The Houston Rockets thought the world of Kevin McHale on the day they fired him.
Smart guy. Fine coach. Better person. There’s the door.
On the day Larry Bird canned Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel over the phone, he described him in a press conference as “the best.” He called him “a great man.” Vogel was, Bird said, “a great leader.”
Bird said Vogel wasn't fired just that his contract wasn't renewed. Said if called for reference, he'd say "He's the best... The real deal."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) May 5, 2016
Dave Joerger’s dismissal, announced by the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, did not come with the same sort of warm and fuzzies, but it fit the pattern.