Initial Houston Rockets coaching hot board for 2020-21 season

The Rockets don’t currently have a head coach under contract for the 2020-21 season. Led by Mike D’Antoni, here’s a list of seven options.

With the 2019-20 season now complete for the Houston Rockets, the franchise is at a unique spot. Between James Harden and Russell Westbrook, they have an All-Star backcourt of recent NBA MVPs — and at 31 years old, there’s a clear emphasis on winning now.

On the surface, they’ve certainly had their share of wins. The Rockets have the NBA’s longest current streak of eight straight playoff appearances, and they’re the only Western Conference team to have won at least one playoff series in each of the last four seasons.

Yet, they’ve also been eliminated in the second round of the playoffs for two straight years, suggesting that there’s a clear gap between the Rockets and the top tier of contenders. And given the ages of their star players, time is of the essence if GM Daryl Morey and owner Tilman Fertitta are going to steer the Rockets to an NBA title in this era.

At least some changes are probably necessary to get over the hump, but the problem is that it’s difficult (at least on paper) to envision a radical reconstruction of the roster. Houston has no salary cap room for the foreseeable future, and most of the team’s current rotation players are already under contract for multiple seasons moving forward.

The most notable position that isn’t under contract for the 2020-21 season and beyond is head coach. Mike D’Antoni‘s four-year contract is now up, and there’s no money committed to him beyond this seasoon — which makes for a clean financial breakup, if the team wants one.

Morey has spoken glowingly of D’Antoni in recent months, but he might feel compelled to gamble on the upside of a change, given the clear gap between the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. After all, it doesn’t seem that LeBron James or Anthony Davis are going anywhere for the time being.

Without a clear route to greatly improving the roster, the coaching situation might be Houston’s best shot at an upgrade. Keep in mind that in addition to lacking cap room, the Rockets are also short on future draft picks due to last offseason’s blockbuster trade of Chris Paul for Westbrook. For contenders who don’t have talented prospects to tempt other teams in trades, future picks are often the “sweetener” for deals.

Then again, given D’Antoni’s track record as the winningest coach (by win percentage) in franchise history and his clear rapport with the franchise, it would be silly to rule out a reunion. After Saturday’s series-ending loss, D’Antoni himself expressed an openness to returning:

We’ve got a great organization, great city, great fans, team’s great. I mean, everything’s good here. We’ll see what happens, but I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I had four years. Hopefully it keeps going, but you just never know. But everything is good on this side, for sure.

“It was fun. It’s still fun. You always hate to lose. It’s always a little bittersweet, but I couldn’t ask for better people to work with and better players to work with. A lot of things stand out, a lot of little things, but I had a great four years, for sure.

With a perennial MVP finalist (Harden) under contract for at least two more seasons, it should be viewed as an attractive job, with league-wide interest from a variety of candidates. The established status of Morey as one of the league’s best and most respected GMs should help, as well.

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The Rockets and D’Antoni could still choose to stay the course — but at least at the moment, the job is open and with no one under contract. Led by D’Antoni, let’s take a look at seven plausible candidates.

Mike D’Antoni 

Pros: He’s familiar with the players, and the current “micro-ball” roster and scheme is optimized for his skillset as a coach. He has a great relationship with the front office and with Harden, who says he wants D’Antoni back. Harden is one of the best offensive players in NBA history, and D’Antoni is regarded as one of the top all-time coaches on that end.

The 69-year-old has the top winning percentage in franchise history in the regular season, and No. 2 in the playoffs. Morey has said that he sees D’Antoni as one of the best coaches in NBA history.

Cons: The Rockets have been knocked out of the playoffs in the second round in back-to-back years, and with no salary cap room and most players already under contract for future seasons, their roster is hard to change. They might need to gamble on a coaching change to get over the hump. There also could be a financial angle, since the Rockets tried to extend D’Antoni in 2019 but couldn’t come to an agreement.

Jeff Van Gundy

Pros: He’s been rumored as a strong candidate for months, should the job open. Now 58 years old, Van Gundy still has a strong relationship with Morey, dating back to when Van Gundy coached the Rockets upon Morey’s 2006 arrival. He still lives in Houston, and has repeatedly praised Harden over the years. He’s worked with both Harden and Westbrook through USA Basketball. He took the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals.

Historically, Van Gundy is regarded as an excellent defensive coach, and the Rockets ranked No. 15 in the NBA on that end during the regular season. Previous owner Les Alexander pushed Van Gundy out after the 2006-07 season and preferred D’Antoni during the 2016 search, but Tilman Fertitta is now running the show in Houston.

Cons: What about offense? When Van Gundy was last an NBA head coach in 2007, his offenses were consistently among the slowest-paced and lowest-scoring in the league. That’s the complete opposite of the recent formula for these Rockets, though it is worth noting that Van Gundy’s philosophy on offense seems to have evolved over his years as an announcer. There’s also the question of whether he would want to leave his plush ABC analyst job for the stress and grind of coaching, and it might take a lot of money to bring him out of coaching retirement.

Kenny Atkinson

Pros: The former Brooklyn head coach was listed as a potential candidate by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and he has experience with Houston as the Rockets’ director of player development during the first season of Morey’s tenure. The 53-year-old very analytics-minded, with a history of playing fast-paced, smaller lineups.

Cons: While he took over a disastrous situation with the Nets and clearly improved it, he only had one winning season in four years, and that was at just 42-40. He hasn’t had proven success in the playoffs, and the Rockets are clearly in a win-now mode. There’s also no known connection between Atkinson and either Harden or Westbrook.

Chris Finch

Pros: The current New Orleans assistant coach has a strong working relationship with Morey, having been a Rockets assistant for five years and the head coach of the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He has an offensive background and profiles similarly to Nick Nurse, who has clearly elevated the Toronto Raptors after being hired in 2018. ESPN’s MacMahon listed the 50-year-old Finch as a candidate.

Cons: He hasn’t held an NBA head coaching job before. With a veteran-laden roster and a win-now emphasis, would Houston take the gamble?

Stephen Silas

Pros: The Dallas assistant was a surprising finalist for the Rockets job in 2016 before it went to D’Antoni, which suggests that he interviewed very well with Morey and the front office. His Mavs just finished up a season in which they had (statistically) the most efficient offense in NBA history. At 47 years old, he’s among the youngest of the popular options and could conceivably be around for a long time.

Cons: As with Finch, he hasn’t previously been an NBA head coach. Is this the time for the Rockets to take that risk? There also doesn’t seem to be a clear link between Silas and either Harden or Westbrook.

Sam Cassell

Pros: The Los Angeles Clippers assistant has interviewed for the Houston job in the past. He has 11 years of experience as an assistant, and as a former player from Houston’s championship teams in 1994 and 1995, he’d be a very popular pick with the fan base. While he hasn’t been a head coach, the Clippers have repeatedly made the playoffs over his tenure, which has given him opportunities on the big stage.

He has worked for years under Doc Rivers, who is respected as one of the NBA’s best coaches. Rivers recently said that Cassell “should be a head coach, period,” pointing to his “incredibly high basketball IQ.”

Current Rockets guard Austin Rivers, who previously played for his father and Cassell with the Clippers, has praised Cassell’s work as a skills developer. At 50 years old, Cassell is relatively young as a candidate and should be able to relate very well to modern players.

Cons: As with Finch and Silas, he hasn’t previously been a head coach. Do the Rockets want a proven commodity? Also, going back to his playing days, Cassell has long been known how valuing the mid-range game on offense. Is that a potential stumbling block with Morey and the analytics-driven Rockets, who have become known for a “3-pointers, free throws, and layups” philosophy in recent years?

Furthermore, since Cassell’s Clippers are still in the playoffs, would the Rockets be willing to wait until the Los Angeles season ends to do an interview? That could take until mid-October. Even if Cassell was willing to do an interview while his team is still playing, it would have to be in a “virtual” setting, since he can’t leave the NBA “bubble.”

Gregg Popovich

Pros: He’s a five-time NBA champion and widely viewed as one of the best coaches in basketball history. The Spurs are in somewhat of a rebuilding mode, having just missed the playoffs for the first time in 23 years. He’s spoken very fondly of Harden in the past, and at 71 years old, he likely only has a few years left as a head coach.

It would be understandable if Popovich preferred a more winning situation for his final NBA years. He also has extensive experience with Harden and Westbrook as the head coach of USA Basketball.

Cons: Given his legendary status in San Antonio, would Popovich really leave the Spurs after more than 20 years — and for an in-state rival? The Brooklyn Nets allegedly had interest in Popovich before hiring Steve Nash, but that pursuit didn’t seem to go anywhere. And would Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who has taken a financial beating in 2020 thanks to the impact of COVID-19 on his restaurant and hospitality empire, shell out the significant cash that it would take for Popovich to even consider it? It’s a extreme longshot. but a pursuit would make sense on some levels.

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