NBA rumors: 3 Jacque Vaughn replacements as Nets hit reset button
2. Nets can hire former Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni
What is Mike D'Antoni doing these days? Well, he's a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans. Maybe, at 72 years old, his days on the NBA sideline are done. That shouldn't stop the Nets from at least considering the possibility, especially if attracting star-power in the main goal. James Harden is technically a free agent this summer, after all (this is sarcasm).
In all seriousness, D'Antoni is one of the greatest offensive minds in NBA history. He was the architect of two historic offenses in two vastly different eras. He engineered the Seven Seconds or Less Suns around Steve Nash. Then, he built the Houston Rockets into a juggernaut based around the patient, iso-heavy stylings of Harden and Chris Paul.
If not for the Warriors reaching the peak they did in the mid-2010s, D'Antoni would be a championship-winning head coach. That Rockets team is one of the best we have ever seen. It was a case of truly unfortunate timing — the kind of bad luck that has irrevocably changed the career narratives for Harden and Paul, not to mention D'Antoni. The fact that D'Antoni didn't immediately land a head coaching gig after his Rockets tenure ended remains baffling to this day. Sometimes NBA teams get caught up in narratives and overthink simple, undeniable truths.
Sure, D'Antoni has a mixed reputation for his teams' defense. But, the Rockets were a great and inventive defensive team at their peak. He managed to elegantly navigate the small-ball P.J. Tucker era, which is no small feat. There are also questions about D'Antoni's ability to build an offense without elite guard play. Dennis Schroder ain't Steve Nash. That said, if the Nets are pining for Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young in the offseason... hello.
No coach comes free of concerns, but very few come with a track record as strong as Mike D'Antoni. If he's open to one last go-around in the head coach's chair, Brooklyn should place a call. He was an assistant on Nash's staff, so there's built-in organizational familiarity.