It was a rocky season for the Houston Rockets, and while they fell short of meeting their preseason expectations, interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was one of the team's few positives.
While dealing with clashing egos and less than stellar effort on the court from many players, Bickerstaff managed to keep his cool and guide the Rockets to the playoffs.
In the 71 games he coached, Houston went 37-34. When you consider all of the problems they had, it's pretty impressive really.
Still, the front office appears to want a fresh start next season, and J.B. won't sit around competing for a job he doesn't believe he's going to get. According to ESPN's Calvin Watkins, Bickerstaff has officially removed himself from the Rockets' head coaching search.
[button width=”full” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#000000″ texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#ff0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/dwight-howard-wont-speak-on-rockets-chemistry-issues/”]NEXT: Dwight Howard won’t speak on Rockets’ chemistry issues[/button]
Apart from Bickerstaff, Houston reportedly expressed interest in Luke Walton (like every other team) before he took the job with the Los Angeles Lakers.
They have also met with former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni as well as a pair of former Rockets guards, Sam Cassell and Kenny Smith.
Even if Houston tries to keep Bickerstaff by adding him to the front office, Watkins reports that he's unlikely to consider it.
Whoever becomes the Rockets' head coach will be in charge of a team in transition. Dwight Howard is likely going to exercise his player option to explore free agency, and it doesn't appear that he'll re-sign in Houston.
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