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The Chicago Bulls may have another head coach candidate they could focus on with former Rockets HC Mike D’Antoni.
The biggest coaching news of the weekend, and possibly the NBA’s tumultuous offseason so far on the coaching carousel, involved Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, potentially not returning to Space. City next season. D’Antoni was anticipated to be one of the biggest names in the coaching market this offseason due to the likelihood that he would not be in the same position with the Rockets heading into the 2020-21 season. Could a name be that a team like the Chicago Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Indiana Pacers, etc. consider your next head coach?
The Rockets just got knocked out, like all four seeds, in the second round of the playoffs in a five-game series against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. That came after the Rockets beat the ultra-tight-fisted Oklahoma City Thunder in a thrilling seven-game series in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
This was the second year in a row that the Rockets were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. Three years ago, they made it to the Western Conference Finals, but were sent off by the Golden State Warriors.
And news that the Rockets will not have D’Antoni as their head coach in all likelihood next season came through ESPN NBA whistleblower Adrian Wojnarowski’s Twitter timeline on the afternoon of September 13. It was greeted by a strident reaction. on social media, but it’s hard to say that this move was not expected at this point in the playoffs with the Rockets losing to the Lakers in a five-game series.
Now the talk will begin about where D’Antoni might fall if he continues to want to be an NBA head coach. Current NBA head coach openings include the Sixers, Bulls, Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, Thunder and now the Rockets.
D’Antoni has already trained with the Rockets, New York Knicks, Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. He began his career as a head coach in the NBA with the Nuggets, during the 1998-99 season. He has coached the most games with the Rockets and Suns. D’Antoni also had four seasons with the Knicks and two with the Lakers.
D’Antoni’s career record in the regular season as NBA head coach is 672-527 (.560 winning percentage). His career record as a head coach in the playoffs is 54-56 (.491 winning percentage).
Additionally, D’Antoni has 10 Western Conference Coach of the Month awards in his coaching career and two NBA Coach of the Year awards (2004-05 and 2016-17). However, winning as Coach of the Year doesn’t usually have much longevity in the NBA anymore.
The question at this point regarding the Bulls and their search for a head coach in relation to D’Antoni splitting from the Rockets is how good and realistic would a candidate be for them?
Newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas (former general manager of the Nuggets) and general manager Marc Eversley (former senior vice president of player personnel for the Sixers) would be looking for a real home run if they hired him. Karnisovas and Eversley are looking to replace now-former head coach Jim Boylen, who was fired on Aug. 14.
Now, almost a full month into the search for a coach since the Bulls officially parted ways with Boylen, now a particular favorite has emerged in the process. The Bulls could be considering other candidates like former Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, Sixers senior assistant Ime Udoka, and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, among others.
But hiring a head coach like D’Antoni or Donovan would be a safe and proven move for the Bulls. And it would be one that doesn’t feel like a movement the Reinsdorfs would normally have within their own organization.
D’Antoni led the Rockets to a 44-28 record during the 2019-20 regular season. Meanwhile, Boylen led the Bulls to a 22-43 record in their shortened version of the 2019-20 season. Boylen maintained a 39-84 career coaching record over the course of two years with the Bulls.
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