Jeff Van Gundy is known for being a successful head coach who brought the New York Knicks to an NBA Finals appearance, while also spending a few seasons with the Houston Rockets. Since then, Gundy has become a color commentator with ESPN, where he can be heard giving his opinion on some of the biggest NBA games. Over the course of the years, his name has always been mentioned in head coaching vacancy rumors and now, they’re being brought up again.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Van Gundy and Sam Cassell are two names that are being heavily considered for the Houston Rockets head coaching vacancy. Both of these men have ties to the Rockets, which makes them interesting candidates to replace Mike D’Antoni.
“Keep an eye on former Rocket, a guy who won a championship here, Sam Cassell,” Windhorst said. “He may be getting his first coaching look off the LA Clippers staff. If not him, one of the favorites is our colleague at ESPN, former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. He’s in the mix for this job. It would be very different than Mike D’Antoni. This personnel is built to play fast. We’d see how he would handle that.”
For now, it remains to be seen who the Rockets will choose, although it’s clear they will need to be able to mesh well with the likes of Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Who do you think the team should hire?
