Kenny Smith To Interview For Rockets Head Coaching Vacancy

Kenny Smith will reportedly interview with the Houston Rockets for their vacant head coaching position on Tuesday. The 51-year-old TNT in-studio analyst was a member of the Rockets from 1990 to 1996 and won two NBA Championships with the organization. He has zero coaching experience at any level.

Houston’s interim coach, J.B. Bickerstaff withdrew himself from consideration for the full-time position, and the team has begun targeting bigger-name candidates, like Jeff Van Gundy. Former Cavs coach Dave Blatt has already interviewed with the team.

Fans of TNT’s Inside the NBA will be devastated if Smith actually gets an NBA head coaching gig, since it would break up the long-time trio of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Smith. Shaquille O’Neal joined that group in 2011. The show has won nine Emmy awards, and it’d be hard for sports fans to see that group split up. Smith joined Turner Sports in 1998 after retiring from the league 1997.

The Rockets might be trying to catch lightning in a bottle by giving Smith a chance. NBA teams seem to be looking for fresh perspectives from coaching hires in recent years. The Knicks recently tried that with Derek Fisher and the Warriors seem to have struck gold with Steve Kerr. Smith would just be the most recent example.