I'm certain that Dan Burke was the guy we wanted. Especially with @Nook and Morey's hire confirming it. But the upside is that Silas is not just an offensive minded coach. Per Steve Clifford, one of the best defensive minded HC in NBA, Silas is also a very good defensive coach. As long as Nate does not have too much power I'm good.
Just to be clear. Stephen Silas was an excellent choice by the Rockets. I can point to Jeff Van Gundy and say I would have been more confident in the Rockets for next season. However, Stephen Silas is an excellent choice. Silas was the choice of Daryl Morey four years ago. Silas is extremely smart and grew up around basketball. He went to very good academic schools and has trained under very disciplined and hard working men. Steve Clifford and Carlisle are both famous for being very structured and hard working. Silas also has the ability to get along with just about anyone. He had to deal with the strong personalities of his father, Clifford and Carlisle. Being around Carlisle and Clifford had to be rewarding but incredibly difficult as neither of them are very forgiving or understanding.
Silas going to do for EG what he did for Tim Hardaway Jr. EG is more talented than Tim Hardaway Jr. Fight me.
yes, but none of it might have mattered. Always gotta look at things from the Free Agent's perspective, too. Burke is used to having a legit rim protector. he might never have chosen us ... 76ers are an underperforming defense. Must be a dream for him to take on that challenge with the luxury of real bigs, legit rim protectors and 3 recent All-Defense players,,, vs small ball. (not to say Horford will rise again to all-nba defensive status, but regardless, coaches like having IQ around them.) plus, Burke has been a Free Agent for 2 months (assuming he was free when Nate got fired), and he's no secret. Vogel might have even called him again (or called around vouching for him), like he did after he first left Indiana.
The Rockets should offer Nate Reinking an assistant head coach job and see if he will take it. He has worked with different defensive styles and has a history of success.... I would let him run the defense. Chase Buford is another one that would be a good addition to the staff.
There is also a real chance that Burke did not want to work for a rookie coach. If I had to "guess", Burke didn't want to leave the Pacers... he turned down numerous jobs in the past... then the Pacers decided he would not survive the coaching regime change, so he went where he would get the best financial offer and get to work with other veteran coaches. What is interesting is that Burke REALLY disliked Embid.
I don't actually think career coaches mean this type of jarring on a personal level. "I hate that team (76ers). I think Embiid gets away with a bunch of crap." You really mean "REALLY" in all caps over this? Embiid now having fun with it
and on that note, the timing of Morey's hire is actually the same timing of announcement JVG didn't get our job. if we're in speculation land, maybe Burke wanted to work with legend JVG, so the timing of his hiring was more to do with JVG getting passed on, that anything to do with Morey.
Silas has a connection with a ton of elite players: Lebron Baron Steph Kemba Luka Porzingas Rockets might be able to lure some good role players with MLE or vet min contracts: Christian Wood Dennis Smith Jr. Bismack Biyombo Noah Vonleh Ryan Broekhoff Marvin Williams MKG Anthony Randolph DJ Augustin Anthony Tolliver Marco Belinelli Frank Kaminsky Lance Stephenson Wes Matthews Garrett Temple Harrison Barnes Seth Curry Yogi Ferrell Doug McDermott
