NBA Odds: Nick Nurse Favorite For Houston Rockets Head Coach

Stephen Silas had a rough tenure a the head coach of the Houston Rockets over the last three years, and the two sides finally parted ways on Sunday.

While they got progressively better each season with him at the helm, the development was just not quick enough. After winning just 17 games in his first season in 2020-21, Silas’ Rockets won just 20 and 22 games the last two seasons, giving him an overall record of 59-177 during his tenure.

Nick Nurse Is The Favorite To Be Houston Rockets Next Head Coach

The Rockets were one of the handful of teams that were actively tanking for the first overall pick during the 2022-23 season, but Silas wound up being a victim of all of the losing.

But should Houston happen to land that #1 pick, then whoever the coach is that replaces him will get their hands on one of the best prospects that we have ever seen.

Who has the best odds of landing the job? Here are the front-runners, according to the oddsmakers:

3 Coaches With Best Odds Of Landing Rockets Job

Nick Nurse

The leader in the clubhouse is current Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. His team is still alive in the NBA Play-In tournament, but it is thought that his job is anything but safe when the Raptors season concludes.

Nurse has a history of success with an NBA Championship under his belt, leading his team to the 2019 NBA Championship after 6 seasons as an assistant with Toronto. He comes in at +300 as the person most likely for the Rockets job, a number that would take a very noticeable drop should he be fired within the month.

Scott Brooks

He has spent the last couple of seasons as an assistant on the Trail Blazers’ staff, but Scott Brooks has the most head coaching experience of any of the top-3 candidates. He was a lead man from 2008 until 2021 for the Thunder and Wizards, and was named the Coach of the Year in 2010. He comes into this race not far behind Nurse, with a designation of +400.

Brooks spent time with the Houston Rockets organization as a player, from 1992 until 1995.

Ime Udoka

One of the names that will be thrown around for nearly every head coaching job in the foreseeable future will be that of Ime Udoka.

He enjoyed plenty of success as a young head coach for the Boston Celtics before a kept-quiet, in-house scandal cost him his job. But apparently some team will forgive his sins, as he is listed as one of the favorites for both the Rockets job as well as the Pistons vacancy. He comes in at +500 on this particular list.