Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni interviewing for Blazers job (Report)

Longtime NBA head coach and current Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni is interviewing for the vacant job in Portland.

It’s only a matter of time before Mike D’Antoni, a two-time Coach of the Year, gets another gig as a head coach in the NBA. After parting ways with the Houston Rockets, D’Antoni joined Steve Nash’s staff on the Brooklyn Nets.

Although the Nets are in the midst of a back-and-forth series with the Bucks, D’Antoni is interviewing to become the next head coach of the Blazers.

Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni is interviewing for the Portland Trail Blazers coaching job today, sources tell ESPN. Two more assistant coaches — the Clippers’ Chauncey Billups and the Spurs’ Becky Hammon — are set to interview with Portland early this week, too.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 14, 2021

D’Antoni has been an NBA head coach for five different teams and an assistant on two more. Experience is something D’Antoni has in spades, but a championship still eludes him. He has a career record of 672-527 in the regular season and 54-56 in the playoffs.

The offensive guru would be an interesting fit with Damian Lillard in Portland. Lillard is the type of superstar who could thrive in a D’Antoni offense.

D’Antoni’s teams are often tailored around one or two stars. His uptempo “Seven Seconds or Less” Suns teams with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire changed the game. Later on, his iso-ball offense was all about James Harden to great success.

Even if it doesn’t work out with Portland, expect to hear D’Antoni’s name floating around most head coaching vacancies. Although he’s serving as a top assistant for Nash on the Nets, it’s only a matter of time before he’s back as a head coach somewhere else in the NBA.

For the time being, D’Antoni will continue on with the Nets during the playoffs, but keep an eye on his head coaching prospects.