The Houston Rockets have narrowed their head coaching search down to three possible candidates, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
The three remaining include ESPN analyst and former Rockets and New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy, Dallas Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas and Rockets player development coach John Lucas.
Van Gundy interviewed with Rockets ownership and management on Oct. 14 and those conversations continued on Thursday.
Lucas’ bid to be promoted to head coach has “gathered even more momentum”, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Lucas, 66, has at least three “key admirers” in the organization, including James Harden, Russell Westbrook and new Rockets general manager Rafael Stone.
If the Rockets choose one of the three aforementioned coaching finalists, the team will end up hiring someone who either hasn’t coached in the NBA in over a decade (Van Gundy and Lucas) or will be a new head coach in the league (Silas).
Tyronn Lue was previously considered a candidate for the Rockets until he agreed to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.
