The Houston Rockets interviewed Jeff Van Gundy for their coaching vacancy on Wednesday and will talk with him again Thursday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
We first learned of Van Gundy’s scheduled Wednesday talks with the Rockets from Marc Stein of the New York Times, and it stands to reason that a second day together indicates both Van Gundy and the Rockets are serious about a potential partnership.
Van Gundy has been a reported candidate since Mike D’Antoni stepped down last month. Along with Van Gundy, former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and former Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson are also among the candidates reported by both Stein and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Lue interviewed Tuesday, per those reports, and Rockets player development coach John Lucas is slated to interview Thursday.
Along with those candidates, the Rockets met last week with Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., Dallas Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant David Vanterpool and Atkinson, per Feigen.
Van Gundy, 58, coached the Rockets from 2003-07 and the New York Knicks from 1996-2001. He most recently coached the U.S. men’s basketball team to the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA World Cup.
He has been a regular in-game analyst for ABC and ESPN since 2007, currently teaming with Mark Jackson and play-by-play man Mike Breen to form the network’s No. 1 NBA broadcast team.
