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NBA Rumors: Kenny Smith no longer a candidate for Rockets coaching job

By Jason Parker

May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; TNT television personality Kenny Smith prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; TNT television personality Kenny Smith prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Houston Rockets star Kenny Smith is reportedly no longer a candidate to return to the team as their next head coach.

As the coaching carousel continues around the NBA and jobs are filling up left and right, the Houston Rockets are still in the market for the next person to take over as their head coach. Reportedly, one former member of their championship teams in the 1990’s won’t be making that homecoming.

Sports Illustrated, citing a source to an ESPN writer that covers the Rockets, has said the team informed former guard and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith that he will not be one of the finalists for the position. The news comes after Smith’s name was mentioned as a potential replacement last week.

Nicknamed “The Jet” during his NBA career, Smith spent six seasons with the Rockets and won two championships with the team (back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 over the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic respectively). He is still the team’s record holder for three point shooting percentage.

During his 10-year career, Kenny Smith averaged just under 13 points and over five assists a game while starting his career with the Sacramento Kings (while also making stops with the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and the Denver Nuggets). For the last 18 seasons, Smith has been a member of the Inside the NBA crew on TNT, regarded as one of the best shows in all of sports.

The Houston Rockets will be hiring the 14th head coach in franchise history once they have made a choice. The new coach will be replacing J.B. Bickerstaff, who was named the interim coach after Kevin McHale was fired 11 games into the 2015-16 season.

The Rockets finished the year as the eighth seed in the Western Conference, where they would lose to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the postseason.

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