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The Houston Rockets will interview Ime Udoka for their vacant head coach position, according to The Athletic. Udoka was suspended for the 2022-23 season by the Boston Celtics for violations of team policies, and officially parted ways with the organization in February. 

There had been open talk of a coaching change in Houston for months leading up to the end of the season, and the Rockets announced that they would not pick up the fourth-year option for Stephen Silas shortly after their final regular season contest. Silas went 59-177 during his three seasons in charge of the Rockets, and while he was dealt a terrible hand, it was clear the young team was not improving under his watch. 

This will be a crucial offseason for the Rockets, who were tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the second-worst record in the league at 22-60. They'll have a 14% chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which would allow them to draft Victor Wembanyama, perhaps the best prospect to enter the league since LeBron James. 

In addition, they'll have approximately $60 million in cap space this summer and have been heavily linked with a James Harden reunion. Whatever happens in the draft and free agency this summer, this Rockets team figures to look much different at the beginning of next season, and they want a new head coach to lead them into the future. 

That could be Udoka, who was highly successful in his first opportunity at running his own team. After seven seasons as a player, Udoka joined the coaching ranks and spent over a decade as an assistant with the Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Celtics hired him as their new head coach and he led the team to the Finals for the first time since 2010. 

In the offseason, though, he became the subject of an internal investigation over violations of team policies that were reported to be related to an in appropriate relationship with a team staffer. Just ahead of training camp, the Celtics suspended Udoka for the season and promoted Joe Mazzulla to interim head coach. In February, they made Mazzulla the full-time head coach and cut ties with Udoka, making him a free agent. 

Udoka has been linked to other teams, including the Nets during the middle of the season. While he's clearly a capable coach, any interested franchise will have to weigh his on-court impact with his off-court past.