Tell me about Dwane Casey & Kevin McHale

[x-]

Hi guys, Rockets fan here.

I'm not sure if you've heard, but it looks like the three finalists for the Rockets head coaching job are Lawrence Frank, Dwane Casey & Kevin McHale.

I've read quite a bit about Casey and vaguely remember McHale's coaching stint, however I've never watched a ton of T-Wolves games, so I'm really not all too familiar with either guy (as a coach anyway).

So, if you don't mind, tell me about them.

What are they good at? What are their shortcomings?
Do they have a hard on for veteran scrubs?
What kind of offense do they run?
Who would you prefer as a head coach?

The more information, the better.

Thanks a lot.

[Klomp]

Dwane Casey is a defensive guru. One of his weaknesses here was his rotations. Personally, I'd take Casey over McHale.

[C.lupus]

Yeah, ironically Casey would be great here. He got a raw deal in his stint here.

McHale was a better coach than GM by far. Not sure if he is a great tactition but he always had a good rapport with the players and seemed to get more out of them.

[jscott]

The players loved McHale. That may have been because they had a decade of time with him as GM before he was our coach/GM. He got a lot out of his guys, but we won't miss him in MN. Supposedly a great big man coach.

Smarks prefer Casey. He preached strong defense and got a .500 record out of a team that fell off the map the day he was fired. A lot of that blame could be aimed at the roster but as a Timberwolves fan I'd welcome Casey back with open arms.

Probably only because I'm a Wolves fan and still hold a grudge I'd pick Casey but McHale may be the better coach for certain teams. I could see him working with a Rivers-less Celtics squad reuniting with KG.

Personally, get Frank.

[Worm Guts]

Probably only because I'm a Wolves fan and still hold a grudge I'd pick Casey but McHale may be the better coach for certain teams. I could see him working with a Rivers-less Celtics squad reuniting with KG.

McHale and KG didn't part ways on the best terms. That would be interesting.

[post0115]

Unfortunate to hear that Frank is a finalist as he is one of the guys I would like us to look strong at to replace Rambis.

McHale
-Solid, but not great basketball mind. His analysis as an announcer shows this.
-Absolutely horrible GM. Took this franchise thru the dumps and ruined KG's career in MN.
-Connected with players well and would most likely do the same in most settings.
-Solid teacher especially for post players (Love, Jefferson, examples)
-Had very lousy effort and commitment as GM, but had much better commitment as coach. I think this was because he developed better relationships with players when he was coaching them and thus didn't want to let the players down.
-Sees players as post players and guards. Horrible for GM, but if GM sets the foundation for a clear PG and C it might help.
-I don't think he would be a good fit with Houston. He would help Yao if he were healthy, but probably hurt Scola (Scola is better on perimeter). He would also ruin the good ball movement that you guys had under Adelman as he loves working the ball to the post.

Casey
-I watched a ton of his games, but oddly enough don't have too many strong opinions about him, but overall didn't like him at all.
-He was very softspoken which I didn't like.
-I also wasn't a fan of his rotations, but don't remember too many specifics.
- The type of guy you don't say too many negative things about, but hard to find any great positives either.

[post0115]

A question back to the OP, what do you think of Adelman? I would think he would be in the running for the Timberwolves coaching job. He lives in Portland along with Kevin Love and Kahn. He pushes a fast paced tempo that Kahn would like. He has known Love for quite some time (Adelman's son was high school teammate). It seems on the surface like a good fit except for Adelman's age, but a wise, calm demeanor can be good for young guys.

[x-]

A question back to the OP, what do you think of Adelman? I would think he would be in the running for the Timberwolves coaching job. He lives in Portland along with Kevin Love and Kahn. He pushes a fast paced tempo that Kahn would like. He has known Love for quite some time (Adelman's son was high school teammate). It seems on the surface like a good fit except for Adelman's age, but a wise, calm demeanor can be good for young guys.

Adelman is a great coach and as far as I'm concerned the best guy out there.

The great thing about him is that he adjusts his system to his personal, so really he'd be a good fit just about anywhere, although you ideally probably want him to coach a team with at least one capable passing big.

Darko and Love would fit that bill more than well. They'd definitley benifit playing under Adelman.

One thing Adelman can't stand though is lack of execution, bad shot selection and ISO-ball. In other words I don't see Adelman and Beasley meshing well.

I believe that Adelman will go to a contender, most likely the Lakers, but if I'm in charge of a semi-contending NBA team I'd sure go hard after him.
If my team is still a few years away from contention, I'd probably go after an upcoming assistant, since Adelman isn't necessarily the youngest guy out there anymore.

[gensu3k1]

I don't think he would be a good fit with Houston. He would help Yao if he were healthy, but probably hurt Scola (Scola is better on perimeter).

Scola is not better on the perimeter. He can nail setshot 15 footers but he's a low post artist and that's his strongest skill.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I like McHale more. Casey can improve a team with his coaching experience and system, but McHale coaches players up. He seems to do a good job getting guys believing in themselves and playing up to their potential.

[Calinks]

I think both of them are strong candiates.

Kevin McHale.... I didn't think he would want to be a head coach but obviously that is a current aspiration for him. I believe he is great, GREAT with working with players. A real players coach. think the guys can relate to him and enjoy being under hum. He seems like a coach players want to play for. I don't know how technical he is but he can motivate.

Casey is a great defensive coach. He had Rashad McCants playing solid defense, that's not as easy as it sounds. I think players respect him. He is a bit of a disciplinarian and he will put a player in the doghouse which can get annoying. He is an EXTREMLY hard worker. I read many a story abut how he was always in his office after hours. Some days he slept there. He works his butt off. I get the impression that he's willing to try new things if something isn't working as well which I think is a good quality. Too many coaches are stubborn.

With McHale I worry about his X's and O's and I wonder if he can inspire a team for the long haul. Sometimes with a personality like his, people gravitate towards him right away but they start to lose the respect level they should have for a coach and then the coach slowly winds up losing the players. I really only question his ability of a tactician. I think he will be fine everywhere else.

Casey makes me wonder about rotations and his relationship with players. I don't think players dislike him but I don't know if they love him either. He has been known to put put players in the doghouse and kind of bury them. I don't know if he does that often but he has done it before, it's not like he did it without any reason though.

Either way, I think you got two good hopefuls. Frank is the safer bet because we know he's solid all round but under McHale you could have players who are inspired to play basketball. Under Casey you could have one of the better defensive teams in the NBA (which you are already familiar with experiencing). I think McHale is better at offense and Casey is much better at D.

[shangrila]

Neither is great. Casey was a good defensive guy but players complained that he didn't communicate with them and by the end of his stint here he had well and truly lost that lockerroom. McHale only had a shorter stint, but he played to his guys strengths and, I think, that was probably the best month of basketball we've had here post-KG (of course, Jefferson went out with an injury shortly after and it all went back to hell).

Honestly, get Frank.