Executives with the Houston Rockets are “weighing the future of head coach Stephen Silas, who may become the league’s next coach to be terminated,” according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Houston entered Wednesday with a 1-16 record on the 2021-22 season, including 15 consecutive losses and a 7-61 mark over its most recent 68 regular-season games, dating back to the 2020-21 year.
While the expectation for the young and rebuilding Rockets was certainly not to make the playoffs, few expected struggles to this extent. Big man Christian Wood, who was clearly the team’s best returning player, has regressed across the board on offense. Fischer elaborates:
Silas’ coaching performance has been met with some critics around the league. Rival coaches characterize the Rockets offense as disorganized and undisciplined, with chronic turnover issues and poor shot selection. They boast the league’s worst offensive efficiency and assist-to-turnover ratio.
After Luke Walton’s departure in Sacramento, the Houston Rockets are weighing the future of head coach Stephen Silas, according to league sources. More on the complicated dynamic at @BR_NBA: https://t.co/7rXbZzWONG
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) November 24, 2021
In the Bleacher Report article, Fischer notes that Silas was hired in October 2020 to lead a Houston roster that featured a backcourt of veteran All-Stars at the time in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. As such, general manager Rafael Stone may have had different hiring priorities if it was a clear rebuilding scenario (i.e. what they have today).
Citing multiple sources, Fischer writes that assistant coach John Lucas — who has been a head coach in the past with three different NBA teams — would likely be Houston’s interim head coach in any scenario where Silas is dismissed. That would point to Stone and the Rockets doing a full and more comprehensive search during the 2022 offseason.
