Rockets Coach Ime Udoka to Add Former Teammate to Staff?

Ime Udoka and Tiago Splitter played with the San Antonio Spurs together during the 2010-11 season. Now, the pair could coach the Houston Rockets together.

Jeremy Brener | Jun 14, 2023

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Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka could be getting closer to finalizing his coaching staff.

The Rockets are planning on bringing in Aaron Miles, Mike Moser and Ben Sullivan to the bench, but the former has yet to be solidified. If it doesn't end up working out, one of Udoka's former teammates could be following him to Houston.

"One name that I heard through the wire was Tiago Splitter," Kelly Iko of The Athletic said. "He’s one of Ime Udoka’s guys, and they worked together in Brooklyn and were teammates in San Antonio. He likes him a lot. I’m not saying he’s joining, but he’s a name I’ve heard if Aaron Miles doesn’t come to fruition."

Splitter has spent the past four seasons coaching the Brooklyn Nets after a playing career that spanned from 2010-17 with the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers.

Udoka played with Splitter during the 2010-11 season, the latter's first in the NBA. Then, the pair were assistants in Brooklyn under Steve Nash during the 2020-21 season before Udoka left the team to coach the Boston Celtics.

Udoka only coached the Celtics for a year before he was suspended indefinitely and later relieved of his duties following a breach of the team's code of conduct.

Now in Houston, Udoka looks to pick up where he left off in Boston and he could do it with his former San Antonio teammate by his side.

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Published Jun 14, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.