Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson has emerged as a "significant" candidate for the Nets' head coaching job, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Brooklyn GM Billy King is intrigued by Sampson and is expected to reach out to him, among others, as the team searches for Avery Johnson's replacement.
Sampson took over for Kevin McHale on the Rockets' bench earlier this season when McHale left the team to be with his ailing daughter. The Rockets were 7-6 while Sampson was the team's acting head coach.
According to Wojnarowski, Rockets officials praise Sampson's ability to connect with star players, something that would prove useful in Brooklyn, where Deron Williams and Johnson didn't always seem to be on the same page.
The rest of today's Nets coaching rumors can be found right here.