Longtime NBA assistant coach Melvin Hunt is reportedly emerging as a candidate to join Stephen Silas’ coaching staff in Houston, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The Rockets currently have two vacant positions after the recent departures of Will Weaver and Jeff Hornacek.
Hunt previously worked with the Rockets as a scout from 1999-2001, as an assistant coach to Rudy Tomjanovich in 2002-03, and as a scout again in 2003-04 once Jeff Van Gundy took the head coaching job.
Since his previous time with the Rockets, Hunt has worked as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers (2004-05), Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10), Denver Nuggets (2010-15), Dallas Mavericks (2015-18), and Atlanta Hawks (2018-21). Hunt left the Dallas coaching staff shortly before Silas arrived as an assistant in the 2018 offseason, though both shared a connection with former Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle.
Hunt was briefly an interim head coach for Denver after Brian Shaw was fired late in the 2014-15 season. Hunt went 10-13 in those games.
In addition to Hunt, another assistant coaching candidate for Silas appears to be Mahmoud Abdelfattah. He is head coach of Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers. Under Abdelfattah’s leadership, RGV recently won its fourth title in team history.
Longtime assistant Melvin Hunt has emerged as a candidate to join Stephen Silas’ coaching staff in Houston, sources tell @TheAthletic.
Hunt, who worked with the Rockets from 99-04 as a scout and assistant, most recently served with the Hawks in 2021.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) May 24, 2022
