I want you to put yourself back in your old life.

You're the Rockets coach again.

This has happened.

You dealt with Patrick, you and you've dealt with superstars and all of your stops.

This is happening.

You're the Rockets coach.

What do you do?

But it's well, it's a tough situation, obviously, because you know what you're trying to ask everybody on the team, coaches, players is to be all in with both feet, you know, be all in.

And, um, all the players and coaches know that Harden is out or wants to be out.

Now that doesn't preclude him from playing.

Well, I think, actually that Houston is gonna win and win.

Uh, big if Harden stays.

I think there'll be a top four seed, but I think it's going to be, ah, Hard Year, because everybody's gonna dance around the elephant in the room, which is our best player, doesn't wanna be here.

When is the other shoe going to drop?

So I think Stephen Silas is handling it, just like I think any coach would try.

Keep the team on track.

Uh, prepare a Ziff.

This is gonna be your team going forward.

But even he knows it's just a matter of time until James Harden is no longer there on.

So you were so close to being on the verge of being that coach.

How toxic could this environment potentially get if they can't find somebody to work the trade with them?

For James Harden?

Well, I don't know if you know the the article that was written yesterday, if true, is, like, so different than what I'm accustomed to a Sfar as dealing with NBA players now.

That's not to say that star players have never asked for or received, you know, benefits that, you know the 12th man didn't get.

But I think every player who wields power in our league yes, they can.

They can do certain things, but I think they need to ask themselves, Should they do that?

Is it the right thing?

Is it the right thing for the team that selflessness when a star player has selflessness like a Steve Nash or a Tim Duncan or ah, litany of other players that we've had in our league that set you up for team chemistry and team chemistry helps you to elevate your team's game as faras the talent will allow.

That doesn't mean you're necessarily gonna win a championship, but it's going to allow you to maximize the talent at hand.

Plus, it allows you to enjoy the year, and I think we all overlook the fact we want toe work in jobs where were valued, where we're excited to go toe work and we're happy.

And when you have chemistry, that's what it allows you to dio.

Conversely, the opposite is true.

You may win and it may be miserable, and that is absolutely zero thought.

Coach, If you are talking to coach Silas, how would you advise him?

E.

I mean, he's done exceptionally well, job this far, just in the media with the way he's handled it.

But you have to be assured it's it's only going to get more challenging.

How would you advise him to continue to handle this scenario as it develops?

Well, like you said, I think he's doing such a great job because he's referring many of the hardened questions back to harden himself because Harden really is the only one that can answer about his level of commitment about why he did what he did.

And I think Steven has done a great, great job.

You know, I'm fortunate.

I know the Cilice family.

My first n b a job When I was 27 as an assistant for the Knicks, one of the other assistant coaches was Paul Silas.

His dad, who took me under his wing, taught me a lot about the n b A.

And so I've known Stephen since he was, I think, a high school freshman.

And he's always been, Ah, great dude, like he's top notch.

If you don't get along with Stephen Silas, you're the jerk.

And he has put in, like, 20 years to being an assistant coach, and he's got a really good team, and he really knows what he's doing.

And I'm I'm very impressed with not only how he's dealt with the Harden dilemma, uh, coming into it.

It was a Westbrook dilemma as well, and I think they've come out of it.

Are Dunas good a job as they can?

And unfortunately, this great great player doesn't want to be a part of their team anymore.

And yet I think they're doing the smart thing and not just getting rid of them, but trying to find a situation for themselves, that they feel comfortable that they could still be a really good team.

So Stephen is going to do an excellent job, has done an excellent job, and I love how we started deflecting the questions back to Harden.

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