Fired Rockets coach ‘could add tremendous value’ to Boston Celtics staff

Fired Rockets head coach Stephen Silas “could add tremendous value” to the Boston Celtics coach staff should he get hired by Joe Mazzulla and the organization’s brain trust — this, at least, according to Inside The Rockets’ Jeremy Brener.

“After winning just 59 over the course of three seasons with the team, Silas’ first opportunity as a head coach after two decades as an assistant did not go according to plan,” Brener prefaced before saying, “As one of the most respected coaches in league circles, Silas should find a new home rather quickly, even if his head coaching stint wasn’t up to par. Silas could add tremendous value to a Celtics team on the verge of a championship led by a first-year head coach in Mazzulla. While Silas isn’t expected to help out in any capacity during the Celtics’ playoff run, he could be a much-appreciated addition to Boston’s coaching staff next season.”

Per Marc Stein’s Substack, the Boston Celtics already have Silas on their offseason radar.

“The Boston Celtics will attempt to hire Stephen Silas as an assistant coach this offseason,” Stein wrote. “Silas would give Joe Mazzulla an experienced assistant coach with head coaching experience.”

Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka now with Rockets

The Boston Celtics and Rockets would make an unofficial coaching swap of sorts should the Cs and Silas reach an agreement. Earlier this month, Ime Udoka agreed to a deal to become the new head coach in Houston.

Of course, Udoka was not a member of the Celtics organization anymore at the time of his hiring, having officially been let go this past February following a suspension this past September related to an affair with a female staffer. Still, Silas and Udoka swapping sidelines, though not job titles, would make for a coaching coincidence between two teams going in drastically different directions at the moment.