Mike D’Antoni’s future with the Houston Rockets is uncertain following their ugly loss in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
But if rumors are to be believed, the Rockets aren’t even looking very far for his replacement, since one man who could reportedly replace D’Antoni is right there at Walt Disney World in Orlando, working as a color commentator for ESPN.
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, one coach who is being considered by Houston as a possible D'Antoni replacement is Jeff Van Gundy, who used to coach the Rockets. Stein pointed out that back in 2016, just before they selected D’Antoni for the job, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was also interested in rehiring Van Gundy.
Van Gundy hasn’t coached in the NBA since he was replaced by Rick Adelman as Houston’s head coach in 2007. In four seasons with the Rockets, he had a 182-146 win-loss record, guiding the All Star pairing of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to three playoff appearances, although they all ended in losses in the first round.
D’Antoni, on the other hand, said that he wants to keep coaching in the NBA, whether with Houston or another team. He remains uncertain of whether he will return to the Rockets:
Mike D'Antoni on whether his run with the Rockets is over: "We’ll see what happens. I had four years. Hopefully it keeps going, but you just never know." He definitely wants to continue coaching, whether it's in Houston or elsewhere.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 13, 2020
In four seasons with James Harden, D’Antoni has helped Houston to a 217-101 record and four playoff appearances. The Rockets have reached the second round of the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, with one trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2018. Houston led the Golden State Warriors 3-2 in that series, only to fall short in the last two games.
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