Although the NBA Finals are set to get underway this evening, the Houston Rockets are still attempting to command the attention of the basketball world.
Following their Western Conference semifinal loss to the Golden State Warriors, it was reported that general manager Daryl Morey would be given the green light to spend over the luxury tax in the offseason. Just yesterday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Morey was going to be fielding trade offers for nearly everyone on the roster:
ESPN story on Rockets making entire roster and future picks available in trade talks. https://t.co/8eTaiD2FW4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2019
Wojnarowski also reported that current head coach Mike D’Antoni will be coaching on a “lame duck” contract for the 2019-20 season, which is the final year of his deal:
Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has ended talks with management on a contract extension, league sources tell ESPN. D’Antoni plans to complete the final season of his deal in 2019-20. Story soon on ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2019
On FS1’s “UNDISPUTED,” Skip Bayless said that he would like to see Morey fire D’Antoni outright and replace him with former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue:
“Ty Lue is out, and the Rockets were talking about hiring him as an assistant. … Just bring it all back with a new voice, and the new voice would be Ty Lue’s. He won a championship; he came back from 3-1 down.” — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/RIv3UpAtfM
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 30, 2019
Lue was initially thought to be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, but negotiations broke down when the Lakers asked for Jason Kidd to be an assistant on Lue’s staff. The Lakers hired former Pacers and head coach Frank Vogel, while Lue remains unemployed.
D’Antoni has had plenty of regular season success with the Rockets, but he has been unable to get past the Warriors the last two years, with the Rockets blowing a 3-2 lead in the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
If nothing else, Morey seems to be putting everyone in the organization on notice. The only problem is that the Rockets are severely handicapped from a financial standpoint. They would ideally like to get a decent return for Chris Paul, but very few teams are likely to want a 34-year-old point guard that will make over $38.5 million next season.
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