After a championship run in the NBA bubble in 2020 and two forgettable seasons that followed due to constant injury issues, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to part ways with head coach Frank Vogel.
As a result of being fired after last season, Vogel decided to step away from the game for at least one year, as he wasn’t connected to any vacant coaching job.
With the 2022-23 NBA regular season near its end, coaching jobs in the league will become available again.
The Houston Rockets are expected to relieve Stephen Silas of his duties, which opens the door for Vogel, Kenny Atkinson and Ime Udoka, according to ESPN 97.5 Houston.
Ime Udoka, Frank Vogel and Kenny Atkinson are names to watch for the Houston Rockets, per @espn975 pic.twitter.com/4mhdXyuGy1
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 3, 2023
All three coaching candidates are big names and will likely be linked to numerous coaching vacancies around the league.
Vogel, however, is the only one with an NBA title on his resume as a head coach.
Udoka and Atkinson won titles as assistants during their coaching careers in the league.
Atkinson was part of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff last season when the Golden State Warriors won it all for the fourth time in the Stephen Curry era.
Udoka was an assistant of Greg Popovich back in 2014 when the San Antonio Spurs got the best of LeBron James’ Miami Heat.
If the team does indeed part ways with Silas, the attention will turn to the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft Lottery and where the Rockets land.
Houston will become a very intriguing job for coaches if they get the No. 1 overall pick, with Victor Wembenyama there for the taking on draft day.
