NBA Insider Reveals James Harden and Russell Westbrook Were the Reason behind Rockets Not Hiring Jeff Van Gundy
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USA Today via Reuters
Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook (left) celebrates with guard James Harden (13) after dunking against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half of game three in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Following yet another playoff debacle, the Houston Rockets bid adieu to their head coach Mike D’Antoni. Former coach Jeff Van Gundy was linked with a return, after a four-year stint with them in the 2000s. But the Rockets surprised everyone as they appointed former Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas as the head coach.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are the reason Van Gundy wasn’t hired.“Van Gundy, I don’t know if there was a lot of buy in or any buy in from James Harden or Russell Westbrook,” MacMahon said on the Brian Windhorst podcast.
“And I don’t know if Jeff Van Gundy necessarily wanted to, you know, have to beg to coach guys. And so I think personality-wise, that might not have been a match.”
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While D’Antoni was happy to run his whole offense through his two stars, Van Gundy may not have been on the same page. This may have led to differences, and eventually, the job being offered to Silas.
Mavs assistant Stephen Silas is finalizing a deal to be the Rockets’ new head coach, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/Uuc25QRjzi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2020
Will the Houston Rockets perform better under their new coach?
The biggest challenge for Silas will be to get his team to do more than just shoot threes. Under D’Antoni, all they did was shoot threes and let Harden and Westbrook iso. There were barely any plays and just a lot of catch and shoot. This made their offense stale and unsurprisingly, it failed in the playoffs.
If Silas cannot get the duo of Harden and Westbrook going, one of them might be shipped out soon. They are both going to make $40 million each in the upcoming season. So for that money, a championship has to be the target. Those contracts only get worse as the seasons go, so the Rockets will have to get a trade done, preferably this season.
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It will be interesting to see if Silas gets an actual big man in the rotation or continues with the small-ball lineup. It almost worked for them until they faced an elite big in Anthony Davis. This will be a season of big expectations for Westbrook and Harden, so all eyes will be on them. Can they win a ring or will they continue to struggle in the playoffs? Only time will tell.
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