Report: Tilman Fertitta has met with Rockets coaching candidates

Houston’s owner has briefly met with the candidates before longer sessions with GM Daryl Morey and others in basketball operations.

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said in September that the search for a new head coach to replace Mike D’Antoni is being led by GM Daryl Morey, with Fertitta referring to his role as “the sign-off guy.”

But even if Morey makes the ultimate decision, it’s understandable that Fertitta would want a working relationship with his next coach.

Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Fertitta briefly met with each of the candidates upon their arrival in Houston before turning them over to Morey and others in basketball operations for longer sessions.

Feigen writes:

The Rockets have not ruled out expanding the interviews beyond the seven planned, but have been pleased with the sessions so far, according to the individual with knowledge of the process so far. Finalists could be brought back for follow-ups, but the sessions have included meetings with Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta before longer sessions with general manager Daryl Morey and others in basketball operations.

Because Fertitta has already met with the candidates, this could mean that the Rockets are able to make a hire (should they desire to do so) without bringing coaches back for an additional “round” of interviewing.

According to Feigen’s report, the Rockets have already interviewed former Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson, as well as several assistant coaches from around the league (Houston’s John Lucas, Dallas’ Stephen Silas, Denver’s Wes Unseld Jr., and Minnesota’s David Vanterpool).

Meanwhile, this week’s interviews are of a somewhat higher tier, with veteran head coaches Tyronn Lue and Jeff Van Gundy on the docket. Lue arrived in Houston on Sunday and is interviewing on Monday.

Van Gundy is likely to arrive within days, now that his NBA “bubble” duties as an ABC announcer are officially complete.

Lue and Van Gundy may also have interest from other teams, which could make this week’s conversations with Fertitta quite meaningful. Besides Fertitta wanting to gain some knowledge of his team’s options, any candidate with multiple job offers will likely want to compare the top executives in one location to their counterparts in another.

In other words, while Morey and Fertitta want to learn which coach is the best fit for the Rockets — some coaches will likely use their leverage to try and predict which GM and owner is the best fit for them. There’s also the issue of salary negotiations, which can be tricky since there’s no salary cap on coaching hires. For example, Lue broke off negotiations with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason due to a contract dispute.

Tuesday will represent the one-month mark since D’Antoni informed the Rockets on Sept. 13 that he would not return. Though the search is clearly progressing, there is still no definitive timetable for a hire.

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