Tag: mike dantoni

Nets add Mike D’Antoni, Amar’e Stoudemire and Ime Udoka to coaching staff

The Brooklyn Nets announced today the hiring of Mike D’Antoni and Ime Udoka as assistant coaches and Amar’e Stoudemire as a player development assistant. They join assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, assistant coach/director of player development Adam Harrington, assistant coach Jordan Ott, assistant coach/player development Tiago Splitter and player development coordinator Ryan Forehan-Kelly on Head Coach Steve Nash’s staff.

“We’ve assembled an experienced staff of high-character individuals with varied backgrounds, both on and off the court, that will help create a solid foundation for me and our players,” said Nash. “When I set out to build this staff, I wanted to put together a committed group that would connect with our players and help put them in the best position to succeed as a team. With coaching and playing experience at the highest level and a deep background in player development, I’m confident that we’ve put the right people in place to lead us forward.”

D’Antoni has amassed a record of 672-527 (.560 winning percentage) across 16 seasons as a head coach with Denver (1998-99), Phoenix (2003-08), New York (2008-12), L.A. Lakers (2012-14) and Houston (2016-20). He is one of just nine coaches in NBA history to be named Coach of the Year multiple times, earning his first award in 2005 after leading Phoenix to a franchise-record-tying 62 wins, and securing his second Coach of the Year honor in 2017 with Houston. D’Antoni has led his teams to the playoffs 10 times, including three trips to the Western Conference Finals (2005 and 2006 with Phoenix and 2018 with Houston). He also previously served as an assistant coach with Denver (1997-98), Portland (2000-01) and Phoenix (2002-03), as well as associate head coach with Philadelphia (2015-16).

A native of Mullens, W.Va., D’Antoni was selected with the 20th overall pick in the second round of the 1973 NBA Draft by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. He spent time with Kansas City-Omaha (1973-75) and San Antonio (1976-77) in the NBA and the Spirits of St. Louis (1975-76) in the ABA before embarking on a 13-year career (1977-90) with Olimpia Milano in Lega Basket Serie A in Italy. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, D’Antoni captured five league championships, two EuroLeague titles and was named one of the 50 Greatest Contributors in EuroLeague history in 2008. D’Antoni also began his coaching career in Italy, leading Olimpia Milano for four seasons (1990-94) and Benetton Basket for three seasons (1994-97) before being hired by the Nuggets as an assistant coach.

Udoka joins the Nets after serving as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2019-20 season. Prior to working in Philadelphia, Udoka spent the first seven seasons (2012-19) of his coaching career as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, helping lead San Antonio to the 2014 NBA Championship. Udoka has been a part of coaching staffs that have made playoff appearances in each of his eight seasons on the sideline.

Prior to beginning his coaching career, the Portland, Ore., native played professionally for 12 years (2000-12) in the NBA, NBA G League, International Basketball Association and United States Basketball League, as well as with teams in France and Spain. He appeared in 316 NBA games across parts of seven seasons with the L.A. Lakers (2004), New York (2006), Portland (2006-07), San Antonio (2007-09 and 2010-11) and Sacramento (2009-10), recording averages of 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.1 minutes per game. Udoka was named the NBA G League’s Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award winner in 2006, while also earning All-NBA G League First Team honors in the same season. He also represented Nigeria in international competition, earning bronze medals in 2005 and 2011 at the African Championships. Udoka began his collegiate career at Utah State University Eastern (1995-97) and spent a year (1997-98) at the University of San Francisco before finishing at Portland State (1999-00).

Stoudemire begins his coaching career after concluding a decorated 18-year playing career, including 14 NBA seasons (2002-16). In 846 career NBA games (696 starts) with Phoenix (2002-10), New York (2010-15), Dallas (2015) and Miami (2015-16), Stoudemire recorded averages of 18.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 31.0 minutes per game. He was a six-time All-Star (2005, 2007-11), five-time All-NBA selection and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2003. Stoudemire also helped lead his teams to 10 playoff appearances, including two trips to the Western Conference Finals with the Suns (2005 and 2010), and registered career playoff averages of 18.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 30.7 minutes per contest across 78 games (62 starts).

After his final NBA season in Miami, Stoudemire finished his playing career in Israel and China, earning two Israeli League championships with Hapoel Jerusalem (2017) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (2020). The Lake Wales, Fla., native began his professional career after being selected by Phoenix with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft out of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Fla.

Vaughn is in his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Nets. During the 2019-20 season, Vaughn also served as the team’s head coach for a 10-game stint, compiling a 7-3 regular season record and guiding the Nets through their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. He previously spent two-plus seasons (2012-15) as head coach of the Orlando Magic and was an assistant coach for two seasons (2010-12) and a pro scout for one season (2015-16) with the San Antonio Spurs.

Prior to beginning his coaching career, the Los Angeles native enjoyed a 12-year playing career in the NBA after being selected with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. In 776 career games with the Jazz (1997-2001), Hawks (2001-02, 2003-04), Magic (2002-03), Nets (2004-06) and Spurs (2006-09), Vaughn recorded averages of 4.5 points and 2.5 assists in 16.3 minutes per game. The Kansas graduate made nine playoff appearances in his 12 NBA seasons and was a member of the 2007 NBA champion Spurs.

Harrington begins his fifth season with the Nets as assistant coach and director of player development. Prior to beginning his coaching career in Brooklyn, Harrington served as a shooting coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2014-15 season.

The Bernardston, Mass., native played professionally for eight years (2002-10), including spending time with the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets in the 2002-03 season. Harrington also played for teams in the NBA G League, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Israel and Poland. Before embarking on his professional career, Harrington played collegiately at North Carolina State (1998-99) and Auburn (2000-02).

Ott enters his fifth season as an assistant coach in Brooklyn. Previously, he spent three seasons (2013-16) as the video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks. Prior to joining the Hawks, Ott served in the same capacity with the Michigan State men’s basketball program for five seasons (2008-13) under Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo.

Ott received his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Penn State in 2006 while serving as a student manager with the men’s basketball program and earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from Michigan State in 2008. The McConnelsburg, Pa., native also served as an assistant coach with the Dominican Republic national team in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City.

Splitter begins his second season as assistant coach/player development and his third season overall with the Nets after serving as a pro scout with added responsibilities related to on-court development in the 2018-19 season.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Splitter joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2010-11 season after being drafted by the franchise with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft. The native of Brazil played five seasons in San Antonio, helping the Spurs win an NBA championship in 2014, before completing the final two seasons of his NBA career in Atlanta (2015-16) and Philadelphia (2016-17). Splitter embarked on an 11-year international career in 1999 and played mostly in Spain for Baskonia. He helped lead the team to numerous titles while earning All-EuroLeague honors on three occasions. As a member of the Brazilian national team, Splitter won gold medals in the FIBA AmeriCup, the Pan American Games and the South American Championships.

Forehan-Kelly enters his fifth season with the Nets and his second as the team’s player development coordinator. Forehan-Kelly previously served in a variety of roles within the organization, including associate head coach of the Long Island Nets (2018-19), assistant coach with Long Island (2017-18) and video seasonal assistant with Brooklyn (2016-17).

Prior to joining the Nets, Forehan-Kelly played professionally for 13 years on teams in Japan, Venezuela, China, France and Italy, along with playing two seasons (2008-10) in the NBA G League with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, now the South Bay Lakers. The Long Beach, Calif., native played four years (1998-2002) at the University of California, Berkeley.

Mike D’Antoni may be frontrunner for Sixers head coaching job

The Sixers have a talent-filled but chemistry-challenged roster that is in need of a new head coach after they recently parted ways with Brett Brown. Here’s Philly Voice with a look at one of the top candidates: Mike D’Antoni, who recently became a coaching free agent after his contract with the Rockets ran out.

Strengths: His most recent stint as the head coach of the Houston Rockets was another huge success in a revolutionary offensive career, with D’Antoni’s Rockets owning the highest regular-season win percentage (.682) of any team in the Western Conference over the last four seasons. D’Antoni’s arrival ushered in a run of super-powered offenses in Houston, who were scoring healthily before he arrived but took things to another level with D’Antoni. His track record of super-charging players on offense is terrific, and would fill a need for a Sixers team in need of a jolt.

Weaknesses: D’Antoni has had trouble when he has been asked to adapt to personnel that doesn’t fit cleanly into his idea of how basketball should be played. The 2012-13 Lakers, for example, were a disaster of comical proportions. His Knicks tenure, save for a brief renaissance when Amare Stoudemire first signed there, was a complete disaster. D’Antoni and Joel Embiid seem like oil and water, and Ben Simmons only seems to be a fit if he’s unleashed as a downhill rim-running threat, which is not really possible with this roster.

The latest intel: The rumors have been coming fast and furious on D’Antoni, who appears (at least at this moment) to be the frontrunner.

Should Mike D’Antoni get Sixers coaching job?

Mike D’Antoni has reportedly notified the Houston Rockets that he won’t be returning to the squad next season. His contract was up. The Sixers recently parted ways with head coach Brett Brown. Could D’Antoni be a fit? Here’s Philly Voice with some of the reasons why it could work:

If you want somebody to come to Philadelphia and run more pick-and-roll, look no further. D’Antoni’s spread pick-and-roll offense has coaxed the best out of both his ballhandlers and his big men, with rim-running threats like Amare Stoudemire and Clint Capela blossoming under his watch.

Joel Embiid doesn’t seem to fit the mold of that sort of player, but perhaps D’Antoni’s arrival would signal a change of emphasis for Embiid, who could do with a steadier diet of rim runs (and an improvement to his actual diet). Ben Simmons, however, feels like a natural fit as the athletic, downhill forward who can put pressure on the rim to create gaps for ballhandlers. D’Antoni is one of the game’s best stewards of positionless basketball, and Simmons would give him a terrific building block for all sorts of lineup experimentation.

Though D’Antoni has not had the strongest defensive reputation throughout his career — okay, that’s an understatement — the Sixers should be able to play high-level defense in almost any system with Embiid and Simmons as the building blocks. What they need is someone who can make their lives easier on offense, and extract more offensive value out of a jumbled collection of role players, easing the scoring burden on two guys still developing their games.

The Sixers are built around Embiid, Simmons, Tobias Harris and Al Horford. A somewhat confusing mix of players. The team’s offense is what does need the biggest help, as the Sixers were higher-rated on the defensive side of the floor this past season.

It’ll take a clever coach to help these guys take things to the next level. As well as some GM work on the roster, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Rockets exercise 4th year option on coach Mike D`Antoni

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta announced yesterday that the team has picked up the fourth-year option on head coach Mike D’Antoni’s contract, taking him through the 2019-20 season. In two seasons with D’Antoni at the helm, the Rockets have recorded the second-highest winning percentage in the NBA (.732; 120-44).

“The way Mike conducts himself behind the scenes along with the results he brings, it did not take long for me to see that he is the perfect fit for our organization,” said Fertitta. “We are thrilled to have Coach D’Antoni continue to push the Rockets towards our goal of winning a championship.”

This past season, D’Antoni led the Rockets to a franchise single season record 65 wins. It marked the first time Houston posted the best record in the NBA. The Rockets also won a franchise record 31 road games, tying for the sixth-highest single season total in league history.

Houston also became the sixth team in NBA history to record three winning streaks of at least 10 games in a single season, including 17 in a row from Jan. 28 through March 7 which was the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Following his first season with the Rockets in 2016-17, D’Antoni was named NBA Coach of the Year after guiding Houston to a 55-27 mark. He became the eighth coach in league history to win multiple Coach of the Year awards, and joins Gregg Popovich as the only ones who are active.

The Rockets have set the NBA single season record for 3-pointers made in each of the past two seasons. Prior to D’Antoni’s first full season as head coach of Phoenix in 2004-05, only three teams had more than 700 3FGM in a single season. At the time, D’Antoni’s Suns posted the league’s three-highest single season totals for 3-pointers made from 2004-05 through 2006-07. This past season, 27 of the 30 teams hit at least 700 3-pointers.