Stephen Silas will be the next head coach of the Houston Rockets, as both sides decide the deal, According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Silas has been an assistant in the NBA since 2000, working for seven different teams. Most recently, he joined Rick Carlisle’s staff in 2018 with the Dallas Mavericks. Silas is the son of former NBA head coach Paul Silas, and worked under him in Cleveland during the first two years of LeBron James’ career.
The Rockets interviewed several other candidates to replace Mike Dantoni, and eventually settled on three finalists: Silas, former Rockets coach and ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy and Houston’s current assistant John Lucas II. Rockets were sold on Silas’ aggressive creativity, According to Wozniacki. He has worked with Luca D cnik, Stephen Curry and Kemba Waker. In Houston, he will be tasked with designing the offense for James Harden and Russell Westbrook, versatile enough to handle extreme defenses.
An extreme example came in the second round of the postseason. In an attempt to force his comrades to kill him, the Lakers threw traps after trapping Harden. They couldn’t, and the Rockets were humiliated in a five-game walkover. Dantoni enabled Harden’s habit of isolation to a historic degree. If the Rockets are going to compete for the championship next season, they need to diversify aggressively.
But hanging on to them is a future that seems increasingly uncertain. Both Harden and Westbrook are in their 30s, and the deal that brought Westbrook to Houston cost them control of four of their first-round picks. Daryl Moore might be able to navigate them through Mainfield, but he is now running the Philadelphia 76ers. If things go south in Houston without it, a rebuild could eventually become inevitable.
In all likelihood, it resulted in Houston’s calculation of renting Silas. Lucas years is 66 years old, and Van Gundi is 58 years old. Silas, still in his mid-0s, has a long coaching career ahead of him and could potentially spend thin years that the old coach did not want.
The goal now, however, is to stay competitive. Owner Tilman Fertitta has said on record that he wants to win this season. Despite limited draft capital and financial relief being difficult, last season’s roster will improve. In all likelihood, any improvement was to come through the best coaching. On that front, the Rockets claim one of the most skilled assistants in basketball to do what Denton could not do: lead Harden in the championship.
