As part of their coaching search, the New York Knicks contacted the Houston Rockets and requested permission to speak with Ime Udoka. Houston shot that idea down.
That sparked something with the Rockets, and while Udoka reportedly has two years remaining on his current deal, he has agreed to a contract extension with the team, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and confirmed by other reports. This makes Udoka one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, Charania added.
Udoka, along with general manager Rafael Stone, helped build the defense-first culture of the Rockets, taking a team that won just 59 games across three seasons before he arrived and transforming them into one of the fastest-rising teams in the West. Last season, the Rockets went 52-30 and finished the two-seed in the West, making the playoffs for the first time in five years behind a young core of Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Jalen Green. They were bounced in seven games in the first round of the playoffs by a more seasoned Golden State Warriors team. The Rockets thrived this season thanks to a pressuring top-five defense, but in the postseason, they needed another go-to scorer in the half court, which is why they have been linked to Kevin Durant (how interested the Rockets are in the 37-year-old next season Durant is up for debate).
Udoka was never leaving this team on the rise in Houston for New York, but it opened the door to an extension that locks him in as the Rockets’ coach for the foreseeable future. It’s a smart move by the Rockets.
Houston has locked up center Steven Adams with an extension and is expected to do the same with Fred VanVleet this summer. The Rockets will be in the midst of numerous trade rumors this summer, as they are seen as one piece away from true title contention. The Rockets also love and trust their young core, they are not going to blow it up. That’s going to make for one interesting summer in Houston.
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