It appears John Lucas has a place with the Houston Rockets, after all.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Lucas will serve as lead assistant under new coach Stephen Silas.
Lucas held the position of director of player development for former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni since 2016 and reportedly was one three finalists for the head-coaching job this year (joining Silas and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy).
“It’s a lot of what I have been doing,” Lucas said, via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I see it as a continuation of what I was doing with the team. I was in player development, but I had a lot of input on the offense and defense with Mike (D’Antoni), the Rockets coach.”
Lucas was selected by the Rockets with the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1976. He returned to Houston following his playing career and is said to be a favorite of Rockets star James Harden. One report even suggested Harden was pulling for Lucas as the Rockets’ new coach. Lucas is also said to be a favorite of Russell Westbrook.
Lucas, 66, previously served as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs, lasting less than two full seasons at each stop. He last worked as a head coach in the NBA in 2003 with the Cavs.
He has compiled an overall coaching record of 173-258. The Cavs were just 8-34 when he was fired midway through the 2002-03 season.
