(Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire)
Even though they were still years away from playoff contention, the Houston Rockets still had quite a disappointing season.
This went beyond the standings or their record, as it seemed like there was little-to-no improvement from their youngins or their system as a whole.
The team failed to make the most of Jabari Smith Jr. or Alperen Sengun and didn’t put them in a position to succeed.
Coach Stephen Silas couldn’t establish any sort of winning basketball or fundamentals, and that iso-heavy offense was stagnant and unpredictable.
More than that, his players’ body language and several clips have made it clear that they have no trust or respect for him.
So, Silas is expected to be relieved of his duties at the end of the season.
Needless to say, there will be plenty of candidates who’d take the job in the blink of an eye.
The Rockets have a promising core full of young talent to develop, so the front office needs to find the right guy to help them take a leap forward.
Now, according to ESPN Houston, the shortlist of candidates would include Ime Udoka, Nick Nurse, and Kenny Atkinson.
Ime Udoka, Frank Vogel and Kenny Atkinson are names to watch for the Houston Rockets, per @espn975 pic.twitter.com/4mhdXyuGy1
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 3, 2023
Udoka had done a great job as an assistant coach before leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first year on the job.
Nick Nurse excelled at the NBA G-League before taking the Toronto Raptors to their first and only championship.
As for Atkinson, he took an unimpressive and unproven Brooklyn Nets team to the playoffs against all odds before becoming a top assistant for the Golden State Warriors.
It’s nice to see that the Rockets are finally favoring player development, so this team could be much improved next season if things go their way.
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