After being part of the Boomers coaching staff that guided Australia to the bronze medal game at the 2019 FIBA World Cup and leading the Sydney Kings to the NBL Grand Final as the team’s head coach Will Weaver was offered the chance to coach the Houston Rockets last season, and what a season it was.
Acting as the assistant coach to the Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, Weaver saw first-hand player movements such as Russell Westbrook and James Harden being traded to Washington and Brooklyn respectively, the Rockets breaking NBA records for the most injured roster of all time as the team saw 3o different players log minutes for the Rockets in 2020-21), two of those players being NBL stars Jae’Sean Tate and Cam Oliver.
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Will joins Dan Boyce on the podcast to talk about that roller coaster of a season, his role with the team and what positives he saw from the team despite the woeful record.
Lastly, he gives his feedback on the Boomers bronze medal effort and compares the team to the squad he helped coach at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
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Podcast topics include;
- How the opportunity to coach the Houston Rockets came about (2:00)
- What was the process he went through to become an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets (5:00)
- What is Will Weaver’s specific role within the Rockets coaching staff (7:00)
- How the Rockets handled the trades of both Russell Westbrook and James Harden (10:00)
- The Rockets NBL connection with Jae’Sean Tate and Cam Oliver last season and how they viewed their contributions (12:30)
- Thoughts from watching the Boomers achieve their first-ever Olympic medal (14:30)
- Nathan Sobey’s improved role for the Boomers play another season in Australia (17:00)
- How the Rockets handled losing 20 games in a row and the positives Will saw despite the team record (22:00)
- If playing the Olympics as Dante Exum did, is a better path to gain an NBA contract than individual workouts, the route taken by Thon Maker (24:00)
- What were the biggest hurdles he went through during his first year with the Rockets and what did he learn from them (33:00)
All of this and a whole lot more…