Stephen Silas: the ‘coolest kid in the house’

The Rockets couldn’t have predicted the storms that might hit them, not then, not after they have been contemplating who would information them by means of the turmoil nobody might totally see coming.

Adversity in some type finally reaches all NBA groups. That a lot they needed to know after they have been contemplating Stephen Silas. However again then, the departures of Daryl Morey and Mike D’Antoni weren’t considered as setbacks as a lot as an opportunity for a reset. Then the difficulty hit. And hit. And hit once more.

Issues heated up quickly. The Rockets wanted “the best child in the home.”

They simply didn’t realize it after they employed him.

As a lot as steadiness within the face of a storm is a vital high quality for an NBA coach, Silas was hit with excessive and in some circumstances unprecedented upheaval and tumult earlier than his first recreation.

The Rockets didn’t know to ask how he would deal with commerce requests from Russell Westbrook and James Harden, how he navigate his crew by means of Harden lacking the primary week of coaching camp or particularly how he would possibly take care of Harden and an enormous swath of his most necessary gamers being ordered into quarantine within the first week of the season. By comparability, Harden’s sprained ankle which has him questionable to play on Monday, is a comparatively mundane downside.

“He’s a cool dude,” Rockets normal supervisor Rafael Stone mentioned, deliberately utilizing the time period his gamers had for his or her first-year coach. “They used the fitting adjective for his character.”

As Silas prepares for his first assembly together with his former crew, Monday’s recreation towards the Mavericks at Toyota Middle, the extra acquainted checks of guiding a crew within the loaded Western Convention are nonetheless to come back. With the Rockets 2-2 and nonetheless making an attempt to make up for all of the misplaced time, issues might shortly flip in both route.

There’s additionally a way, nevertheless, that Silas has gotten by means of the primary wave of crises that threatened to derail the Rockets earlier than the season began by dealing with points with out inflaming them. His determination to provide Harden time, fairly than pushing for a gathering, and Silas’ capability to handle the conditions with out pandering or making a wedge appears to have been observed.

“He’s all the time cool,” P.J. Tucker mentioned. “He’s one of many coolest coaches I’ve ever seen in my life. It appears nonchalant, however it’s not. That’s simply form of his character. You get to know that, being round him.

“He had spirit about himself, a swagger you search for in a head coach. He was nonetheless cool and calm, as he all the time is. He received his level throughout, what he wished us to do, what he wished us to get finished.”

The Rockets needed to have seen these traits by means of two exhaustive interview processes, even when they might not have imagined they’d have been so important so shortly.

Public relations and crises administration professionals in interviews are given hypothetical eventualities and requested how they’d handle them. In conversations that over the weeks of the teaching search stretched into 15 hours, Stone probably by no means requested Silas about impermissible haircuts in a participant’s residence. However he received a sense for the coach he would select.

“Every little thing we had on Stephen was that he was actually a particularly good man and a particularly good individual,” Stone mentioned. “We felt comfy about these two issues and once you begin with that foundation, you need to be capable to overcome adversity. And overcoming adversity is a part of the sport of basketball, it’s a part of being a coach.”

The opposite components, teaching basketball, is likely to be simpler to judge, particularly for a coach with 20 years on NBA benches. When the Rockets’ seemingly interminable low season lastly over, that turned gamers’ first impression.

“He did an ideal job,” Harden mentioned. “Very assured, knew what he was drawing up and knew the place to place his guys at.”

That too appeared to talk of “cool.” Silas was amused by that description, although he knew it referenced demeanor greater than model. However since his honeymoon interval was rained out, shows of confidence could be precious.

“It means so much when any participant says that they like what you do, particularly as a brand new head coach,” Silas, 47, mentioned. “Loads of the issues I’m doing are issues I imagine in and have seen. However till you do this, to get suggestions from him and the opposite guys has been gratifying. I’m joyful about that.”

This was earlier than he gained his first recreation. When he did, John Wall offered him with the sport ball. Earlier than Wall left the ground, he described the traits the Rockets wanted, even when they didn’t realize it on the time.

“He’s the best child in the home,” Wall mentioned. “He doesn’t say an excessive amount of. He’s laid again. I name him slim. He’s doing an ideal job.”