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Houston Rockets: 5 Best Candidates For Head Coaching Job

By Gerald Bourguet

April 18, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson (left), broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy (center), and broadcaster Mike Breen (right) talk before game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
April 18, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson (left), broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy (center), and broadcaster Mike Breen (right) talk before game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a look at the five best candidates to replace interim J.B. Bickerstaff for the Houston Rockets’ head coaching gig.

Houston Rockets
April 18, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson (left), broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy (center), and broadcaster Mike Breen (right) talk before game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The Houston Rockets are a franchise that will see a major overhaul from top to bottom this summer. With Dwight Howard set to opt out, no head coach in place and quite a few key players coming off the books or hitting restricted free agency, it’s safe to say this Rockets team will look drastically different for the 2016-17 season.

James Harden remains the face (and facial hair) of the franchise, while young players like Clint Capela and K.J. McDaniels will still be around next year. But outside of that, there are a ton of question marks for Houston, with the primary one being: Who will be Clutch City’s next head coach?

According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it won’t be interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who took over after former head coach Kevin McHale was fired 11 games into the season. Bickerstaff coached the team to a 37-34 record, but the Rockets never bought in on the defensive end and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs in five games as the eighth seed in the West.

Bickerstaff took his name out of the running, according to Woj, leaving the Rockets with a bevy of candidates to choose from. The most appealing names — Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks and Luke Walton — have already been taken off the market, but there are still a few quality options available for a Houston team that made it to the conference finals just last season.

Harden remains one of the league’s most gifted offensive players, but his defense plummeted this year after showing drastic improvement in 2014-15, and his status as a leader has also come into question. With the roster set to look very different next year, the Rockets need a coach who can reach the Beard, unify a new locker room and instill the kind of defense that helped the Rockets secure the No. 2 seed in the West just last year.

Coming off a season in which Houston was the NBA’s 20th ranked defense and eighth ranked offense, the new head coach of the Rockets faces quite a challenge. Here’s a look at the five best candidates for the job, including some honorable mentions whose names have been floating around.

Next: Honorable Mentions

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