The Houston Rockets have reportedly already wrapped up second interviews with Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey and Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank. Marc Stein, via Twitter, reported that the Rockets will soon give a second interview to TNT analyst Kevin McHale to wrap up their coaching search.
The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen reports that the Rockets have no timetable to make the hire.
The Rockets do not have a timetable to make the hire, according to a person with knowledge of their thinking, indicating they will wait for Casey to become available after the Mavericks’ playoff run. Coaches are not permitted to have positions with two teams at once, but the Rockets could seek permission from the Mavericks to name Casey and allow him to finish his duties with the Mavericks should they choose him.
The Rockets have not made that request, and when asked if he would permit the Rockets to name Casey during the playoffs, Dallas owner Mark Cuban said he would not address a hypothetical situation.
If the Rockets clearly look like they are waiting on Casey, I don’t know what other sign one could possibly need to guess that he is their first choice in the coaching search. Perhaps the Rockets could be waiting out the looming NBA lockout so they don’t have to enter it with a coach under contract, but that seems like a move that’s a bit too cheap to be Les Alexander’s typical work.