With approximately 20 years in the assistant ranks, including the last two working for Rick Carlisle in Dallas, Stephen Silas was certainly qualified to step into the role of head coach with the Houston Rockets.
Last season, with Silas largely overseeing the offense, the Mavericks graded out statistically as the most efficient offense in NBA history.
Furthermore, his status as the son of former NBA head coach Paul Silas — who ranks in the league’s top 50 in all-time coaching wins — gives him even more experience than his strong résumé might first suggest.
But if there were any lingering doubts about the first-time head coach, he answered them in Houston’s lengthy interviewing process.
After previous coach Mike D’Antoni informed the team of his departure on Sept. 13, the Rockets waited more than six weeks before naming his replacement. Their interview list was extensive, and included several names with prior experience as a head coach (which Silas lacks). But ultimately, it was the 47-year-old Silas who continued to stand out.
At Thursday’s press conference to introduce Silas and new GM Rafael Stone, the Rockets were asked what stood out about their new coach in the interviewing process. Here’s how they responded:
CEO Tad Brown: Stephen Silas, our new head coach, is someone who came in and blew us away in the interview process. He’s one of the true bright young minds in the NBA. He’s going to do great things with us. He’s much older than he looks [laughs].
GM Rafael Stone: Stephen was the most prepared guy that we talked to. That’s not meant to be negative toward anyone else. We talked to some really smart, qualified guys. But Stephen’s level of preparedness, and his ability to have thought through every single thing we threw at him.
And then just his unique mind. Some of his answers were really, really interesting. Things that aren’t necessarily intuitive, and made all of us think, ‘Huh. That’s a different way of doing it. Let’s think about it, that could be really interesting. That combination was really, really cool. At the end of the day, he was very clearly the best fit for us. We’re feeling incredibly lucky that we found him.
In addition to his vast experience as an assistant, Silas is well regarded for his work with star perimeter players such as Luka Doncic in Dallas, Kemba Walker in Charlotte, Steph Curry in Golden State, and LeBron James in Cleveland. Houston is hoping for that to pay off with James Harden and Russell Westbrook, and Silas says he’s preparing to make the Rockets more diverse in their schemes on both offense and defense.
Thursday’s complete press conference can be watched below.
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