The Rockets' coaching search Friday moved on to the next top name of free-agent coaches when owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Carroll Dawson met with former Hornets coach Paul Silas in Houston.

Silas, who called the position with the Rockets "the premier job," was the first coach to interview in Houston, touring the Rockets' new downtown arena, offices and training facility with Dawson before meeting with Dawson and Alexander on Friday afternoon.

"I've known Paul for 35 years, since he was at Creighton," Dawson said. "It was another good interview. I think it went very well. We talked about a lot of things. It was good."

Silas and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who met with the Rockets on Monday, are the top candidates for the position with the Cavaliers. Sources indicated the Cavaliers could try to secure a coach by the end of the weekend.

"I think it's the premier job out there," Silas, 58, said. "Whoever gets it has the opportunity to really do well. They are really on the right track to do something special.

The Hornets are unlikely to pursue former Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown for their vacant head coaching job unless he or his agent contacts the team, majority owner George Shinn said during Wednesday's news conference to announce the hiring of Allan Bristow as assistant general manager.

Brown, 62, resigned Monday as the 76ers' coach and executive vice president of basketball operations. He coached the 76ers for six seasons and led them to the NBA Finals during the 2000-01 season. Earlier this year Brown was named coach of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. He had two years left on his contract, which reportedly paid him $6 million a season, but the 76ers released Brown from a contractual clause that prohibited him from coaching another NBA team before his contract expires.
   
Brown is considered a prime candidate for vacancies in Houston, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Carroll Dawson met Brown and his wife, Shelly, in New York to discuss the Houston opening. But the Hornets are not pursuing Brown.

While Hornets majority owner George Shinn may not have kept close tabs on Allan Bristow's career once he fired him as coach of the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, he never forgot him.

On Wednesday, Shinn introduced Bristow as assistant general manager of the New Orleans Hornets, replacing Jeff Bower, who is resigning to become an assistant coach at Penn State.
 
Bristow, 51, will assume the same responsibilities as Bower, though Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bass will add the title of general manager.

"When Bob (Bass) told me that Jeff Bower was making the move to coaching, and he said, 'We need to find somebody to fill that void for us,' I mentioned to him, Allan," Shinn said at a press conference Wednesday. "I said, 'Is Allan still breathing? Is he still around?' And Bob said, 'Yes, as a matter of fact he is. I think he'd be great.' I said, 'Follow up with him and see if he'll come, if he's not mad at me.' Turns out Allan was still breathing and still around."

Bower was the Hornets' assistant general manager before being named GM in 2001.

Allan Bristow, who coached the Hornets in Charlotte for five seasons and led the team to two playoff appearances, has emerged as the leading candidate to be the team's general manager, a source said.

Bristow, who was fired as the team's coach following the 1995-96 season, said Monday he has talked with team officials regarding the job currently held by Jeff Bower. Bower will depart following the NBA draft June 26 to become an assistant coach at Penn State.

"I have spoken with members of the organization," Bristow said from his home in Marco Island, Fla., "but they gave me no timetable as far as when they were going to hire somebody. I am delighted to be a candidate, but it's really difficult for me to say any more because of the way they like to keep things under wrap."

When the Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday night, it was expected the rewards would be instantaneous.

That might have been quantified in season ticket sales Friday, but not in a head coach just yet.

Cavaliers General Manager Jim Paxson said Friday the coaching search was ongoing. There are two candidates -- former Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy and former Hornets Coach Paul Silas -- as the team planned another round of interviews.

When Hornets forward P.J. Brown becomes a free agent July 1, he is expected to be pursued by a number of teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.

But right now Brown isn't thinking about those teams, or any other that might have him high on its wish list. He's mainly focused on the Hornets' search for a head coach. The outcome of that could heavily influence the decision he makes on re-signing with the Hornets, or leaving New Orleans.

"I've played this game for 10 years and I want a chance to earn a ring," Brown said from his Slidell home Tuesday night. "This is going to be my last contract, and I'm looking at the leadership and direction where the team is going to be."

The Hornets have narrowed their coaching search to three candidates -- Mike Fratello, Brian Hill and Tim Floyd. Brown wouldn't say whom he would like to see get the job, but he said Hill is a good candidate.

Former Hornets assistant coach Brian Hill, hoping to once again become an NBA head coach, interviewed for nearly three hours with Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bob Bass on Monday.

Bass and Hill said the session went well. Bass said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of conducting a second round of interviews with the three candidates in line to replace Paul Silas, whose contract was not renewed.

"It went on great; we had a great conversation I can't expound on," Bass said after the interview at the team's Alario Center practice facility. "We've interviewed three guys now. I feel like we may talk to all the candidates again, maybe one or two, or all three of them."

Dave Cowens was in town yesterday but the Knicks would neither confirm nor deny that the former Celtic great was being interviewed for a job on Don Chaney's coaching staff.

Cowens, a former teammate and a long-time friend of Chaney, fits one of the main requirements for the job: he has had head coaching experience, with Charlotte and Golden State.

Yesterday, Cowens attended Dave DeBusschere's funeral in Garden City, L.I., and was seated next to Chaney. Cowens and DeBusschere helped create the NBA's Retired Players Association.

Indiana's Brendan Malone, a former Knicks assistant, is also under consideration for a job.

Add David Fredman to the Denver Nuggets' personnel another NBA team might be interested in.  

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has reported Fredman, the Nuggets' assistant general manager, could be a candidate for the New Orleans Hornets' general manager opening. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe is a potential candidate for the Portland Trail Blazers' president and general manager openings.

"It's flattering any time your name is mentioned," Fredman said Sunday. "I am not looking to leave here; I'm under contract. And on Thursday, if we get one of the top two picks (in the draft lottery), we're right on track to do what we want to do here.

"I think the most important thing is trying to keep the job you have instead of worrying about your next job. If you're successful with your current job, that's when other opportunities open."

First things first.

Getting a head coach, according to Hornets executive vice president of basketball operations Bob Bass, is the team's No. 1 priority.

Hiring a general manager, the man who, in the New Orleans front office, oversees college scouting and implementation of the college draft, is priority No. 2.

That's why you haven't heard much about the search to replace outgoing general manager Jeff Bower, who's leaving after the June 26 draft to take an assistant coaching position at Penn State.

But here's an intriguing candidate possibility: former New Orleans Jazz intern and public relations director Dave Fredman.