By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
While Sixers fans eagerly await the upcoming NBA draft lottery, we may soon have some actionable news on the coaching staff following this report from ESPN’s Marc Stein;
ESPN sources say Sixers associate head coach Mike D'Antoni is interviewing for the Houston Rockets' coaching job this week
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 5, 2016
D’Antoni is no lock for the Houston position, as the Rockets are performing a very broad search for their new head coach (which is generally what organizations do for an open position when they’re not handing something to a guy’s son). Frank Vogel, Shaka Smart, Bill Self, and Kenny Smith were the other names mentioned by Stein, although Vogel is the only other guy with an interview lined up at this time.
To me, Houston feels like it could be a good fit for D’Antoni given what his offense could unlock with a prodigious scorer like James Harden running the show. Of course, the flip side is that D’Antoni is definitely not the guy to light a fire under Harden on the defensive end. However, with Dwight Howard expected to opt out and head out of town, the roster would certainly be a more harmonious place than the toxic environment of last season where the two stars hated each other. Presumed Howard replacement Clint Capela would also excel in an up-tempo D’Antoni system.
This news could potentially have some serious implications for the Sixers. It’s no secret that Bryan Colangelo considers D’Antoni “his guy” and if he had a blank slate, D’Antoni would be the head coach in Philadelphia. Still, Colangelo has paid lip service ever since his arrival to the fact that Brown will remain the head coach going forward.
Therefore, I could see this potential D’Antoni departure going one of two ways. One, D’Antoni could decide Houston would be a better situation than Philadelphia anyway, take the job, and provide Brett Brown with more job security. Or two, the imminent threat of D’Antoni leaving could compel Colangelo to give Brown the ax right away rather than lose D’Antoni. It seemed like Colangelo ideally wanted D’Antoni sticking around as a member of Brown’s staff so he could use Brown as a fall guy if things didn’t go well next season, and D’Antoni leaving now would ruin that plan.
As a guy firmly in the camp of Brett Brown deserving a shot with an actual NBA roster, I’d like to see D’Antoni get the Houston job. I’m sure it would be beneficial to continue having D’Antoni on the staff to impart wisdom, but I’d rather not deal with the specter of his replacing Brown all next season.
Stay tuned, we could be in for an interesting turn of events after D’Antoni’s interview this week.
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