Stephen Silas on new Rockets guard John Wall: ‘Joy to coach’

“He’s a joy to coach because he’s a coach on the floor,” Silas said of Wall, his new point guard. “But he also allows me to coach him.”

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Stephen Silas in his first training camp as an NBA head coach, since Houston Rockets star James Harden remains away from the team after requesting a trade in the offseason.

But one man who has made life a lot easier for Silas is new point guard John Wall, who the Rockets acquired from Washington in the trade that sent out Russell Westbrook. Wall said Sunday that he was embracing a leadership role in Houston, and Silas clearly confirmed it a day later.

When asked about Wall’s play on Monday, Silas said:

John Wall has looked great. He’s looked really, really good. Pushing the ball up the floor and getting everybody organized as a point guard does. Hitting guys on time and on target on passes, he’s still a little bit rusty, obviously since he hasn’t played in so long. But he’s a joy to coach, because he is a coach on the floor, but he also allows me to coach him. Which is amazing. He’s really doing a good job.

Silas said both Wall and new center DeMarcus Cousins had hit “buzzer-beating shots” to close out Houston’s intrasquad scrimmages.

Now 30 years old, Wall played nine seasons in Washington since being chosen No. 1 overall in the NBA’s 2010 draft. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 19.0 points (43.3% FG) and 9.2 assists in 35.9 minutes per game, and he was a better 3-point shooter in recent years than Westbrook.

The primary concern with Wall is his health, since he hasn’t played since suffering a series of heel and Achilles injuries in early 2019. But the five-time All-Star says he’s healthy after having nearly two full years to rest and rehabilitate, and his new teammates in Houston have noticed.

On Monday, here’s what backcourt mate Eric Gordon said of Wall:

Physically, he looks really good. We all know he’s really fast. He has that. He’s getting his explosiveness [back]. Playing above the rim, he’ll definitely have that. Physically, he’s back to where he was at.

The Rockets are also holding out hope that Wall’s relationship with Harden might help the franchise eventually lure the perennial MVP finalist back into the fold. While Silas said Monday that he has “no timetable” for when Harden will report, Wall said a day earlier that he had spoken with Harden and “for sure” expects him with the Rockets this season.

Silas said Monday that he believes those comments by Wall have merit, given the importance of player relationships in the NBA. His comments:

I put stock into it. Coaches and players are different, [have] different relationships. The only relationship that I have with James is the fact that he was one of the people who in the interview process recommended that I get the job. I assume the relationship that he has with John goes a lot further down the road. For that communication to happen doesn’t surprise me. We’ll see when [James] gets here.

Preseason play for Wall, Gordon, and the rest of the 2020-21 Rockets begins Friday in Chicago. It seems doubtful that Harden will join them by that time, but they plan to make the most of what they currently have.

“I’m working with the guys who are here, and we’re working hard,” Silas said after Monday’s practice. “I think we’re doing a good job.”

[lawrence-related id=41505,41476]