Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams has made his first major addition to his coaching staff, adding former Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas to serve as his top assistant, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Silas spent the previous three seasons as Rockets head coach and the 20 seasons prior to that serving various assistant coaching roles for various organizations.
He’s previously served as a top assistant coach on staffs in Dallas, Charlotte and Golden State.
In his three seasons leading the Rockets, he compiled a record of 59-177 on a young, rebuilding team.
When he was hired in Houston, Silas was lauded for his offensive ingenuity and experience coaching elite guards in the NBA, including Luka Doncic with the Mavericks, Steph Curry with the Warriors and Kemba Walker with the Hornets.
Tim Cato, who saw Silas up close as an assistant in Dallas had this to say when he was hired by Houston in 2020:
Silas always has a smile and a genuine “how are you doing?” for those around him. You’ll learn that quickly about him. On the court, he just orchestrated the most successful offense in league history with the Mavericks this season. Sure, much of that credit goes to the players, but you can see Silas’ modern view of the sport through how they played: with spacing, off-ball movement and guard-heavy attacks. Hmm, that sure seems like tenets that can be applied to the Rockets’ roster, doesn’t it?
Of course, that was shortly before James Harden decided to force his way out of Houston and into Brooklyn, and the Rockets were forced to rely on young guards in Kevin Porter Jr and Jalen Green.
Silas is the son of longtime NBA player and coach Paul Silas and began his coaching career working under his father in Charlotte.
Will this move help or hurt the bizarre war of words online between Pistons fans and Rockets fans? I have no idea. Silas might not have the stuff to make it as a head coach in this league, but he also wasn’t set up for much success in Houston. And he’s already proven to be one of the top assistants in the NBA, and seems to fit nicely in temperament and philosophy with new coach Monty Williams.