AP sources: Rockets hiring Stephen Silas to replace D’Antoni

HOUSTON (AP) _ Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Houston Rockets and Stephen Silas have an agreement for the Dallas assistant to replace Mike D’Antoni as coach.

The hiring of the son of former NBA player and coach Paul Silas completes a significant change in the leadership of the team the with the league’s longest active playoff streak at eight seasons. Daryl Morey decided not to return as general manager after D’Antoni’s departure. Silas inherits a roster led by former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Houston recorded 50-win seasons in each of D’Antoni’s first three years and had a shot at another when the pandemic shut down the regular season last March. The Rockets beat Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoff bubble in Florida this year before losing to the champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games, the third second-round exit in D’Antoni’s four seasons.