Ben Sullivan Seems Likely to Return to Rockets Following Blazers Interview

Interesting.

Nov 4, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (left) talks with coach Ben Sullivan before the game against the New York Knicks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the more intriguing teams to follow this offseason. They ended their four-year postseason drought and built an up-and-coming pesky ball club around All-Star Deni Avdija, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant.

The team has room to improve after posting the league's 20th-best offense and is expected to get Damian Lillard back next season -- who is easily their best player in the history of the franchise and a member of the league's 75th Anniversary team.

The Blazers underwent a new ownership, as billionaire businessman Tom Dundon bought the team from Jody Allen, the sister of Paul Allen, in a deal that was made official last month. Dundon will be responsible for the Blazers' head coaching search, after former Houston Rockets assistant coach Tiago Splitter roamed the sidelines on an interim basis.

The Trail Blazers' full-time head coach, Chauncey Billups, was indicted as part of a federal gambling probe and surely won't be returning to the sidelines (or the NBA, for that matter) anytime soon. The Rockets have had several ties to the job.

For starters, Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan, a Portland native, interviewed for the job, as Dundon is reportedly seeking a cost-effective solution to fill the vacancy. With this approach, his best chance of filling the void is to turn to a first-time head coaching candidate like Sullivan.

Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey has even been linked to the vacancy, albeit in the early stages, as he hasn't landed an interview, as of this writing. The list of finalists has emerged and Sullivan didn't make the cut, setting the stage for a return to Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s staff.

Interestingly enough, the finalists were former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy was the Rockets head coach for four years and posted a 182-146 record in Houston. The Rockets went to the postseason in three of his four seasons at the helm.

However, Van Gundy hasn't been a head coach since last coaching the Rockets in 2007 (which seems rather consistent with the cost-cutting theme) although he's been an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers for the last two seasons. Micah Nori was also named another finalist for the job.

Nori is an assistant coach on Chris Finch's staff with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ironically enough, Finch was also previously an assistant coach with the Rockets for five years, from 2011 through 2016.