Report: Mike D’Antoni steps down as Nets assistant; expected to pursue HC role originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest
Mike D’Antoni is reportedly stepping down as an assistant on Steve Nash’s coaching staff with the Brooklyn Nets. He is expected to pursue another head coaching opportunity.
The timing of his departure is interesting since there are currently no head coaching vacancies and he left an assistant role on a top team.
In his lone season with the Nets, the team was the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Bucks in the second-round of the playoffs.
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The former Coach of the Year spent one season in Brooklyn and was recently a finalist for the Blazers head coaching position. D’Antoni would go on to lose out on the role to Chauncey Billups.
D’Antoni’s past head coaching experience includes stints with the Nuggets, Suns, Lakers, Knicks, and Rockets.
He had stepped down as the Rockets head coach in Sept. 2020, after their second-round loss to the Lakers.
In four seasons with the Rockets, the team made the Western Conference Finals twice. He went 217-102 during the regular-season and 28-23 during the playoffs.
D’Antoni was also linked to the Pacers job after leaving Houston and again once the team parted with Nate Bjorkgren. Former Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle would go on to get that job.