Four years after he was a surprising finalist in the search resulting in Mike D’Antoni as head coach, Stephen Silas has agreed to a deal with the Houston Rockets to become D’Antoni’s replacement.
The agreement was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “The Rockets were sold on Silas’ offensive ingenuity and his pedigree [with] Rick Carlisle, Steve Clifford, and his father, Paul Silas,” Woj tweeted.
“Silas has coached some remarkable guards in his NBA career, including Luka Doncic, Kemba Walker, and Steph Curry,” Woj added. “Now, he gets to run offense for [James] Harden and [Russell] Westbrook.”
As a top assistant coach in Dallas for the last two seasons, Silas and the Mavs just finished up a season in which they had (statistically) the most efficient offense in NBA history. Now 47 years old, Silas is well regarded for his work ethic, tactical creativity, and player development skills.
Rockets were sold on Silas' offensive ingenuity, his pedigree w/ Rick Carlisle, Steve Clifford and his father, Paul Silas. Silas has coached some remarkable guards in his NBA career, including Luka Doncic, Kemba Walker, Steph Curry. Now he gets to run offense for Harden-Westbrook https://t.co/52Qfuknilb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2020
Silas gained valuable experience working in Dallas for Rick Carlisle, long regarded as one of the NBA’s top tactical coaches. As the son of longtime NBA coach Paul Silas, he’s essentially an NBA lifer.
Here’s a rundown of Silas’ coaching career to date:
1999–2000 Charlotte Hornets (scout)
2000–2002 Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
2002–2003 New Orleans Hornets (assistant)
2003–2005 Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)
2005–2006 Washington Wizards (scout)
2006–2010 Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2010–2018 Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (assistant)
2018–present Dallas Mavericks (assistant)
This "a day in the life of Stephen Silas" feature is a great read. It's from November 2017, during his Charlotte days, but it's obviously still applicable and sheds a lot of light on who he is.
I think he's a very impressive candidate. #Rockets https://t.co/qa3Yk0FssN
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 16, 2020
GM Daryl Morey, who reportedly liked Silas in 2016, is leaving the Rockets as of Nov. 1. However, his replacement (Rafael Stone) is an internal promotion who was also heavily involved in the 2016 search.
At 47, Silas was the youngest of the three candidates believed to be in Houston’s list of finalists, meaning that he could have staying power.
It is not yet known who will serve as Silas’ assistants, though John Lucas — a three-time NBA head coach and recently Houston’s director of player development under D’Antoni — is reportedly a strong candidate. A timetable for the formal announcement of Silas, as well as the coaching staff on his bench for the 2020-21 season, is not yet available.
Stay tuned to Rockets Wire for further updates on this breaking story.
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