Jeff Van Gundy was one of three finalists for the Houston Rockets' head coaching job after long being considered the favorite. But the Rockets ultimately decided to hire Stephen Silas for the job and the reason could have pivoted on Houston's stars not supporting Van Gundy's candidacy to the degree that would have made all parties comfortable. 

"Van Gundy, I don't know if there was a lot of buy in or any buy in from James Harden or Russell Westbrook," said Tim MacMahon on the Brian Windhorst podcast. "And I don't know if Jeff Van Gundy necessarily wanted to, you know, have to beg to coach guys. And so I think personality wise, that might not have been a match."

"[Tim] Bontemps, he's being very artful in his language right now," interjected Windhorst. "Pay attention to what he's saying."

"I get it. I give the man credit for tap dancing around," said Bontemps.

"He's doing a good job. Is this mic on? I thought we were on mute. Go ahead, MacMahon," said Windhorst.

"We could just say Van Gundy was considered the lead candidate all season long, I think that the most important decision maker for the Rockets wasn't quite so sure about that one," added MacMahon.

Van Gundy is a longtime analyst for ESPN and ABC and will remain in the role.

The Houston Rockets are not interested in trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in a package centered around Ben Simmons. With Daryl Morey joining the 76ers, there has been speculation he might attempt to acquire Harden with his new team.

"I've already been told with a few expletives included by somebody with the Rockets: 'No, Daryl, James Harden for Ben Simmons is not happening. Don't ask,' said Tim MacMahon on the Brian Windhorst podcast.

"It's not up to the Rockets, is it?" replied Windhorst, referring to the possibility of Harden asking for a trade at some point.

"The answer is no on that," added MacMahon on whether Houston would trade Harden for Simmons.

MacMahon previously reported this week that the Rockets are 100 percent committed to continuing to build around Harden.

The Houston Rockets hired Stephen Silas as head coach and hope to surround him with a veteran coaching staff, starting with John Lucas.

Lucas was also a candidate for the head coaching job and is immensely popular with the Rockets' players.

"The hope for the Rockets now is to keep John Lucas on the staff. He could probably land in a more prominent role," said Tim MacMahon on The Woj Pod. "They're trying to build a really veteran, experienced staff to support Stephen Silas. They've talked to Nate McMillan. They've talked to Jeff Hornacek. They're really looking to have some head coaching experience to support a guy whose only head coaching experience was that time filling in for Steve Clifford when he was ill."

The Indiana Pacers parted ways with McMillan this past offseason.

Hornacek was fired as head coach of the New York Knicks in 2018.

The future of James Harden with the Houston Rockets has been speculated about following the departures of Mike D'Antoni and Daryl Morey this offseason coupled with the team's limited ways of improving their roster and the tenuous financial situation of Tilman Fertitta.

The Rockets cashed in most of their remaining trade chips over the past year-and-a-half for Russell Westbrook during the 2019 offseason and then Robert Covington ahead of the 2020 trade deadline. 

"What I can say is right now the Rockets are 100 percent committed to trying to cash in on James Harden's prime," said Tim MacMahon on The Woj Pod. "They consider him the best player in the league, which you know... He's without question a perennial MVP candidate. That's just a simple fact. They're going to try to win a championship as long as he's at that level and as long as he's on board.

"I think at this point it's probably a year to year deal. If I'm speculating, I'm going to say that decision is more than likely made by James Harden instead of made by the Rockets. In other words, it could get to a point... And I don't believe this is imminent. Again, I think it's a year-to-year situation where at some point James Harden, who has tried repeatedly to pair with a superstar to give him a chance to a championship: first Dwight [Howard], then Chris Paul and now with Russ. If James Harden wants to pair with another superstar, he's probably going to have to be the one to pack his bags. Is that next offseason? Is that the offseason after that? We'll see. Obviously a lot of that depends on what happens with the Rockets over these next one or two years."

Harden can become a free agent in 2022.

Daryl Morey cleared the record with Tim MacMahon after the ESPN writer suggested the Houston Rockets' trade of Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook was pushed for by James Harden and Tilman Fertitta with Morey essentially going along with it.

"I got into a little bit of trouble when I went on with Zach Lowe with some folks in Houston," said MacMahon on The Woj Pod. "When I went on his podcast and basically what I said was 'This was a trade that James Harden obviously wanted. Tilman Fertitta wanted. And Daryl got done.

"I got a call. I got a call from Daryl late that night saying 'Hey, that was a group decision. I just want to make it clear.'

"I think it was something where Daryl felt like it was probably a flip of the coin. But that's a trade to this point certainly hasn't worked out. Maybe it's a completely story if Russ doesn't get coronavirus, which I believe did impact the injury he got in the playoffs."

The NBA estimates a "net negative impact" of $200 million from China's reaction to a Tweet by Daryl Morey in support of protesters in Hong Kong, sources tell ESPN.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March and caused a suspension of the season that led to $1.2 billion in losses, the projected loss from the NBA's China business was considered massive internally.

The Chinese Communist Party removed all NBA games from CCTV until late in The Finals, while games continued to stream for most of the season on Tencent. All games featuring the Houston Rockets, however, were banned in China.

The Rockets have historically been one of the NBA's most popular teams in China due to its history with Yao Ming.

The Houston Rockets have agreed to hire Stephen Silas as head coach.

Silas was previously an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.

The Rockets were reportedly sold on Silas' offensive ingenuity and his experience working under Rick Carlisle, Steve Clifford and Paul Silas.

The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to hire Daryl Morey to oversee the franchise's basketball operations department. A deal will likely be finalized in the next few days.

Elton Brand will remain in the role as general manager. 

Morey and the Houston Rockets agreed to part ways on October 15th. Conversations between Morey and the 76ers commenced shortly after his departure from Houston and escalated in recent days. The 76ers pursued Morey in the past but he decided to remain with the Rockets and ultimately sign an extension. 

The 76ers hired Doc Rivers, who has a strong relationship and history with Morey, as head coach this offseason.

While the Houston Rockets are replacing their general manager and coach this offseason, Tilman Fertitta expects the roster to largely remain the same next season.

“You have James Harden and Russell Westbrook and you have almost 90 percent of your salaries tied up in them and Eric Gordon,” Fertitta said in his weekly CNBC appearance “But anytime you have players like Eric, P.J. (Tucker), James and Russell, there’s no reason to blow up your roster.

“This is still our window, the next couple years. James and Russell are in their early 30s. We’re not blowing up anything. We plan on contending. I always said you want to set yourself up to be one of the top four teams in your conference each year and then it takes a little luck to win. You look at every year, it always takes a little luck.

“So, we’re going to set ourselves up to make the moves, to be one of the top teams. We’re going to do whatever we have to do to win. I can promise that to my fans and compete for the NBA championship this year.”

The Rockets finished last season as the No. 4 seed and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in five games.

Daryl Morey took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle to reflect upon his 13 years with the Houston Rockets organization.

Morey emphasized the importance of James Harden during his run as general manager, writing that "James Harden changed my life."

"An entire page could be dedicated just to James. He not only transformed my life but also revolutionized the game of basketball -- and continues to do so -- like almost no one has before.

"The game is played differently because of James, and on every playground in the world, the next generation of talent is studying and imitating his game," wrote Morey.

Morey also reflected upon working with other stars he brought to the organization.

"I loved working together on how to get his incredible Hall of Fame teammates Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook to the Rockets. I will be rooting for James to win a championship in Houston. It's how this story should end."

Rafael Stone replaced Morey as the Rockets general manager.