Tilman Fertitta reportedly wanted Jeff Van Gundy as Rockets coach

“Fertitta preferred Jeff Van Gundy for coach, sources say, while Harden and Westbrook wanted Tyronn Lue,” writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

If Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta solely made the call, Jeff Van Gundy might be running his basketball team at the moment. Within Houston’s rumored top candidates to replace Mike D’Antoni, Van Gundy had the longest track record with nearly 11 previous NBA seasons in the lead coaching role, and that experience may have resonated with Fertitta.

Instead, it’s a first-timer in Stephen Silas who has taken over as head coach of the Rockets — and input from star players like former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook could be part of the reason why.

Here’s what Joe Vardon of The Athletic wrote Friday:

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta preferred Jeff Van Gundy for coach, sources say, while Harden and Westbrook wanted Tyronn Lue. Silas was to be the brokered compromise, but both star players chose to try to push their way out after he was hired anyway.

Lue probably wasn’t a realistic option for the Rockets, since he ended up taking a promotion to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.

While Silas reportedly wasn’t at the very top of the wish list for Harden and Westbrook, Houston’s new coach said at his introductory press conference that he did speak with them during the hiring process.

From all indications, those conversations were positive in nature. Here’s what the 47-year-old Silas, who was previously the top assistant to Rick Carlisle in Dallas, told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith about those talks:

As far as James, he’s our guy. In the interview process, I talked to both James and Russ, and let them know that the reason I want this job is because of them.

I expect those guys to be here. I haven’t heard anything else to the contrary. That’s how I feel about it, and that’s how it’s going to be.

That wasn’t enough to keep Harden and Westbrook from issuing trade requests later in the offseason, of course. But the presence of Silas — and Fertitta’s willingness to listen to outside perspectives — may offer hope of rebuilding the stars’ relationships with the organization, once training camp for the 2020-21 season opens next Tuesday, Dec. 1.

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