You’ve seen the Rockets bring in anyone who would pay their own airfare about their empty head coaching position, now be prepared to cast aside so many of these men and think about just three. Yes, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, the search has been narrowed to three. It should come as no surprise that two of the men the Rockets actually had to leave the building for, Dwane Casey and Lawrence Frank, are still in the running. The other is ex-Timberwolves head coach/GM Kevin McHale.
Dwane Casey, Lawrence Frank and Kevin McHale have emerged as finalists, heading into a last few interviews. They are among the very few from the deep pool of candidates with head coaching experience; Frank with the Nets and McHale and Casey with the Timberwolves. Casey and Frank add some strong assistant coaching credentials, with Casey adding a vital role in the Mavericks’ dismantling of the Lakers to his bio this week.
One would have to think that Casey would be the favorite for the job at this point, coming off a stunning domination of the Lakers. Casey was perhaps tossed away too fast in Minnesota, where he managed to play just under .500 ball despite a team full of misfits surrounding Kevin Garnett.
Frank is likely still a credible hire as well, as he coached above .500 ball for years in New Jersey in the waning parts of the Jason Kidd era. The Rockets must have sneaked in their interview with McHale, but either way, it doesn’t seem like he matches the qualities of the other two. I’d call him a substantial underdog at this point.