An executive suite melodrama usually ensues when a general manager or a team president is brought in by a franchise and has to coexist with an entrenched coach. The coach has friends in high places and wants more input in personnel matters; in part for that reason, the new GM usually wants his own man in the coaching seat. Often, all parties wind up losing in the subsequent power struggle.

A couple of years ago, for example, Kiki Vandeweghe was brought in as GM in Denver, where Jeff Bzdelic had begun to turn around the moribund Nuggets. At the first sign of team stagnation, Vandeweghe canned Bzdelic and brought in his own man, Michael Cooper, who struggled mightily, losing 10 of 14 games. It wasn’t long before the the owner, Stan Kroenke, got involved and his friend, George Karl was hired. Karl eventually shoved Vandeweghe out of the picture. Meanwhile, the Nuggets, who once looked an elite team in the making, have peaked as a playoff alsoran.

Is Houston the next setting for this sort of drama? The situation seems ripe. In April, the Rockets announced the hiring of Daryl Morey, a statistical analyst with the Boston Celtics, to be their new assistant GM, and that he would succeed current GM Carroll Dawson after the 2006–07 season. The announcement was a minor shock as Morey, an MIT MBA, had no playing or coaching experience and the Rockets’ front office was chock full of veteran employees who had seemed like front runners to replace the 64-year old Dawson.

One of the most pertinent questions was whither Rocket coach Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy is fondly remembered by most Knicks fans and for good reason. He coached the team from 1996–2002, leading them to six straight winning seasons (their last winning seasons) and the 1999 Finals. Given the current decrepit state of the Knicks, if Van Gundy were to become available, the hue and cry for his return to the Garden would likely drown out the jets at all three local airports.

Knicks fans shouldn’t hold their collective breath just yet. In three seasons with the Rockets, Van Gundy has compiled an impressive 130–116 record despite significant blocks of time lost to injuries suffered by Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and a blockbuster trade that remade the roster two summers ago.

The two acquisitions made so far this off-season suggest a delicate balance is being struck between Van Gundy and his new boss. The draft-night deal that brought Shane Battier from Memphis is certain to be a coach-pleaser. Battier is the sort of player who doesn’t compile good fantasy league numbers, but has an excellent plus/minus rating, is among the better players at taking charges, and shot 48.8% from the field last season, including 39.4% from behind the arc.The 6-foot-8-inch Battier is durable; he’s missed 14 games in five seasons, and he doesn’t need the ball to be an effective player. The forward seems like an excellent third option behind Yao and T-Mac.

Battier’s downside is that he turns 28 in six weeks, and probably won’t get much better than he is now. And he cost the Rockets dearly. Not only did they give up first-round pick Rudy Gay, a player projected to go top five in most mock drafts, but they also gave up Stromile Swift. The 6-foot-9-inch Swift failed to live up to his billing as a future superstar, but his disappointing season in Houston notwithstanding, he has been a valuable front line reserve.

The Rockets’ second move this offseason — nabbing shooting guard Kirk Snyder from New Orleans for spare change — sounds like a Morey move. Snyder improved markedly in his second season, but at the tender age of 23 he’s already a journeyman, having worn out his welcome in Utah and New Orleans/Oklahoma City. On the one hand, he seems like a player on the rise who hasn’t received a fair chance to showcase his improving skills. On the other, he seems like a player whom Byron Scott and Jerry Sloan, two coaches of similar temperament and style to Van Gundy, didn’t want around.

This sort of seesawing is probably going to be the Rockets M.O. for the next few years.The primary roster construction challenge is simple: build a supporting cast around Ming and Mc-Grady. For the last two seasons, the Rockets have tried an array of moves that border on guessing (how else do you explain the trade of productive guard Mike James to Toronto straight up for head case Rafer Alston?). Morey will bring a set of statistical prerogatives that will guide the Rockets moves.

In all likelihood, the key factor that determines the success of the Van Gundy-Morey relationship won’t be philosophical; statheads and controlfreak coaches both value players who shoot a high percentage and take care of the basketball. Instead, it will be a simple matter of power. Some of Van Gundy’s cronies, like George Postolos, are clearing out and making way for the new regime.How Van Gundy feels about Morey’s people will determine if he stays or gets wanderlust. If it’s the latter, we can probably guess the next chapter in the Knicks saga.

mjohnson@nysun.com