I know who he is, I'm just not really sure what he's doing here. Is it just me, or did Kevin McHale act in his introductory presser as if he's as surprised to have the job as a lot of us were when we heard he got it?
McHale has quite a task in front of him, and he got off to what I'm going to call "a very accountable start" when he immediately took responsibility for the failure of next year's team not making the playoffs, should it go down that way. Daryl Morey certainly must have enjoyed hearing that. He probably kept himself from doing a celebratory awkward white guy dance.
It's nice to hear a coach be accountable and say all the right things, but 2011 is on Morey. Just the fact that McHale was hired makes it clear the Rockets wanted a guy who is willing to roll over and play ball when it comes to any and every basketball decision not made during an actual basketball game.
Rick Adelman wanted a modicum of control over personnel. How much, who knows? But he certainly deserved it considering his stature as a coach. McHale, well, he was such a failure as a personnel guy that he felt comfortable making fun of it in his press conference. Yeah, okay. It was actually pretty funny, but what the hell did this guy do or say to get this job? He even agreed (or will agree) to put Morey/Alexander darling Chris Finch on his bench as an assistant so he can groom his eventual replacement. That's... weird, is it not?
Houston fans bag on Houston teams as much as anyone, but let's be real for a minute here. The Rockets' job is a good, desirable NBA job. You've got a team with some good history, a new building, a great city, and most importantly, an owner who will do whatever it takes to win, finances be damned.
Clearly, Les Alexander believes in Daryl Morey in a way that kind of frightens me. I believe in the guy too, but when's the last time a high-profile NBA team hired a coach that is expected to clam up, get the hell out of the general manager's way, and help to mold his own replacement? It's strange, weird, and unsettling. Like Less Alexander's laugh.