Rockets Rumors: HOU 'Will Look to Conduct a Culture Reset' After D'Antoni's Exit

The Houston Rockets are reportedly planning to conduct a "culture reset" after falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the NBA's Western Conference playoffs.

According to Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic on Tuesday, Rockets governor Tilman Fertitta is expected to keep general manager Daryl Morey in place, and some of the coaching candidates he is expected to consider are ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Ty Lue.

Following Houston's playoff ouster, Mike D'Antoni informed the Rockets that he would not return as head coach in 2020-21, thus ending his four-year stint with the team.

Iko and Amick reported Fertitta first began to question D'Antoni's status after the Rockets were ousted from the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals by the Golden State Warriors in six games despite Kevin Durant suffering an injury during the series.

After the team's elimination, he said: "I'm a fighter. That's my culture. The longer I own this team, they're gonna pick up more of my culture. We had 'em. We should have stepped on their throats the other night and cut their throats. It's not make a few shots and win, it's step on their throats, and let's take it back to Houston and end it in six."

If Fertitta is going to install his ideal mentality into the team, the easiest way to do that will be by hiring the head coach of his choosing.

Roster tweaks are possible, but with guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook both under contract through at least the 2021-22 season and set to make over $40 million apiece next season, making significant player changes could be difficult.

At the same time, getting the desired result may not be possible without an overhaul of sorts. The Rockets will have to get past some stiff competition in the form of the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers in order to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995.

The Rockets have reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons and made it as far as the Western Conference Finals twice during that stretch, but getting over the hump has proven to be tough.

A new voice on the sidelines may be what they need, especially if that voice has reached the Promised Land and led a team to the Finals before.

Both Van Gundy and Lue have done precisely that, and Lue isn't far removed from leading a team to a championship.

Van Gundy hasn't been an NBA head coach since the 2006-07 season, which was his fourth and final season in Houston. He went 182-146 with three playoff appearances for the Rockets, but he is perhaps best known for going 248-172 in seven seasons as head coach of the New York Knicks, which included an appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.

Lue spent parts of four seasons as head coach of the Cavs from 2015-16 into the early part of the 2018-19 season. He went 128-83 and took Cleveland to three consecutive NBA Finals. In 2016, Lue helps the Cavs win their first-ever NBA championship.

Both Van Gundy and Lue could bring a winning culture to Houston, which is needed after several consecutive years of playoff shortcomings.