Sam Amick suggests Alvin Gentry as a name to watch in Houston

“Alvin followed Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix,” Amick said of Gentry. “Similar philosophies. Offensively, he could do similar things.”

Veteran NBA reporter Sam Amick, who now writes for The Athletic, says he wouldn’t be surprised to see former New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry as a potential coaching candidate for the Houston Rockets.

“Another name that wouldn’t surprise me to get involved is Alvin Gentry,” Amick told Michael Scotto on the HoopsHype Podcast. “Alvin followed Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix. Similar philosophies. Offensively, he could do similar things to what the Rockets are trying to do.”

Now 65 years old, Gentry has worked as a head coach over 17 seasons, with a cumulative regular-season record of 510-595 (.462). That total of 510 wins ranks No. 33 in NBA history. He is 17-13 (.567) in the playoffs.

As Amick alluded to, Gentry was D’Antoni’s top assistant in Phoenix and took over as head coach shortly after D’Antoni’s departure. In 2009-10, which was Gentry’s first season as the non-interim head coach, the Suns went 54-28 and pushed the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to six games in a tough Western Conference Finals series.

Gentry was associate head coach with Golden State in the 2014-15 season, which is when the Warriors won their first NBA title of this era. On paper, his success with elite guards such as Steve Nash, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson would seem to be a good fit with the current roster in Houston — which is led by James Harden and Russell Westbrook. In recent years, Gentry has been very complimentary of Harden’s play.

Amick didn’t speculate on whether he envisioned Gentry as a candidate for head coach in Houston, or as a top assistant coach. It’s worth noting that Gentry went the assistant route with the Clippers and Warriors after leaving the Phoenix job in 2012, and perhaps that could again be a path for him after losing the Pelicans job at the end of the 2019-20 season.

To that point, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Rockets were looking for the right combination of head coach and top assistant in their ongoing search to replace D’Antoni. “They try to find people that complement each other,” Wojnarowski said.

In theory, Gentry could also smoothen the transition from D’Antoni to the next era. Considering that Houston’s undersized roster was put together with D’Antoni’s coaching style in mind, it might make sense to bring in at least one coach on the next staff with similar philosophies.

D’Antoni finished his Houston tenure with the second-most wins in franchise history, and he ranks No. 1 in all-time winning percentage.

The search to replace D’Antoni is being led by GM Daryl Morey, and there’s no known timetable for when it may conclude. On the podcast, Amick also mentioned Ty Lue and Jeff Van Gundy as candidates.

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