Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach Houston Rockets after a humiliating loss of five games Los angeles lakers in the second round of the postseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Voinarovski. D’Antoni was not fired as his contract expired at the end of the season, but the coach reportedly informs the team on Sunday that he intends to become a free agent and not return to Houston.
D’Anthony and his wife Laurel related the following message with Voinarovski regarding his stay in Houston.
“It is with great sadness and gratitude that my wife Laurel and I announce that our incredible journey to Houston is now over and that we are moving on to a new chapter. The time spent here was one of the most memorable events in our life. dear friends we have made, incredible partnerships with civic leaders and city officials, wonderful nonprofits and the clients they serve, Laurel and I will forever be grateful to this community for hugging our family.
First of all, I cannot thank the entire Fertitte family, Daryl Morey, the staff, and the incredible and dedicated players that I have been fortunate enough to coach. The Rockets is an historic NBA franchise with fantastic fans, and we are proud to join you to play our part in some of the successes here in Houston.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making us feel like real Houstonians. For this we will always be sincerely grateful. “
He has reportedly been on his toes all season and the Rockets have let some of his assistants go during the offseason. GM Daryl Morey said the Rockets hoped to re-sign D’Antoni is early in the postseason, but the league was expected to need a deep playoff streak to stay in Houston.
D’Anthony leaves Houston as one of the most successful coaches in the team’s history, but a victim of bad circumstances. He has 217-101 points in four seasons at the helm, helping James Harden win the 2018 award, but in four games since the end of the season, he faced Kawaii Leonard, Lebron james and mostly healthy Golden State Warriors twice. His team was on the losing side in all four games, and the Rockets never made it to the NBA Finals under his control.
D’Antoni is now expected to be a candidate for several other head coach positions. IN Indiana Pacers interested, according to ESPN’s Adrian Voinarovski. He resurrected his career during a brief stint as Brett Brown’s assistant Philadelphia 76ersand now the 76ers job is open. IN New Orleans Pelicans Run by David Griffin, who worked with D’Anthony in Phoenix. Most likely, next season he will be the head coach somewhere.
In the meantime, Houston will need to find a coach who matches his custom smallball line-up and can make the most of the James Harden-Russell Westbrook duo. It won’t be an easy task given their age and their respective postseason struggles, but the Rockets have been a popular choice for the Lakers for good reason. This is at least an extremely talented lineup that needs more work than a major overhaul. It’s impossible to predict what the future holds for Houston, but we now know that D’Antoni won’t be a part of it.
