The Rockets hired Lionel Hollins, Mike Battist and Mahmoud Abdelfata as assistant coaches.
According to Fox 26's Mark Berman, the Rockets are hiring Lionel Hollins, Mike Baptiste and Mahmoud Abdelfata as assistant coaches to Stephen Silas' coaching staff for the 2022-23 season, according to Fox 26.00 They replaced former assistants Jeff Hornacek, Will Weaver and Diop, whom Diop had played alongside in his first two seasons with the Houston Rockets in Silas.
There have been previous reports that the Rockets are interested in Hollins and Abdelfata. Hollins is a former NBA head coach from memphis's "grinding" era and is an experienced assistant to several teams. He brought a significant improvement in defensive quality, which was crucial for the Rockets in this search.
Most recently, Hollins served as an assistant to Frank Vogel on the 2019-20 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, when the Los Angeles Lakers were third in the league in defense.
Abdelfata, meanwhile, has been promoted after a very successful stint as head coach for the Grande Valley Vipers, an NBA development league affiliate in Houston. He led the team to win the G-League title last season.
As for former NBA player and UEFA star Battist, he has spent the past six seasons as an assistant in Brooklyn (2016-17), Charlotte (2017-18), Orlando (2018-21) and Washington (2021-22).
Hollins, Battist and Abdelfattah will join John Lucas and Rick Higgins as Syrus' five senior assistants for the 2022-23 season. Higgins is currently reportedly the head coach of the Summer League.
