Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas took some time out of his pregame press conference before his team takes on the Dallas Mavericks to talk about the departure of former assistant coach Gerald Green.
“It’s a loss,” said coach Silas when asked about no longer having Green on the staff. “I had not thought about how big of a loss it is. His pulse of the team is spot on. I will miss that a lot. I just came to that realization. I am sure there will be times during a time out or during halftime where I would have asked for his opinion, and now, I don’t have that anymore.”
Green, who retired back in October 2021, unretired on Thursday in hopes of making a return to the NBA. On Friday, he signed a contract to play for the Rockets G League affiliate, Rio Grande Vipers. The 35-year-old Green was selected 18th overall by the Boston Celtics in 2005 and played 12 seasons in the NBA. He was signed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal before the start of the 2020-21 season but failed to make the team.
“The one thing is you have to be ready to coach,” said coach Silas. “When you have decided that you want to coach, you have to get the basketball out of you. He will be missed, but the main thing is for him to be happy, and he is most happy when he is hooping.”