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There are quite a few teams without an NBA coach right now. Some very good teams are left scrambling for the perfect head coach to lead them to winning ways. The Houston Rockets are an exact team who need a winning coach to help them get back to the Western Conference Finals and finally get over the hump by playing in an NBA Finals.
After Mike D’Antoni alerted the franchise that he won’t be returning, the Rockets style of play and even future was thrown into a loop of doubt.
Luckily for Houston, they have two superstars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook which is a luxury that the majority of NBA teams do not have. By picking the right head coach, preferably one committed to defense, the Rockets can be right in the NBA title contender mix once again. It was time for a change in Houston, and there are some excellent options for them.
Here are the 5 best options for the Houston Rockets next season.
5. Tyronn Lue
Ty Lue is a players coach, someone who players enjoy playing under. Lue has been on both sides of the NBA, as a player and as a coach, so he knows what to do to win. He was a role player for the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty that featured Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant and later coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA title alongside LeBron James.
What Ty Lue brings to Houston is someone who Harden and Russ will like and who will have the players playing defense consistently. Lue has proven he can win an NBA title with great players like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, so he has a great talent pool with a scoring machine like James Harden and an ultra-athletic guard in Russell Westbrook.
4. Mark Jackson
It is shocking how a great coach like Mark Jackson does not have a job. Jackson was the original coach of the Golden State Warriors Dynasty and introduced the fast-paced style that we see today. While Steve Kerr took the Warriors to a completely different level, Mark Jackson deserves a ton of credit for their success.
He can potentially do the same for Houston, who probably don’t want to venture away from their extremely high octane offense. Jackson managed to make a slender Stephen Curry look fantastic in an offense, imagine what he can do with a tank of a man in James Harden. While Harden can’t shoot like Curry, he can score in every way imaginable. Jackson would help Houston’s revolutionary offense while keeping the style incredibly attractive to watch.
3. Jeff Van Gundy
Former Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy coached Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston over a decade ago. While he never quite won anything with them, he had bad luck due to the injury concerns of both his stars. Nonetheless, Van Gundy was a fan favorite and also a coach the players truly liked. As a commentator, he is also very likable due to his outlandish personality and love for the game.
It will be nice for Rockets Nation to have Van Gundy coach them again because he brings the old school mentality back to a very modern team. Van Gundy is no-nonsense on the chalkboard and wants his team to play winning NBA defense, something that is becoming a rarity nowadays. With Van Gundy on board, the Rockets will be committing themselves to an overall effective style of play with an old school mentality.
2. Sam Cassell
A major front runner for the Rockets should be Sam Cassell. The man helped Houston win their NBA championships as a point guard for the Rockets. While he was not the star of the team, as Hakeem Olajuwon was the man, Cassell brought toughness and scoring to a Houston team that needed to feed off their big man. Even in his later years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was a great player who could score and pass the ball at a very high level. Cassell had a tremendous playing career and is a man with exceptional basketball intelligence.
Cassell is well respected in the NBA and many are begging for him to have a head coaching job. He is very smart, aware of modern NBA sets, and knows how to win. The fact that he is a former Rocket and knows the franchise culture means he is a perfect fit from day one. If the Rockets want to keep their culture, Sam Cassell is the man.
1. Chauncey Billups
The only man who should usurp Sam Cassell in Houston is Chauncey Billups. Now, he has yet to coach an NBA team and the Rockets probably prefer a man with experience. But Chauncey Billups is a leader among men and was also a great player in his playing days. A former Finals MVP and NBA Champion, Billups has all the accolades to earn respect from Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Billups has been on the radar for many NBA teams for both coaching and general manager roles because he has both an authoritative personality and supreme knowledge for the game. Chauncey Billups is pretty much respected by every NBA player and he has something that James Harden has not yet achieved in his career: A Finals MVP Award. If there is someone who can help James learn how to get it done, it is Chauncey Billups.
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