Three NBA Teams Decide on Coaches : Basketball: Pistons expected to hire Rothstein. Nuggets take Issel and Rockets stay with Tomjanovich.

The Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets should be no strangers to their new coaches.

Today, the Pistons are expected to name Ron Rothstein, a former Detroit assistant who worked as a Piston broadcaster last season. Rothstein was head coach of the Miami Heat from 1988-91.

Wednesday, the Nuggets hired Dan Issel, and the Rockets decided to retain interim coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

Issel, an analyst on Nuggets’ telecasts for the past four years, played for Denver for 10 seasons before retiring in 1985.

Tomjanovich, who played 11 seasons for the Rockets, replaced Don Chaney on Feb. 18 and led Houston to a 16-14 record over the rest of the season. Tomjanovich was an assistant and scout for nine seasons.

The Pistons could be in for more upheaval. Piston General Manager Jack McCloskey, expected to announce Detroit’s new coach at a news conference today, is considering a job as general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Bob Stein, the Timberwolves’ president, said Wednesday he had talked to McCloskey twice since Friday, including once “in the past couple of days.” He said McCloskey is on a short list of candidates.

Bill Laimbeer, the Pistons’ longtime center, criticized McCloskey earlier this season.

“Our organization has deteriorated to the point where now it’s every man for himself,” Laimbeer said in April.

Issel, who succeeds fired coach Paul Westhead, declined to reveal terms of his contract except that it was a multiyear deal.

Issel, 43, has no previous coaching experience.

General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff said Charlotte Vice President Gene Littles, formerly the Hornets’ head coach, will be Issel’s No. 1 assistant. Mike Evans, who was an assistant to Westhead, will remain on Issel’s staff as his No. 2 assistant.

Issel said that because of his lack of experience as a coach, he and Bickerstaff agreed he would need an assistant with NBA head coaching experience--”someone who had been through those wars before.”

Issel had planned on becoming Kentucky’s director of tourism before being approached about the coaching job.

“I’d rather be coach of the Denver Nuggets than any job out there,” Issel said.

“I don’t come in here with stars in my eyes. . . . But we have some outstanding young talent in place.”

Issel, the team’s second-leading scorer with 16,589 points, was one of four candidates interviewed for the job. The others were Littles, Golden State assistant Garry St. Jean and Clipper assistant Mack Calvin.

Terms of Tomjanovich’s three-year contract were not announced, but it is believed to be about $475,000 per year.

The Rockets were 11-4 after 15 games under Tomjanovich before a controversy involving center Hakeem Olajuwon affected the team. The Rockets lost 10 of their last 15 games, missing several opportunities to win a playoff berth.

Although Olajuwon has said he wants to be traded, Tomjanovich said he hoped to have Olajuwon in the lineup next season.

“He’s a great player and our relationship has been very good,” Tomjanovich said. “We’ve never had any problems. Anything I asked him to do, he did.”

Tomjanovich said he didn’t know if he wanted to be a coach when he took the interim position.

“After our successful start, that was wonderful, that’s when I got the fever,” Tomjanovich said. “What I needed was to see the other side and that’s what the second half of the season gave me.”