Mike D'Antoni may be making his return as a head coach next season.
According to Marc Stein and Calvin Watkins of ESPN, D'Antoni has been granted a second interview with the Houston Rockets. League sources say that the former Phoenix Suns head coach is an “increasingly serious candidate.”
D'Antoni has not served in a head coaching capacity since the 2013-14 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He currently holds the title of associate head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Although he hasn't led a team out of the first round of the playoffs since the 2006-07 season, D'Antoni's legacy still remains in place a decade after his Suns teams revolutionized the NBA. His fast-paced, small-ball Phoenix teams of the mid-2000's paved the way for teams such as the present-day Golden State Warriors to dominate what was previously a big man's league.
From 2004-05 to 2006-07, the Suns won their division three consecutive times and advanced to the conference finals in 2005 and 2006. During those two seasons, Steve Nash won league MVP as the pioneer of those offensive-driven teams.
The Rockets have attempted to adapt to that type of pace over the past few seasons with mixed results. During the 2014-15 campaign, they advanced to the Western Conference Finals. However, the team clearly took a step back in 2015-16 as they lost in the first round after going through a coaching change early on in the season.
While D'Antoni will certainly bring fast-paced basketball to Houston, the team would obviously lack in the defensive department. The Rockets are aware of this, and sources say they would bring in a coach with strong defensive credentials to serve as a defensive coordinator for the team.
Houston has interviewed many coaching candidates over the past week, but it appears D'Antoni has emerged as the front runner at the moment.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/kenny-smith-no-longer-in-running-for-rockets-head-coach-job/”]NEXT: Kenny Smith no longer in running for Rockets head coaching job[/button]
Follow Us
Subscribe