Report: Rockets Have 'Strong Interest' in Tom Thibodeau

Mike D'Antoni could still return to the Rockets with a new contract in 2020-21, but Houston may already have its top target if its current head coach leaves the organization after this season. 

The Rockets "will have strong interest," in former Bulls and Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau if they let D'Antoni walk, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman. Thibodeau has also drawn interest from both the Knicks and Nets for their respective head coach vacancies. 

D'Antoni is in the last year of his contract with Houston. He and the Rockets attempted to work out an extension in the 2019 offseason, but talks were tabled in May. 

Thibodeau sports a 352–246 record in eight seasons as a head coach. He took the Bulls to the playoffs in five consecutive years from 2010-15, though Chicago never reached the Finals under his tutelage. Thibodeau went 97–107 in Minnesota before being fired in January 2019.  

D'Antoni is 213–97 in four seasons with the Rockets. He currently sits No. 3 on Houston's all-time wins leaderboard. And his tenure with the Rockets has marked a period of near-unprecedented success. Houston has won 50-plus games in each of the last three seasons, and the organization was on pace for a fourth straight 50-win campaign in 2019-20 before the league's coronavirus suspension. 

The Rockets currently sit No. 6 in the Western Conference at 40–24. D'Antoni and the Rockets are slated to face the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs if the 2019-20 season resumes.