http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/06/sports/basketball/06jeff.html Rockets Woo Van Gundy By THE NEW YORK TIMES In what essentially amounted to a recruiting trip, the Houston Rockets took Jeff Van Gundy and his wife, Kim, around Houston yesterday. Carroll Dawson, the Rockets' general manager, has said he wants Van Gundy to be the team's next coach. But Van Gundy, who met with officials of the Washington W izards on Wednesday, has yet to make up his mind. "It's flattering," said Van Gundy, the former coach of the Knicks. "But as we al l know when we've moved, it's a major decision in your life and a lot of things go into it." The Rockets have reportedly had preliminary negotiations with Van Gundy's repres entatives, and it is believed that he would receive $4 million to $5 million a y ear for four or five years. An Eastern Conference official said Houston had also broached the subject of compensation with the Knicks, who own Van Gundy's right s until July 31, perhaps giving up a second-round draft pick. From a basketball standpoint, the Washington job does not compare to the one in Houston. The Rockets have the 7-foot-5 center Yao Ming and the All-Star point gu ard Steve Francis, while the Wizards finished below .500 in the mediocre Eastern Conference. Van Gundy, who resigned after nearly six seasons as the Knicks' head coach in December 2001, realizes that Houston's roster makes it attractive. "Somebody I really trust in basketball, I asked him what he thought were the p luses and minuses," Van Gundy said. "He said that the biggest plus about Houston was that every day that Yao Ming wakes up, he's 7-5." --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 218.167.204.241