Kelvin Sampson to be lead assistant with Houston Rockets
by Dan Sinclair on Jul 12, 2011 3:03 PM CDT
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PrintKelvin Sampson has agreed to a contract with the Houston Rockets to become the lead assistant under new head coach Kevin McHale, departing Milwaukee after three seasons on Scott Skiles' staff. Sampson will join J.B. Bickerstaff, a former assistant with the Timberwolves who worked under McHale with the Wolves in 2008-2009, on the Rockets' staff.
Sampson, unrestricted by the lockout that has handcuffed the players of the NBA, had been undergoing his own free-agency period, interviewing with a number of teams. He had been mentioned in a few head-coaching rumors, most notably with the Rockets and Detroit Pistons, who interviewed him in mid-June. Perhaps not coincidentally, Sampson's departure comes just a week after lead assistant Jim Boylan inked a one year deal to stay with the Bucks, turning down an offer from the Suns to become the defensive specialist in Phoenix. The contracts of all the Bucks' assistant coaches were set to lapse on July 1, but the Bucks reportedly offered all of them new deals ahead of the draft.
Sampson earned high praise for his role as an assistant in Milwaukee, where he was regarded as a "player's coach," a popular guy among everyone who played for him. He joined the Bucks in May 2008 after a brief stint as an adviser to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, which came on the heels of the recruiting scandal that forced him to resign from his head coaching position at Indiana in February 2008. In Milwaukee he was particularly involved in the early career of Brandon Jennings, regularly putting the then-19-year-old rookie through late night drills at the Bucks' training facility in the summer of 2009. With the retirement of Yao Ming likely to trigger a significant overhaul of the Rockets' roster, Sampson could easily find himself in a similar role, mentoring young players in Houston as they arrive in the next few years.
This doesn't completely close the book on Sampson's job search, however. According to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News, Sampson's deal with the Rockets includes an out clause if a head coaching position becomes available to him. A hat-tip to the Pistons blog Piston Powered for highlighting this.
As Piston Powered points out, a deal including such a clause would seem a big vote of confidence in Sampson on the part of Houston. Their willingness to roll the dice on him taking a head-coaching position later, potentially necessitating some hasty backup plan, would suggest that they are very eager to have him.
It's unfortunate that a popular guy like Sampson is headed out the door, but he's earned this new position. Sampson's move means the Bucks are in the market for an assistant coach, which we are sure to hear more about in the coming days. That's right, real news!
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So what do the players have to say abou...oh
I never use a big word when a diminutive word would suffice.
At least they're allowed to talk about it if they want...
Gotta say the NBA’s whole “act like the players don’t exist” thing is dumb. Almost as awesome as teams starting to lay off their rank-and-file employees. Owners really trying their best to lose the PR war…
by Frank Madden on Jul 12, 2011 10:32 PM CDT up reply actions
good luck to Sampson. always like his demeanour and effort with the Bucks
That," says LeBron, "is for everyone that watches me play. They witness something special. You're all a witness.
Apart from the Indiana thing, I've only ever heard good things about Sampson.
It will be interesting to see what BJ3s reaction to his mentor leaving will be.
Squad Six is to the Bucks what beer is to Milwaukee (or anywhere else for that matter)... the catalyst for you doing dumb things in public and not feeling self-conscious!
by Big Crazy Dave on Jul 13, 2011 5:46 AM CDT up reply actions
He definitely is an up-and-comer in NBA terms...
He left both Oklahoma and Indiana under more than dubious circumstances, but I don’t think anyone’s ever questioned his ability to work with young players, so it was only natural for him to fill that niche with the Bucks. The role/impact of assistants is awfully hard to gauge unless you’re seeing what happens behind closed doors, so you hope the Bucks and the players don’t miss a beat but who knows. It will be interesting to see if the Bucks bring in someone more experienced or if they just add a young coach and promote Goldwire from behind the bench. My guess is that they don’t hire a replacement until the lockout is resolved, though they could also hire someone now with a deal that limits their obligations if the lockout wipes out games. Sounds like they might have done that with the existing coaching staff.
by Frank Madden on Jul 13, 2011 7:37 AM CDT up reply actions
sounds like the Senator is tightening the fiscal belt
That," says LeBron, "is for everyone that watches me play. They witness something special. You're all a witness.
I feel like this is Morey's way of fiddling with our chemistry
Like the case with Portland screwing with Utah when it came time to sign Paul Millsap, the new generation of GMs are donkeys. The best way to get a clear edge on your opponent is to attack them ages before they get on the court.
by MadTown Hoops on Jul 13, 2011 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Eh?
The Artist Formerly known as Speedingtime/Speedy
by Jacob Grinyer on Jul 13, 2011 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions
I'll put out the mattress on the street
If it’s close to me
"He always plays like he's a pit bull that hasn't been fed in about a year and that you've got pork chops in your pockets and that's the basketball." Of course, he's Canadian
He posted that picture on like eight different SBN blogs.
Not sure why.
by Frank Madden on Jul 13, 2011 5:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Won't help Yao get in the HOF anyway
There’s no way(okay maybe that’s too strong)that Yao should get in, if he’s in, Moncrief should be there first.
"He always plays like he's a pit bull that hasn't been fed in about a year and that you've got pork chops in your pockets and that's the basketball." Of course, he's Canadian
The only category that Yao ever dominated was rigged All Star votes
He is not a hall of famer, unless Shawn Bradley and Georghe Mureson belong in there too.
If not for his injury he would probably be the best center in the league right now.
And he had a huge impact on the NBA’s worldwide popularity. I don’t think it’s that out of the question.
The Artist Formerly known as Speedingtime/Speedy
by Jacob Grinyer on Jul 13, 2011 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions
He's much better than those two for sure
And might have been worthy of HOF with a longer career but not with less than 500 games
"He always plays like he's a pit bull that hasn't been fed in about a year and that you've got pork chops in your pockets and that's the basketball." Of course, he's Canadian
This is an honest question: does anyone actually care about the basketball HOF?
It always seemed like the biggest joke of all the major sports to me…
"Don't worry, I've got an idea. An idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about..."
by Steve von Horn on Jul 13, 2011 9:47 PM CDT up reply actions
NOPE!
Squad Six is to the Bucks what beer is to Milwaukee (or anywhere else for that matter)... the catalyst for you doing dumb things in public and not feeling self-conscious!
by Big Crazy Dave on Jul 15, 2011 1:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Okay, here's the first honest thing I've heard from anyone involved in the NBA for weeks:
http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/30604366?source=rss_blogs_NBA
"Don't worry, I've got an idea. An idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about..."
Off-topic
I had a random thought today: whoever in the league office handles the scheduling will have a tough task ahead of them. I’ve read stories about how difficult baseball scheduling is, and I imagine it’s comparable to basketball. If some games are missed, that would just make it more difficult, and that’s assuming the current CBA rules regarding scheduling stay in effect. It would be interesting to read a story about that – maybe some sportswriter will get bored enough to write one as the lockout goes on.
I never use a big word when a diminutive word would suffice.
they dont have programs & software for this stuff?
That," says LeBron, "is for everyone that watches me play. They witness something special. You're all a witness.
More Propaganda from Yahoo! Sports
NBA players should definitely concede more if they ever want to play basketball again. Oh, if you’re thinking of going overseas, you’d better not, because it didn’t work out so well for Danny Ferry a long time ago. Training practices have changed so much in the past two decades that the conditions overseas then are completely irrelevant. More scare tactics by Yahoo!
drinking & smoking after games? mykinda league where do I sign up!!!!
That," says LeBron, "is for everyone that watches me play. They witness something special. You're all a witness.
Ok I don't understand
Why Yahoo would be trying to scare players back and why players would even care about Danny Ferry. To me this is just an article that was written because there’s nothing else to write. And I don’t understand why people feel sorry for players when they are making 57% of the income, what other business has a 57% labour cost(not including other wages even). Again I will say I don’t really side with the owners either as it’s two groups of people that are getting far too much money for putting on entertainment.
"He always plays like he's a pit bull that hasn't been fed in about a year and that you've got pork chops in your pockets and that's the basketball." Of course, he's Canadian
I tend to agree with you but also the players are also the product in a way in the NBA
should be plenty for all to go around and get a slice of the pie. problem is whatever the amount for some, on both sides, its never enough all they have on their minds is more more more
That," says LeBron, "is for everyone that watches me play. They witness something special. You're all a witness.
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