey, Frank and McHale have two things in common that will make Rockets fans shudder. First, they're available because each was fired from their previous head coaching job. The second reason explains why they were fired, and that's because each has a losing record as El Capitano.
Frank coached the New Jersey Nets for five-and-a-half seasons, finishing with a record of 225-241. He was fired in December 2009 after the Nets started the season 0-16.
Casey was hired as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves before the 2005-06 season and was fired exactly halfway through the following year. Minnesota was 53-69 during his brief tenure.
McHale is known as one of the best players in NBA history, and one of the worst general managers the league has ever seen. He assembled some awful rosters in Minnesota and twice fired the coach because he couldn't win with the weak hand McHale dealt.
As a result, he stepped in as head coach on an interim basis during the 2004-05 and 2008-09 seasons. McHale fared no better than the coaches he fired, compiling a 39-55 record.
Considering the facts, fans will be anxiously awaiting an explanation as to why the organization fired future Hall-of-Famer Rick Adelman for one of these, um, less than appealing candidates.
Both Morey and Adelman maintain that they amicably parted ways last month. Reliable sources say Adelman wanted to return and couldn't believe he wasn't offered a generous extension.
He guided an injury-riddled roster to respectable 42 and 43-win campaigns the last two seasons. Adelman left the Rockets with the team's highest winning percentage (58.8), finishing with a record of 193-135. In 20 seasons as an NBA head coach, Adelman has 945 wins (eighth all-time), 79 playoff victories, 17 winning seasons and two NBA Finals appearances.
In just over eight seasons combined, Frank, Casey and McHale have 317 wins, 18 playoff victories, three winning seasons and three pink slips.
Out of this trio, Frank, currently an assistant for the Boston Celtics, makes the most sense as next coach of the Rockets. He's the most experienced and the only one to register a playoff appearance or a winning record in a full 82-game season.
Frank is cut from the Van Gundy cloth. He is known to be thoroughly prepared and extremely detail-oriented.
And forget about that 0-16 start to the 2009-10 season, or at least consider the circumstance. The Nets were a disaster, finishing with just 12 wins—three more than the worst total in league history. Frank was the least of their problems, but the coach is always first to go.
The jury is still out on Casey and McHale's ability to lead a team, but Frank is qualified and deserves another shot.
Just don't be surprised when fans react with, "We dumped Adelman for him?"
