Rockets hire several assistant for Ime Udoka’s coaching staff

When the Houston Rockets hired Ime Udoka, they made headlines - for better and for worse. Luckily, none of their new assistants have been the subject of controversy.

On Wednesday, the Rockets announced the additions of Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Moser to Udoka’s staff. What’s that? You don’t know anything about any of them?

Don’t feel bad. I write about the NBA for a living, and I don’t either. Other than the fact that all three were on Udoka’s staff when he coached the Boston Celtics, these guys are unknown quantities to me. Still, there are plenty of reasons to get excited about this.

Firstly, and more broadly, it represents change. If you hadn’t noticed, the Rockets could use some change.

Let’s not slander the previous regime. There are so many factors at play. The Rockets have been tanking, etc. We’ve rehashed this ad nauseum.

Surely, we can mostly agree that it’s time for a change, right? Udoka was the Head Coach of a team in the NBA Finals just last season. He’s brought some of his preferred assistants in. This is a good thing.

Still, there’s a more specific reason to celebrate. Sullivan is a shooting coach: and dear God, do the Rockets need a shooting coach.

He’s not just any shooting coach, either. Sullivan was employed by the San Antonio Spurs when Udoka was a lead assistant there in 2012. The Spurs don’t hire slouches. If they trusted Sullivan to teach their players how to shoot a basketball, the Rockets should too.

Otherwise, it’s hard to get a read on what the other two assistants offer stylistically. It is worth noting that both Miles and Moser enjoyed successful non-NBA playing careers. In fact, Miles even had a cup of coffee with the Golden State Warriors in 2017. These guys are both young and may bring that same air of relatability the Rockets’ staff had under Stephen Silas.

It probably won’t be controversial to say that otherwise, this new Rockets staff looks like an upgrade.