The Houston Rockets are likely running it back next season. At least that's what Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone have stated publicly.

Udoka expressed a desire to retain his coaching staff as well. The challenge there is that respective ball clubs are always looking for the next up-and-coming assistant coach.

When a team is successful, opposing ball clubs look to the assistant coaches on the staff. For the Rockets, lead assistant coach Royal Ivey has garnered interest around the league.

In fact, Ivey is still in consideration for the Dallas Mavericks head coaching vacancy. And according to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, a decision could be made soon regarding the vacancy, as Stein explained on the Stein Line.

"The Mavericks are also said to be progressing in their search with interviews ongoing through the weekend. Known candidates to this point in Dallas include Nori, Houston's Royal Ivey, Toronto's Jama Mahlalela, Boston's Tony Dobbins and former Hawks, Bucks and Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. It's believed that the team's initial overtures to Michigan's Dusty May and Duke's Jon Scheyer never went any farther than an exploratory stage."

It sounds like Ivey has already completed an interview for the position. Ivey was also linked to the Portland Trail Blazers head coaching vacancy, especially initially. Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan was also in consideration for the Blazers head coaching position.

In fact, Sullivan actually interviewed for the position but didn't make the list of finalists. As it pertains to the Mavericks head coaching vacancy, it's no surprise that there are so many suitors and/or interested candidates.

Let's first acknowledge that there are only 30 of these NBA head coaching posts in the world. But also, the Mavericks boast Cooper Flagg --the Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie team member.

Granted, the Mavericks have decisions to make, as it pertains to roster construction. Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington may wind up on different teams this summer. Ditto for Kyrie Irving, although it's unclear whether new shot caller Masai Ujiri intends to move Irving.

As it pertains to Ivey, he largely first got on the coaching radar due to his success with South Sudan throughout the international vortex.Ivey coached South Sudan during the World Cup in 2023 and during the Olympics in 2024 --both of which were first time appearances for the ball club. They'd never qualified for either, prior to Ivey leading them there.

South Sudan also secured a victory during the Olympics, defeating Puerto Rico in their first game. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Mavericks' vacancy because it sounds like Ivey is a legitimate candidate.