Tag: DeSagana Diop

Rockets reportedly looking for strong defensive coach as assistant

“I think they’re going to definitely try and add a guy who has some defensive coaching chops,” Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen says of the Rockets’ assistant search.

With three assistant coaches in Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, and DeSagana Diop not returning to the Houston Rockets staff for the 2022-23 season, head coach Stephen Silas likely has three vacancies to fill.

While some names have been rumored, including G League affiliate coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah and longtime NBA assistant Melvin Hunt, a formal hire has yet to be made. But Silas has made it clear that defense is a priority this offseason after Houston’s league-worst finish in 2021-22, and it appears that will factor into the coaching search, as well.

Longtime Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen elaborated in a conversation with Salman Ali on the Red Nation Hoops podcast:

Stephen (Silas) is extremely well liked and respected around the league. He’s got a ton of connections. People would like to work for him. …

I think they’re going to definitely try and add a guy who has some defensive coaching chops. Not necessarily running the defense, but a creative mind with a lot to offer as a guy that will help work with the defense.

I don’t think it’s quite the Jeff Bzdelik defensive coordinator (role) — I know they didn’t call him that, but “you run the show on defense” — it’s not that.

He’s looking for a defensive… I don’t want to say specialist, but a really strong defensive coach. That’s where they’re going with the main one.

Feigen, who said he anticipates Abdelfattah being one of the three hires, did offer one caveat when it comes to Silas’ ongoing search.

“There is a lot of uncertainty,” Feigen said of Houston’s situation. “When you’re joining a team that’s had the worst record in the league, twice in a row, and the coach has two years left on his contract — only one fully guaranteed — coaches have to consider that. But, he’s got connections like crazy, and he’s really well liked and highly thought of. That’s the one thing I’ve heard from people outside the organization.”

The new assistant coaching hires will join John Lucas (lead assistant) and Rick Higgins, who are still in place from Silas’ 2021-22 staff.

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DeSagana Diop reportedly set to leave Rockets’ coaching staff

According to veteran NBA scribe Marc Stein, DeSagana Diop will become Stephen Silas’ third assistant coach to not return in 2022-23, joining Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver.

According to veteran NBA scribe Marc Stein, DeSagana Diop will soon become Houston’s third assistant coach to leave the bench this offseason, joining Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver. A former NBA center, Diop was hired by the Rockets prior to the 2020-21 season.

Per Stein, the New York Knicks are expected to name Diop as the new head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.

With Diop, Hornacek, and Weaver no longer part of the staff, it appears Stephen Silas will be filling three roles before the 2022-23 season. Lead assistant John Lucas, along with Rick Higgins, are still in place.

It remains unconfirmed whether Hornacek and Weaver left of their own choosing, or if Silas and the Rockets chose to go a different direction.

Immediately after the 2021-22 season ended, Silas said he was hopeful of having all members of his assistant coaching staff return. However, he said he would not attempt to hold any back from a promotion, if they were offered one. General manager Rafael Stone has made it clear assistant coaching decisions are Silas’ job, rather than his.

Mahmoud Abdelfattah, head coach of Houston’s G League affiliate (the Rio Grande Valley Vipers), is reportedly a strong early candidate for one of those vacant positions. Another is Melvin Hunt, a longtime NBA assistant who most recently worked for Atlanta from 2018 until 2021.

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Stephen Silas explains focus areas for Rockets’ new coaching staff

Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver are tilted to offense, while John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are “tilted to the defensive side.”

When new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas was in Dallas, he was effectively the “offensive coordinator” for a group that finished the 2019-20 regular season as the most efficient offense in NBA history.

Now that he’s running his own team in Houston, though, it appears that Silas won’t be quite as rigid with his assistant coaching assignments.

While acknowledging that each coach will “tilt” in a certain direction, he won’t have anyone in a set coordinator role. Here’s how Silas explained the dynamic after Wednesday’s training camp practice:

Here, we don’t have coordinators. I have Jeff Hornacek and Will Weaver kind of tilted toward the offensive side. John Lucas, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are tilted to the defensive side. But I think it’s good for a coach’s growth to be able to do a little bit of everything.

DeSagana was running on a two-on-two, pick-and-roll drill today. Luc was down on the other end doing switching, pick and rolls. Everybody gets to touch a little bit of everything. There are certain focuses that I’m thinking about, those guys tilt either way, but they’re basketball coaches. They’re going to be allowed to do so.

Hornacek and Lucas are Houston’s most tenured assistants, with each having served as a head coach at multiple other NBA franchises. Thus, beyond their personal areas of expertise, it makes sense from an experience perspective to spread them out. It might also allow Hornacek and Lucas to serve in a mentor role to younger assistants such as the 36-year-old Weaver, 33-year-old Higgins, and 38-year-old Diop.

Silas said he would be getting together with his assistants on Thursday to map out lineups and plans for Houston’s upcoming preseason games, which begin on Friday night in Chicago.

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Rockets formally announce staff of assistant coaches for Stephen Silas

John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop are officially assistants in Houston, according to the team.

The Houston Rockets on Monday announced that John Lucas, Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver, Rick Higgins, and DeSagana Diop will join head coach Stephen Silas’ staff as assistant coaches.

Agreements with all five assistant coaches had been previously reported. However, with training camp for the 2020-21 season starting Tuesday morning at Toyota Center, each addition needed to be finalized.

Here’s how each coach is described (in this order) in the official press release, which was sent out by the team late Monday.

John Lucas:

Lucas, who was the first overall pick by Houston in the 1976 NBA Draft, re-joined the Rockets organization as their Director of Player Development prior to the 2016-17 season.  He was head coach of San Antonio and Philadelphia for stretches during the 1990’s and for Cleveland in 2001-02 and 2002-03.  Lucas is widely respected throughout the sports community for his ability as a mentor and has helped numerous athletes develop professionally and personally.

Jeff Hornacek:

Hornacek was a key member of the Utah Jazz during the mid-to-late 1990’s and for his career, shot 49.6% from the floor, 40.3% from 3-point range, and 87.7% from the foul line.  He joined the Jazz as a shooting coach in 2007 and became an assistant coach in 2010-11.  Hornacek was head coach of Phoenix for two and a half seasons from 2013-16 and for two seasons with New York from 2016-18.  Rockets forward P.J. Tucker played for Hornacek during his time with the Suns.

Will Weaver:

Weaver joins the Rockets after guiding the Sydney Kings of the NBL in Australia to the best record in the league and the championship game in his first season as head coach.  In 2018-19, he was named NBA G League Coach of the Year after leading the Long Island Nets to the championship game.  Weaver began his NBA career as the video coordinator for Philadelphia in 2013-14 before transitioning to the role of special assistant to the head coach for two seasons, followed by two seasons in that capacity for Brooklyn.

Rick Higgins:

Higgins spent the past two seasons with Orlando as associate coach/player development.  Prior to joining the Magic, he was with Charlotte for eight seasons, serving as a basketball operations assistant, video scout and coaching associate/video coordinator.  Higgins played collegiately for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  His father, Rod, played in the NBA for 13 seasons and is currently the vice president of basketball operations for the Atlanta Hawks.

DeSagana Diop:

Diop was the eighth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft and was a starter for Dallas during its run to the Finals in 2006.  Following a 12-season career, he joined the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League as a player development coach in 2014-15 before being promoted to assistant coach the following season.  Diop spent the past four seasons as a coaching associate on Quin Snyder’s staff in Utah.

With the complete coaching staff in place, Houston’s training camp will begin Tuesday with limited individual workouts and COVID-19 testing. Group activities will not commence until Sunday, Dec. 6.

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Rockets hire former NBA center DeSagana Diop as assistant coach

Diop, who played in the NBA as a center, was a coaching associate with the Utah Jazz for the last four seasons under Quin Snyder.

Assistant coach DeSagana Diop is moving from the Utah Jazz to the Houston Rockets, where he will work for new head coach Stephen Silas.

The news was first reported Tuesday by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

A seven-footer, Diop played in the NBA as a center from 2001 to 2013 with four different teams (Cleveland, Dallas, New Jersey, and Charlotte). After his playing days, Diop immediately went into coaching, working with the Texas Legends of the NBA G League in 2014-15 and 2015-16, followed by the Jazz and Quin Snyder for the last four seasons.

Diop’s addition to Silas’ staff continues an offseason trend in which the Rockets — known for playing small a season ago — have clearly placed a greater emphasis on big men. Besides adding a former center to the coaching staff, the Rockets have also agreed to contracts with a pair of centers (Christian Wood and DeMarcus Cousins) in free agency.

Diop joins Jeff Hornacek, John Lucas, Will Weaver, and Rick Higgins as assistants on Houston’s revamped coaching staff. All had prior NBA experience, which should serve Silas well as a first-time head coach. Training camp for the 2020-21 season opens next Tuesday, Dec. 1.

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Sixers 2001 NBA re-draft: DeSagana Diop instead of Samuel Dalmbert

In this 2001 re-draft, the Philadelphia 76ers end up with DeSagana Diop instead of Samuel Dalembert.

With the NBA in this infinite quarantine right now, we are all looking for things to pass the time until basketball can return to our lives. So, we are looking at the drafts from the past for the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the 2001 draft the Sixers ended up with Seton Hall big man Samuel Dalembert with the 26th overall pick and he was a staple for the Sixers in their lineup for a long time. He averaged 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks with the Sixers and he was a main piece on a few playoff teams.

As Bleacher Report does a full re-draft for 2001, they had Dalembert going in the lottery at 13 to the Houston Rockets. So, for the Sixers, they had them selecting DeSagana Diop who came out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

B/R wrote:

Diop comes off the board as the final 2001 pick to play at least 10 seasons, but as his career average of 2.0 points per game reveals, he didn’t last that long because he could score. The 7-footer finished second in the league among qualified players with a 7.4 block percentage in 2005-06, and his career rate of 5.7 percent is tops among players picked in 2001.

In real life, Diop was selected eighth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He lasted 12 seasons in the league and he was even the starting center for the Dallas Mavericks when they reached the NBA Finals in 2006. As B/R mentioned, he only averaged 2.0 points in his career. He lasted as long as he did due to his defense and rebounding.

Would Diop have fit with the Sixers in 2001? Maybe. He essentially was a beefier Dalembert, but Dalembert had a bit more of an offensive game and he could shoot free throws much better. Either way, Dalembert was the more talented player and the Sixers ended up with the better player. Diop would have just done all of the dirty work for them. [lawrence-related id=29297,29291,29284]