ROCKET FUEL
Why the Rockets next head coach needs to bring something extra
Apr 11, 2023, 6:04 pm
A fiery head coach seems like the answer. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
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From the moment the Houston Rockets hired Stephen Silas as their head coach on Oct. 28, 2020 he was dead man prowling the sidelines. The poor guy never had a prayer. A petulant superstar, dwindling crowds, sourpuss role players, overwhelmed rookies and losing. Lots and lots of losing.
Three disheartening years later, saddled with a career won-loss record for the history books, 59-177, Silas has been told that his services are no longer needed. Technically, the Rockets won’t be picking up the fourth-year option on Silas’ contract, but however you frame it, whatever words you want to use, Silas is out as Rockets coach.
And now the Rockets face the most important decision of Tilman Fertitta’s time as owner and Rafael Stone’s tenure as general manager.
Who will be the Houston Rockets’ next coach?
Looking back, the hiring of Silas was a risky reach that didn’t succeed. Silas had been an NBA assistant coach for 20 years without a head coaching offer from anywhere else. Maybe Houston teams need to stop hiring decades-long career assistants as their top man. At least Silas made three years with the Rockets. David Culley lasted barely one season with the Texans.
Maybe it’s time to put some judgment on the executives who hire these “inexperienced veterans” as head coaches. What did they see that no one else saw for 20-plus years?
The Rockets help wanted ad should be simple: “looking for a candidate with NBA head coaching experience and a fiery personality who can develop young players into stars.”
Otherwise ….
The Rockets franchise is hanging in the balance between being an NBA glamour franchise, a perennial playoff team loaded with All-Stars playing in front of packed Toyota Center crowds – or becoming Detroit or Orlando or just another non-factor NBA city trudging toward the lottery. Once you hit that status, it’s a long, tough road back. Ask Sacramento.
The Rockets are perilously close to irrelevancy. Once the hardest ticket in town, the Rockets promotions department was working overtime this season creating deals like “one ticket plus a quesadilla and a beer for $29.” You don’t need to see a menu to realize that the Rockets were literally giving away games free this season. And the stands were still half-empty some nights. Heck, one game the Rockets were giving away WWE Undertaker bobbleheads to lure fans into Toyota Center.
This was the year the NBA set an all-time, league-wide attendance record. A total of 22,234,502 fans watched games live in arenas. The Rockets should have been leading that charge, not using quesadillas as come-ons.
Everybody agrees that Silas is one heck of a guy, a sweetheart, a prince. But watching him sit on the bench placidly resigned to loss after loss got old. NBA analysts predict that Silas will be a prized get for a team looking for an assistant coach. Silas just may not be a head coach. It would be difficult for a struggling team to hire Silas, nearing his 50th birthday, as head coach and sell him to a bloodthirsty fan base.
The Rockets need a maniac with a short fuse to light a fire under their young roster. Let’s see some veins popping in foreheads on the sideline. Let’s get a coach who sweats through his sports jacket. I want the back row of the upper deck to hear our coach screaming at officials. It’s OK to get thrown out of a game to get Toyota Center crazy. We want the Rockets back on TNT and into the playoffs.
The New York Knicks languished for years as a non-factor, patsies on opponents’ schedules. Then they hired hothead Tom Thibodeau as coach, a Type A personality if ever there was one, and the Knicks are back, baby. Madison Square Garden is rocking again.
Rockets, do that.
Editor's note: The Rockets have received permission to interview Kenny Atkinson and Adrian Griffin for their vacant coaching position.
New #Rockets at Houston Chronicle — Rockets get permission to interview Kenny Atkinson, Adrian Griffin https://t.co/n1sR54U19j
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 11, 2023
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Late fireworks flip the script in thrilling All-Star showdown
Jul 16, 2025, 10:57 am
The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.
A swing on star power
With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.
He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.
If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:
It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.
Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.
He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.
Filling the middle
In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.
If Kendall likes the pick, I like the pick. https://t.co/NQKqEHFxtV
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) July 14, 2025
He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”
From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.
Strategy in motion
Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.
The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.
If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.
You can see the full draft tracker here.
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