'My goal, the goal of owner Fertitta, the goal of our whole team, is to win the title.
Less than a month after Rockets general manager Stone shouted the "next phase of the championship" declaration, the Rockets hired former Celtics coach Uduka as the team's new coach. The Rockets have previously interviewed for candidates such as champion coach Vogel, but in the end, instead of choosing former Raptors champion coach Nass and former Lakers championship coach Vogel, the Rockets chose Uduka, who took the Celtics to the Finals last season.
Why did the Rockets make this choice? In fact, from the perspective of reshaping the team culture, accelerating the growth of young players, building an offensive and defensive system, and sorting out the relationship within the team, Uduka is the most suitable candidate.
Why is Uduka more suitable for rockets?
Uduka's coaching career as a coach is only 1 year, but Uduka has become famous, even when he was banned by the Celtics for violating the rules, the Nets fired Steve Nash after he also pursued Uduka, almost every team that intends to change coaches and chooses to change coaches regards Uduka as a manager candidate.
For no reason, Uduka's resume is good enough.
"As a player I played for great coaches like Phil Jackson, Larry Brown and Popovich and I learned a lot from them. I worked with Popovich at the Spurs for seven years as an assistant coach, and then I continued to learn with the 76ers with the Nets and laid the foundation. Uduka's own words are his resume.
As for Uduka's ability, the Celtics' experience throughout the season last season is proof of this.
After the Celtics hired Uduka, the Celtics had a very poor start to the season, winning just 19 of their first 35 games. Smart publicly bombarded Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum for not passing, and there was a crisis within the team. The Celtics' attack and defense did not meet Uduka's requirements, but in the second half, Uduka led the team to turn the situation around. Their offense shares the ball and their defense increases sharply with unlimited defensive changes. The Celtics won 28 of their last 35 games and haven't experienced a losing streak since March, making it all the way to the Finals.
From the experience of the Celts, you can see where the magic of Uduka is-
Uduka can smooth the relationship within the team, and Smart's bombardment of Brown and Tatum has caused a rift in the relationship within the team, but Uduka can shake hands with players through an open attitude and a pleasant and honest openness, and these contradictory episodes have allowed the Celtics to speed up the development of chemistry.
Uduka can build an offensive and defensive system, and on the offensive end he requires constant movement of the ball, Tatum and Brown have improved their playmaking skills at his request, and the team has adopted a multi-point play. Defensively, Uduka advocates unlimited defensive changes, making full use of the team's athleticism and size, a defensive style that suits young teams well.
Uduka controls the dressing room and earns the trust of his players. Uduka knows when to encourage his disciples and when to motivate them with challenging words. For example, in the Celtics-Bucks series, Uduka burst into foul language to motivate Lowe to improve his defensive intensity. Aldridge, who has worked with Uduka, said: "He found a balance between knowing when to put high hats on players, when to reprimand them, knowing how to cheer up his disciples, which is important. ”
Even after the Uduka scandal, no one in the Celtics said anything bad about Uduka, which shows how prestige Uduka is in the team. Tatum, Smart and Brown have all supported Uduka to coach again.
So, a team like the Rockets that lacks a manager who can calm the locker room, build an offensive and defensive system, and smooth the relationship within the team, they need Uduka too much. According to Woshin, one of the main reasons Rocket chose Uduka was his ability to motivate his disciples and earn respect.
One factor that has to be mentioned is the skin color of Uduka, there have been more and more black coaches in recent years, and Magic Johnson has said that black coaches with a background are best suited to coach. Times have changed, and white academic managers like Nas and Vogel are becoming less and less popular. After the Rockets chose Uduka, the magician tweeted: "Congratulations to the Rockets, they got a championship-level coach. ”
Why did Uduka choose rockets?
The Nets had chased Uduka before, but because they were worried about public opinion, they finally chose to correct Vaughn. This offseason, the Raptors, Pistons, and Rockets all chose to change coaches, and they all considered Uduka, and finally Uduka chose to take over the Rockets.
Uduka chose the Rockets because he urgently needed to prove himself, and after being banned and dismissed due to off-court factors, Uduka urgently needed to rebuild his reputation.
To a certain extent, Uduka and the rocket belong to a two-way rush, Uduka's ability is what the rocket needs, and the infinite possibilities of the rocket are what Uduka needs.
Unlike the Raptors and Pistons, the Rockets have set their goals for next season after finishing this season, and they are ready to finish the swing and hit the playoffs. While there is a lot of uncertainty between the Raptors and the Pistons, the Raptors may break up and rebuild, whether the Pistons will end up swinging is still unknown, and Cunningham's injury is also an X-factor.
And the rocket is different, what the rocket is currently on the table is already very attractive to Uduka. The Rockets have hoarded a number of rising stars who have plenty of salary space to reinforce, the most in the league at $60 million. Although they owe the Thunder a first-round pick (a trade by Wilson), they have a first-round pick from the Nets. In this year's draft, the Rockets may draw the top draft to select Banyama.
Uduka and the Rockets are in the same direction, and they both aim to achieve results next season, and the consistency of goals lays the foundation for a happy cooperation between the two sides.
Can Uduka attract big names like Harden?
This offseason, the Rockets are bound to shuffle their roster. The Rockets currently have 13 people on contract, and they have two first-round picks to use, with salary space of $60 million. So this offseason, the Rockets are watching for how they will bring in and which players on the current roster will fall out of favor.
Young players such as Jaylen Green (against Jaylen Brown), Shen Jing (against Horford), Ethan (against Smart) are already the focus of the Rockets, and Uduka will definitely assign them the right roles and develop a development plan for them. For example, Green should improve the organization and offensive selection, Shen Jing improve the defense, and Ethan improve the outside stability and ball holding ability.
One who may fall out of favor is Kevin Porter, whose new season is the first year of Porter's four-year, $73 million contract in effect, but only his first year is guaranteed. For the Rockets to take off, they first need a more robust point guard, and Porter, who transitioned to playing point guard halfway, may not be the right person to start the point guard.
After the Rockets hire Uduka, they will definitely recruit according to his needs, $60 million in salary space, and the primary target must be Harden. If Harden leaves the 76ers, the Rockets have hope to sign Harden back, and there have been many recent rumors about Harden returning to the Rockets. It is worth mentioning that Harden briefly worked with Uduka when he was with the Nets. Another potential candidate is Kyrie Irving, who respects Uduka a lot, but it's unclear whether the Rockets are interested in the constant Irving off the court.
Also, Will Uduka poach his old club? Grant Williams unsuccessfully negotiated a contract extension with the Celtics last year, and the two sides did not agree.
Whether Brown stays with the Celtics depends on whether he can make the All-Tournament team this year, trigger a super top salary, and whether the Celtics are willing to extend his contract with a maximum salary in the future. If Brown wants to go, the Rockets have the chips to bring in Brown.
Overall, the Rockets have a lot of options this offseason, and management needs to think holistically.
Can a rocket take off right away?
Since Harden's departure, the Rockets have only 14, 20 and 21 wins in their last three seasons. In the new season, the Rockets will inevitably leave the bottom of the West, and the arrival of Uduka and the ambitions of management will improve the Rockets' record.
The question is, how much will the rocket improve?
It's all about the Rockets' offseason level of operation and luck. In the best case, the Rockets draw the top pick to pick Venbanyama, then use the salary space to sign Harden or other stars, and bring in a qualified 3D role player and functional interior through a few trades. Young players are growing fast and will be provocative next season. In this ideal situation, the Rockets can take off quickly and even have the strength to finish in the top four in the West, while Uduka will compete for the best coach.
But if the Rockets are unlucky with the lotto draw and the offseason operation is mediocre, the Rockets may aim to enter the playoffs first and try to reach the top half of the playoffs (7th or 8th in the West).
Don't expect the Rockets to become a championship team right away, after all, only LeBron James has made a bad team quickly become a championship team all these years. However, next season's Rockets are full of hope, they only have room to improve, there is no room to fall. Such a rocket, it is worth looking forward to.