Sam Amick has consistently heard Jeff Van Gundy as Rockets option

Should Mike D’Antoni not return, The Athletic’s Sam Amick says Jeff Van Gundy — not Tom Thibodeau — is the name he’s heard in Houston.

In December, The Athletic‘s Sam Amick reported that the Houston Rockets and head coach Mike D’Antoni were likely to part ways if the team does not win the NBA championship this season.

Should that not happen, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported Monday that former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau could be an option. Thibodeau has a previous connection to the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey, having been the top assistant to Jeff Van Gundy during Van Gundy’s time leading the Rockets from 2004 until 2007.

But in a Tuesday appearance on Kelly Iko‘s “Brodie and The Beard” podcast, Amick said the name he’s heard most frequently connected to the potential opening wasn’t Thibodeau — but Van Gundy himself.

Here’s what Amick said:

As I reported a couple months ago, barring a championship, if they do save the season, I do not get the sense that Mike D’Antoni is going to be back. They’ve had a major divide in the contract negotiations. The information that we’ve constantly heard is that that bridge for the most part has been burned, and now they’re just kind of mutually agreeing to make the best of the time they have together.

Jeff Van Gundy is the one that I had heard consistently as a very possible replacement for Mike. It’s interesting to see Thibs’ name in there now. Because you have a guy who was Jeff’s top assistant when Jeff was the Rockets coach. … Van Gundy and Thibs being from the same tree, whatever happens next, I thinnk you’re starting to get a sense of what might be prioritized. Obviously defense first, discipline.

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Like Thibodeau, Van Gundy is known best for his defensive principles. In seven seasons as a coach from 1995-96 through 2006-07 (seven in New York, four in Houston), Van Gundy had a 430-318 record (.575) with nine career playoff appearances. He led the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals.

Van Gundy’s departure from Houston after the 2007 season, during which Houston lost in a seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs to Utah, came when Morey was a relative newcomer as GM. As Amick explains it, it was then-owner Les Alexander who drove that decision.

Similarly, when Van Gundy and Thibodeau were considered but not hired during Houston’s most recent coaching search in 2016, Amick says it was Alexander that primarily made that decision as well:

I think that it’s very possible, maybe even likely, that Daryl Morey has a lot of clarity right now on who he would prefer to be the Rockets’ next coach.

The back story is worth bringing up. The reality is, Les Alexander hired Mike D’Antoni. Jeff’s name was part of that search during that time. He was part of it before. Jeff getting shown the door [in 2007], in terms of the personal dynamics, that was a Les Alexander thing as well. I think it was only two weeks after Daryl took the job, so his voice is not what it is now. I’m not ready to move away from Jeff’s name.

Though the 58-year-old Van Gundy has been out of the NBA since, he’s younger than Thibodeau and D’Antoni by four and 10 years, respectively.

While he’s become best known for his work as an NBA announcer, Van Gundy has also stayed involved as a coach in his work with USA Basketball, and his thought process on offense seems to have evolved.

Van Gundy still lives in Houston to this day, and he’s been an outspoken admirer of James Harden and the current Rockets. Houston ranks No. 2 in the NBA in net offense this season, but they’ve lagged behind on the other end of the court at No. 16 in net defensive rating.

As for the rumor’s source, it’s worth noting that Amick has long had excellent relationships around the Rockets, as evidenced by his exclusive interview with owner Tilman Fertitta just last week.

The Rockets are hoping that a coaching change isn’t necessary, which it wouldn’t be if the 2019-20 season returns and D’Antoni leads them on a deep run in the NBA playoffs. But if that’s not the case, it seems there are a number of dots connecting Van Gundy with Morey and the Rockets.

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