Ex-Rockets head coach Stephen Silas spotted at a Celtics practice; could he be a future assistant coach?
The Silas family has deep roots in the city of Boston, with the patriarch of the less musical side of the family — Paul Silas — having won a pair of titles in the city as a player for the Boston Celtics years before embarking on an equally successful career in coaching.
As basketball seems to run in Silas’ family as much as music does with his famous cousins The Pointer Sisters, Paul’s son Stephen Silas picked up the coaching mantle himself, eventually working his way up the coaching food chain until he landed the top job with the Houston Rockets.
And after being let go from that role, Silas was sighted visiting with the Celtics at practice the day after Boston’s disgraced head coach Ime Udoka was hired as his replacement in Houston.
A school, a park, and a home in Oakland California helped create a hotbed for Black excellence central to the Celtics’ success. https://t.co/0w5jb9qcrK
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 22, 2023
Speculation soon spread on whether Silas could help replenish the Celtics’ depleted bench after Will Hardy and Damon Stoudamire departed to take the helm of the Utah Jazz and Georgia Tech, respectively.
Among them was Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, who tweeted that Silas “would be a no-brainer to join Joe Mazzulla’s staff next season,” citing the fact that he is a “(s)easoned assistant, former head coach, (and) deeply respected league-wide for his basketball mind.”
Stephen Silas watching Celtics practice as Ime Udoka replaces him in Houston, this is the circle of NBA life pic.twitter.com/xyP6EteF0T
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 25, 2023
“And the Silas name, well, familiar in Boston,” added Mannix, who was a ball boy for Boston years before picking up the pen,
With the Celtics’ lack of proven assistants — or even relatively inexperienced ones as well, for that matter — on the team’s payroll at present, such a move would be a wise one from both a strategic and institutional perspective.
Frankly, if they can get a little extra help on the sidelines before next season, Boston ought to consider making such a hire now if nothing in the league’s CBA prevents it.
Brad Stevens chats with Stephen Silas ahead of Game 5 pic.twitter.com/SWui59AFK3
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 25, 2023
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