Smith played six seasons for the Rockets and won titles with the team in 1994 and ’95. Assistant J.B. Bickerstaff was promoted to Interim Head Coach and led the Rockets to the playoffs, where they were swept by the Warriors in the first round. While Smith met with the Rockets, he doesn’t sound likely to leave TNT. They even staged a rally for the same (see below).
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The Houston Chronicle reported in Tuesday’s editions that former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina, who has considerable head-coaching experience overseas, remain “part of the process”.
Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Mike D’Antoni will interview a second time with the Houston Rockets for their vacant head-coaching position and is an “increasingly serious candidate”, according to ESPN’s Calvin Watkins and Marc Stein.
Smith has never been a head coach on any level, but he does have a direct tie to the Rockets. It’s expected that they finalize on a new coach before the end of the month.
“Some of the information is sensitive when you’re talking to a team”, Smith said from Oakland, California, on TNT, site of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
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ESPN.com reported Monday that the Memphis Grizzlies have registered strong interest in Vogel, who has also interviewed with NY for the Knicks’ coaching vacancy and is widely considered a serious candidate for the Orlando Magic’s coaching job.
