James Harden in the dark on Rockets’ head coaching decision?

James Harden is the franchise cornerstone of the Houston Rockets, so why is the Houston front office not consulting him about their head coaching vacancy?

According to ESPN Staff Writer Calvin Watkins, “the Houston Rockets, who are in the middle of a coaching search, have yet to present any of the candidates to star guard James Harden.” Watkins writes that Houston owner Leslie Alexander did previously say that Harden would be informed on the Rockets organization’s decision to hire their next head coach.

Houston parted ways with former head coach Kevin McHale only a handful of games into the 2015-16 NBA season. McHale’s temporary replacement in interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff led the Rockets to a .500 record and the No. 8 seed in the 2016 Western Conference Playoffs. However, Bickerstaff has completely removed his own name from consideration to be the next Rockets coach.

Harden is a sensational offensive basketball player with lackadaisical effort defensively. He finished second in MVP voting last season behind the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry. Despite his aloofness, few can do what Harden does offensively and it’s fair to say that the Rockets have themselves one of the very best offensive weapons in the game today.

Watkins pointed out that Houston has reportedly interviewed seven coaching candidates, but have not consulted Harden on who they will decide to go with. While there has not been any discussion between management and Harden on who the Rockets next head coach will be, one has to believe that Harden’s voice will be important in determining who leads this team from the sidelines next year.

If Houston wants to appease Harden in this coaching search, they should target an offensive-first coach that will run an efficient up-tempo style. In the pace and space era of the NBA, Harden could be lethal offensively with the right head coach in Houston.

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