The NBA’s 2022-23 regular season ends on Sunday, and it may not take long for major changes to happen with the Rockets.
Per columnist Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets are likely to part ways with head coach Stephen Silas within the next few days. Here’s a portion of what he said in Friday’s appearance on SportsTalk 790, the team’s official flagship radio station:
Barring a last-second change, I expect the Houston Rockets to move on, very soon, from Stephen Silas as head coach. It could happen next week. That is the plan.
They would have fired Silas last year. They would have fired him this year. But it didn’t make any sense to do that, just from a competitive, rebuilding standpoint. They let this play out. They wanted it to work, and they were hoping it would work.
If you have a .244 winning percentage, which is insanely low … even if I can explain everything, in the end, he pays the price.
The full interview can be listened to below. Unlike Silas, general manager Rafael Stone, who took over in the 2020 offseason, only weeks before Silas got his job, will remain in place.
While the Rockets have finished with one of the NBA’s worst three records in each of Silas’ three seasons, there are obvious extenuating circumstances. Notably, Silas was hired in November 2020 when Houston had a veteran-laden roster led by former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Within months, they had transitioned to a rebuild with numerous players age 21 or younger.
Silas was signed to a three-year contract with a team option for a fourth season, which means this is the last year Silas is owed a guaranteed salary from the franchise. If the Rockets want to go a different direction, there’s a clear path for them to do so.
“What I always did hear about Silas was that they wanted more discipline,” Smith said on SportsTalk 790. “They wanted more intensity, and they wanted him to push the players harder. Not to react so negatively to losses, and to kind of being above everything.”
With approximately $60 million in salary cap space, there is an argument to be made that a coach with more winning experience might make Houston more desirable on the offseason market. This is Silas’ first stint as an NBA head coach, and while the win-loss records are largely out of his control, the fact remains he hasn’t yet won at a high enough level to draw attention around the league. Thus, the team could bolster its appeal with a more proven option.
Starting next week, it appears the process to try and find that option could begin at Toyota Center. Nick Nurse, who won the NBA championship in 2019 as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, appears to be one such candidate for the Rockets. Stay tuned!
Column: Stephen Silas deserved a better shot at winning in the NBA. But the Rockets can’t accept a .244 winning percentage and it’s time for the rebuild to receive a new voice.https://t.co/q8qKxxIRek
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) April 6, 2023
