Matt Brase set to join Houston Rockets’ coaching staff

Rio Grande Valley Vipers head coach Matt Brase will reportedly climb up the affiliation ladder and join Mike D’Antoni’s staff as a Rockets assistant, Jonathan Feigen reports.

Blair is a former professional player and longtime assistant on Coach Brase’s RGV staff.

Brase’s 90-60 tenure with the Vipers was highlighted by a run to The Finals back in 2017. Since making the move from Houston’s Basketball Operations department back in 2013, Coach Brase has worked diligently to ensure a seamless extension from the Rockets organization down to the minor league ball club. Whether that meant understanding what fundamentals to instill in aspiring NBA players so that they could potentially contribute in Houston later on, or ensuring that the Rockets’ assignees felt like they were entering familiar surroundings, Coach Brase has really helped the organization embrace what this kind of relationship should be about. All the while, the Rockets have remained one of the most active utilizers of its minor league affiliate. This has helped them continue to nurture up and coming talent, at the same time becoming a championship contender at the big league level.

Brase had obviously been a part of the Rockets’ organization long before Coach D’Antoni came to town. This meant fostering a new kind of connection, as intimate as it was. Even so, the two got on the same page in efficient fashion and the minor league coach embraced D’Antoni’s offensive fundamentals that are so well favored in today’s NBA.

This promotion is well deserved.