[2] Silas attended McClymonds High School, where he was named California Mr. Basketball and a second-team Parade All-American as a senior.

[7] However, his offense dropped after he suffered a torn tendon in his right leg as a junior, after which, he focused on his inside game.

After five seasons with the Hawks, Silas was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Gary Gregor, who had been named to the 1969 NBA All-Rookie Team.

[5] In September 1972, Silas was sent to the Boston Celtics in a deal which allowed the Suns to acquire the rights to Charlie Scott,[5] who had led the American Basketball Association in scoring with 34.6 points per game during its 1971–72 season.

[12] His inside play freed up their undersized center, 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) Dave Cowens, whose shooting ability from the outside opened up the interior for Silas.

[2][13] Following their title in 1976, Boston general manager Red Auerbach traded Silas to the Denver Nuggets after a salary dispute.

[8] He played an important role with Seattle as an enforcer,[14] and the SuperSonics reached the championship series in both 1978 and 1979 with Silas, winning an NBA title in 1979 in five games in a rematch against the Washington Bullets.

[17] At one point, Silas was one of the names considered for the head coaching job of the Boston Celtics in the summer of 1995,[18] before general manager M.L.

Silas had the interim tag lifted off of his status and became the full-time head coach of the Hornets from 1999 all the way into their first season where they moved to New Orleans.

[20] Silas was fired as coach on May 4, 2003, in a move that puzzled many Hornets players (including Baron Davis) who enjoyed playing for him.

Hired to mentor 18-year-old rookie LeBron James as his first head coach as a professional player,[2] Silas' tenure was rife with controversy as he feuded with veteran point guard Eric Snow.

The new owner of the team, Dan Gilbert, fired him in the middle of the season, with the Cavaliers at 34–30 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.