It’s too late now, but James Harden apparently was pulling for Tyronn Lue or John Lucas as the next coach of the Houston Rockets, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Instead, the Rockets went with Stephen Silas, formerly an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, Lue was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers — though Lucas may be in line for an assistant job with Silas.
Lucas served as the Rockets’ director of player development under former coach Mike D’Antoni and was also said to be among three finalists (along with Jeff Van Gundy) for the job that eventually went to Silas.
Either way, it appears Harden is with the Rockets to stay. Or so says Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta.
“You have James Harden and Russell Westbrook and you have almost 90 percent of your salaries tied up in them and Eric Gordon,” Fertitta told CNBC. “But anytime you have players like Eric, P.J. (Tucker), James and Russell, there’s no reason to blow up your roster.”
Fertitta continued.
“This is still our window, the next couple years. James and Russell are in their early 30s. We’re not blowing up anything,” he said. “We plan on contending. I always said you want to set yourself up to be one of the top four teams in your conference each year and then it takes a little luck to win. You look at every year it always takes a little luck.
