Rockets: Leslie Alexander Making A Costly Mistake

Remember when the Houston Rockets won two championships in 1994 and 1995? Well I don’t. I’m 23-years old, and was just one and two-years old at the time. What that means is that I’ve never experienced a championship in Houston.

What that also means is that I don’t really remember any time in my Rockets fandom to have an affinity with owner Leslie Alexander. Sure, over the last 10-15 years of my Rockets fandom, Alexander has seemed to put winning at the forefront, always willing to spend extra money to help further the quest for the franchise’s third championship trophy.

But now Alexander has gone too far. Now, Alexander is meddling in the business of his General Manger.

The Houston Rockets fired Kevin McHale early last season and J.B. Bickerstaff was (rightfully) not brought back, meaning the Rockets have a head coaching vacancy for next season.

Houston, with a young star in James Harden on the roster, should have been the best available gig on the market, so in theory the Rockets should have been able to bring in the best coach available.

The majority opinion of people in basketball say that Jeff Van Gundy was the best coach available, followed by ex-Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel. Yet somehow, both “elite” options seemed to never have a chance with the Rockets.

Why? Because Houston’s owner decided to jump in. Alexander seems obsessed with a fast-paced offense, even though that wasn’t the Rockets’ main issue last season. Defense, defense, defense should be Houston’s #1 priority in a coach (which is JVG’s calling), but Alexander wanted no part in Van Gundy, who he (Alexander) didn’t get along with in Van Gundy’s first tenure in Houston.

Vogel is also known to have a strong defensive mind, but never appeared to even be in the running. Why? Because he doesn’t run a fast-paced offense.

Alexander wanted Mike D’Antoni (and though no deal is official yet, D’Antoni is the favorite for the job). Daryl Morey didn’t want D’Antoni. Morey wanted Van Gundy (as did many other fans) because he knows defense is the main concern and he believes JVG can get through to James Harden.

Instead, we have an owner in Alexander getting involved. Too involved. When owners meddle in the business of their GM, things don’t work out. Just ask Cowboys and Knicks fans. Jerry Jones and James Dolan shouldn’t be the ones running the team, yet they seem to have the say in every decision. And look where they are. It never works out.

Alexander hired Morey to be the General Manager. That means he hired him to make personnel decisions from the coaches all the way to the 15th guy on the roster. If that’s Morey’s job, then he needs to decide on the next head coach that HE feels will best since he’s the one making the rest of the decisions. It should be HIS choice to decide which coach fits his system and players best. NOT the owner’s choice.