Rocket to hire Sixers' Mike D'Antoni as their coach
Mike D'Antoni is grateful to Jerry Colangelo and the 76ers. D'Antoni was an unemployed basketball coach living in his home state of West Virginia before Colangelo called him in December about being associate head coach of the Sixers.
Mike D'Antoni is grateful to Jerry Colangelo and the 76ers.
D'Antoni was an unemployed basketball coach living in his home state of West Virginia before Colangelo called him in December about being associate head coach of the Sixers.
Six months later, he's set to become the next head coach of the Houston Rockets. Multiple sources confirmed Thursday that D'Antoni is finalizing a deal with the Western Conference team.
D'Antoni believes that his return to the coaching profession led to his being a candidate for the job.
Now, P.J. Carlesimo is a strong candidate to replace him on the Sixers staff. Carlesimo and Brown worked together as assistant coaches for the San Antonio Spurs. Carlesimo also had head coaching stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, and Brooklyn Nets.
Like D'Antoni, Carlesimo could be someone Brown could turn to for guidance. The difference is that Brown and Carlesimo are longtime friends.
D'Antoni was named associate head coach of the Sixers on Dec. 15, a week after Colangelo was hired as chairman of basketball operations. D'Antoni's first official game was on Dec. 26, when the Sixers defeated the Phoenix Suns, 111-104, in Arizona. The squad went 6-9 in his first 15 games on Brown's bench. The Sixers were 1-30 before that.
D'Antoni has compiled a 455-426 record in 12 years as a head coach with the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers. He resigned from the Lakers post in April 2014, ending a tumultuous two-year run in which his teams finished 67-87.
In addition to helping Brown, he was someone Colangelo trusted to be his eyes and ears when Colangelo was more than 2,000 miles away in Phoenix.
The two have a relationship dating back to their days with the Suns in the early 2000s. Colangelo is the former Suns owner and was a longtime cornerstone of the franchise. D'Antoni went 253-156 in five seasons as the Suns coach. They also worked together on the USA Basketball staff, where Colangelo served as the chairman.
Colangelo now serves only as a Sixers consultant after the team hired his son, Bryan, in April as president of basketball operations.
Workout season
The Sixers brass and coach Brett Brown are in California with officials from the 29 other NBA teams to view several agent-run workouts.
Former Michigan State power forward Deyonta Davis and former Kansas power forward Cheick Diallo were among Thursday's headliners. Former Villanova center Daniel Ochefu was also one of the draft prospects to work out.
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