James Harden, Russell Westbrook were not sold on Jeff Van Gundy as coach?
Jeff Van Gundy seemed in play for a reunion with the Houston Rockets, but the team’s two biggest stars might not have been too keen on it.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN said this week on “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” that James Harden and Russell Westbrook appeared lukewarm on Van Gundy becoming the next head coach of the Rockets.
“Van Gundy, I don’t know if there was a lot of buy-in or any buy-in from James Harden or Russell Westbrook,” said MacMahon, per RealGM. “And I don’t know if Jeff Van Gundy necessarily wanted to have to beg to coach guys. And so I think personality wise, that might not have been a match.
“We could just say Van Gundy was considered the lead candidate all season long,” MacMahon continued. “I think that the most important decision maker for the Rockets wasn’t quite so sure about that one.”
The Rockets just hired former Dallas Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas to become their next head coach. This was despite heavy rumblings that Van Gundy, who coached the team from 2003 to 2007, might be getting the job.
As for Harden and Westbrook, it was obvious that the team needed to get them onboard before making their head-coaching hire. After all, we saw what happened when that was not the case previously.
