Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion, longtime coach, dies at 79

SEATTLE - JANUARY 13:  Head coach Paul Silas of the Cleveland Cavaliers (L) talks with head coach Nate McMillan of the Seattle Sonics during the game at Key Arena on January 13, 2004 in Seattle, Washington.  The Cavaliers won 104-96.  NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) 
              Then-Miami Heat's LeBron James, right, jokes with Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas, after an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 3, 2011. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
            
              Charlotte Bobcats head coach Paul Silas and his son and assistant coach Stephen Silas react in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 8, 2011. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79. The family revealed the death through the Houston Rockets, for whom Silas' son Stephen is a second-generation head coach. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
            
              FILE - Charlotte Bobcats head coach Paul Silas watches from the bench during the second half of their 95-64 loss to the Chicago Bulls in an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 10, 2012. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, file)
            
              FILE - Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas argues a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., April 18, 2012. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, file)
Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion, longtime coach, dies at 79