This season was not a very good one for the Houston Rockets right from the start. A year after making the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets started off 4-7 in a season where the expectations were extremely high. That rough start led to the firing of Kevin McHale and left J.B. Bickerstaff as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
The Rockets needed to win three games in a row at the end of the regular season just to get into the postseason, but their season ended on Wednesday when the Stephen Curry-less Warriors beat them in four out of five games. With their season finally coming to an end, the Rockets can now focus on their head coaching search.
There was some question as to whether Bickerstaff would be considered for the job considering he did a pretty decent job with the team this season, but he will not be under consideration. The Rockets are reportedly "big game hunting" in their coaching search, and that search starts with ESPN analayst Jeff Van Gundy.
Van Gundy hasn't coached in the NBA since 2007, but his last stint as a head coach was with the Rockets. Van Gundy was somewhat successful with the Rockets since he made the playoffs in three out of four years there, but he did fail to win a playoff series. It is unclear if Van Gundy would be willing to accept the Rockets job, but one thing that may be attractive about the position is the fact that they have a superstar in James Harden. While Harden is a positive, the rest of the roster is expected to be in flux, which is a negative.
As for who else the Rockets might take a look at, they have received permission from the Warriors to interview their associate head coach Luke Walton. Walton was extremely successful as Steve Kerr's fill-in for the first 43 games this season and is a hot name on the coaching market. Walton is also expected to interview for the Los Angeles Lakers position, but there is also a chance that he decides not to leave Golden State.
Whatever the Rockets decide to do, it is clear that they are after a big name to become their next head coach. Houston has a star in his prime in Harden, so they feel like they are ready to win now, but they also need to ensure that they surround him with the right pieces, otherwise who they hire as a coach won't make much of a difference.
