Mike D’Antoni’s future with the Houston Rockets has been up in the air all season. With Houston bowing out of the 2020 playoffs in disappointing fashion once again, it’s not hard to see the 69-year-no longer manning the sidelines for the Rockets next season.
However, D’Antoni still wants to coach, and Sam Amick of The Athletic reports a return to Houston hasn’t been ruled out:
While sources have said all season long that D’Antoni was highly unlikely to return, it’s not a fait accompli sort of situation. He clearly wants to coach next season, and it appears there is no clear-cut landing spot outside of Houston.
D’Antoni and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta failed to agree on a contract extension last year, and there reportedly have been no new contract negotiations to this point. On the flip side, Rockets GM Daryl Morey recently said that retaining D’Antoni’s services will be one of Houston’s top priorities this offseason.
Nonetheless, D’Antoni confirmed that he still intends to coach next year. For which team depends on if the Rockets take the two-time NBA Coach of the Year back, or other suitors inevitably emerge. According to Amick, teams such as the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans could try to land D’Antoni this offseason.
Despite the uncertainty of D’Antoni’s future with the franchise, Houston reportedly still intends to run with its extreme version of small ball next season.
In four seasons with the Rockets, D’Antoni has posted a regular season record of 217-102, including a 65-win campaign in 2017-18. Unfortunately, Houston ultimately failed to reach its goal of winning a championship in each of the four seasons.
The post Report: Mike D’Antoni hasn’t ruled out return to Rockets appeared first on ClutchPoints.
