Last night, The Monitor broke the news that Clay Moser has been informed by the Houston Rockets that they have decided not to retain him as the Rio Grande Valley Vipers head coach. Not exactly shocking as we'd been hearing that the Rockets opened Moser's position and were interviewing other candidates since they bought into the Vipers via the hybrid model, but it is disappointing.
Last season, Moser's first as a D-League head coach, ended in a bit of disappointment in the form of a 21-29 season, but it's hard to put the blame on Moser. Smush Parker, Alton Ford and Kendall Dartez - three of the better Vipers to begin the season - all left for more money overseas midseason, leaving Moser to retool without much, well, tools. This was especially evident when the Vipers lost Jared Jordan to injury for a month during the season, but before Jawad Williams joined the team for about a month and a half before being called-up.
As confusing as that was to read, imagine coaching it. Fortunately, Moser was able to find Kurt Looby, who was more than likely the steal of the D-League draft (after a bit of coaching, because he wasn't impressive right out of the gates), or else the season likely would have been worse.
It seems to us, Moser, like Paul Woolpert before him, was given the shaft a bit prematurely, which was probably inevitable once the Rockets took control. I mean, he went 21-29 last season!!! He probably sucks at coaching!! Well, according to the resume, not really.
Moser's career began as an assistant under the legendary Jim Valvano at NC State way back in 1987 (Thankfully the year AFTER Chris Washburn). He's also worked for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Idaho Stampede as General Manager/Basketball Ops and was the head coach of the Great Lakes Storm (All CBA). Plus, he's worked as an assistant/advance scout for the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Orlando Magic. Aside from that, he's also been a head coach in China and was the VP of Business Development for the New Orleans Hornets for a season. Needless to say, he has experience in all facets of the game.
Now that we know who was fired (but still aren't sure why because Moser seems to be qualified), our esteemed colleague Matt Moore over at Hardwood Paroxysm hit on what this might mean for the Rockets. It basically means that the Rockets are looking to spend a lot of money on a coach that, as Rockets GM Daryl Morey says, they found someone more experienced and accomplished, and they were surprised that person became a candidate.
Well, we've only heard two names that are still in the running for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers coaching search. The two rather prominent candidates are former University of Virginia coach Dave Leitao and RJ Adelman, the son of Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman.
In Leitao, the Rockets would be getting a coach with no minor league or NBA coaching experience. In RJ Adelman, nepotism an up-and-coming coach that just happens to have a father that is the head coach of the Vipers parent club. Are we looking at a Red Claws situation here?
Hopefully Morey and complany have a third candidate because neither name we've heard is either more experienced OR more accomplished. Apparently the NBA's stance on D-League players (read: not good enough) carries over to D-League coaches as well.
Comments
Couple things.
1. We’ve got rumors, but no one’s been selected yet.
2. I don’t really see how you can say “Apparently the NBA’s stance on D-League players (read: not good enough) carries over to D-League coaches as well” when Morey and the Rockets have pretty clearly been committed to supporting the D-League. It’s one thing to make that kind of an assessment about Washington, Orlando, Memphis, but even the fact that they’re involved enough to invest in the hybrid system is a sign of their commitment. As D-League fans, this is something to be celebrated.
3. I can’t say I have a problem with either option. They have no minor league experience. What value is minor league experience going to bring here? You would think they either want a coach they can develop into an assistant, or a guy they can rely on to develop the players’ skills in a way they want. Knowing how to gameplan against the Arsenal will not be beneficial to either of those goals.
I’m not saying to go rah-rah all the time, certainly the Defenders have been made into a joke at this point, but this is a pretty positive move.
By Ridiculous Matt on 08.19.09 12:47pm
On the third point
Minor-league experience is important in this case because that’s the reason the Rockets gave for firing Moser. If they let him go citing “a more experienced candidate that suddenly became available” and hire someone like Leitao or . At this point there aren’t a whole lot of coaching candidates out there who have more experience than Moser does. I’d also say it’s important for, you know, winning purposes. While I support something like the hybrid system generally as a way to transition NBA teams towards full D-League affiliation, there also aren’t any consequences for the Rockets if this thing fails miserably. If they hire a coach who has either never coached before (Adelman) or who has only handled college players (who, as many coaches have found out, can be coached differently than pro players), and because of it the Vipers lose a lot of games and attendance suffers, the Rockets won’t be the one taking that financial hit, a small minor-league team will. Is that fair?
There seems to be a tendency these days in the basketball (writing) world to give Morey and the Rockets the benefit of the doubt on everything they do because they’ve seemed to know what they’re doing on a few things, and it’s true that they seem more open to D-Leaguers than, say, the Magic. But this situation hasn’t been handled well at all. They’ve been interviewing people for awhile while Morey has technically still been the coach. It’s doubtful that this really is a case of a candidate who ’suddenly" became available.
By Jon L on 08.19.09 1:20pm
But then
The league is subsidizing the teams a TON. And if you ask any member of the league, from team officials to coaches to Dan Reed, you know they’ll all tell you that development is the #1 priority, not winning games. It’s built to develop players, not win games. I totally agree that the league needs MORE subsidy from the affiliate clubs, but that’s why things like this are important.
As far as experience goes, what if the experience Morey is looking for is not the experience Moser has. Sure, if he’s looking for how to break down Futurecast tape on Jelani McCoy, Moser might be an awesome coach. But what if you’re talking about wanting to focus on other things you think Leitao can bring?
This league doesn’t exist as a business venture to sell tickets or build fans. It exists to help the NBA clubs. Everything else is secondary.
By Ridiculous Matt on 08.19.09 1:31pm
I'm not sure every team would say that
otherwise why would Austin Ainge and Dee Brown be hired as coaches?
And while helping NBA teams should be the main goal of the D-League, it’s not there yet. Not when only a handful of teams are directly affiliated with the NBA. There are too many NBA teams that ignore the D-League for D-League teams not to want to build a fanbase on their own.
And as for the “experience,” thing, come on. Being a minor league basketball coach is about more than just knowing what to look for while watching Futurecast. Being a basketball coach is more than just teaching an offense, otherwise Eddie Jordan would have multiple championship rings right now. And while I don’t think we disagree that the Rockets have a right to hire someone they think can help run their system, there hasn’t really been a convincing reason given why Moser couldn’t have been the guy to do it.
By Jon L on 08.19.09 1:46pm
Are we really arguing about a 21-29 coach's right to a job?
In order to foster more of a relationship between the D-LEague and the NBA, which is in the best interest of EVERYONE, there’s going to have to be some concessions to GMs wanting to install “their guys” versus guys who are known minor league guys. You don’t WANT known minor league guys. You want guys that have the confidence of the NBA clubs, even if sometimes that’s a mistake.
D-League teams can try and build a fanbase, and that’s what the rest of the organization’s job is. But the only way this model works financially is if there’s value to the NBA. This isn’t a minor league for fun. It was created to develop players. That’s the goal, and should be the first priority in any and all cases.
I totally think that Moser’s qualified and I hope he catches on somewhere. But this reeks of wanting to keep the family intact. Morey’s involvement is a positive step, even if the results are disastrous. Can you really tell me that if the Vipers were undefeated through December that their attendance would skyrocket?
By Ridiculous Matt on 08.19.09 1:54pm
Well, not all 21-29 records are created equal
which is especially true in the D-League, where you can have a combination of guys deciding to leave to play in Europe in the middle of the season, guys getting hurt, and guys getting called up to play in the NBA. That would be hard for any coach to overcome, especially – and this is my point – a coach who’s never been through that experience before. That’s why hiring someone with experience coaching minor league ball is a plus, because they’re familiar with how the system works and won’t be blindsided when they lose half their team in the middle of a season.
Look, it’s great that the Rockets got involved with the D-League at a deeper level. But can you really say that the way this was handled, with replacements being interviewed while Moser still technically was the guy, was a “pretty positive move?” Can you really say that Morey firing Moser because he said he found someone more established, and that guy turning out to be RJ Adelman, be a “pretty positive move?” I suppose it’s possible that someone like Woolpert or MacKinnon might be the guy they’re talking about and no one else have any idea that it happened, but that’s a longshot, I think. All signs point to it being either Leitao or the coach’s kid. And I’m willing to acknowledge, as I did with the Austin Ainge, Dee Brown and Will Voigt hires, that they could turn out to know what they’re doing after all. But it seems a bit silly to me to look at what is known right now about the situation and make any kind of judgment as to whether it’s positive or not.
By Jon L on 08.19.09 2:32pm
A few more things
1. I would be shocked if anyone but those two candidates were hired. From what we’ve been hearing, Leitao and Adelman are the only two in consideration.
2. The Rockets are doing a great thing by investing in the D-League, and specifically in the Vipers, but that comment wasn’t directed so much at them as it was towards the majority of the other D-League coaching hires this offseason. Austin Ainge and Dee Brown are not what I would considered overly qualified candidates, but they are sexier and higher profile. There were a lot of other high quality, quality resume coaches available when both of those guys were hired. I’m not sure the best PR move is always the best decision for the D-League.
By NothingButHornets on 08.19.09 2:37pm