Mike D’Antoni knew he wanted to coach again following his departure from the Lakers, but he was simply waiting for the right spot, as he tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. D’Antoni found success with the Rockets this season, but he admits that prior to arriving in Houston, he had concerns about the fit.
“I knew that they liked to play the way that I liked to play. I didn’t know [James Harden], and I didn’t know the other guys on the team,” the coach said. “So, there was always that moment of, will this fit? Will this work? Will James accept being point guard? Will [Patrick Beverley] accept being the 2-guard instead of the 1-guard? Will [Eric Gordon] accept coming off the bench? That’s where you run into problems with coaching. But when everybody said “yeah, this is great,” and then we started off pretty quick, that was an easier sell. Then, management, ownership, they all want the same thing. Then it’s that your star player wants the same thing, then now it becomes just coaching and doing what you do.”
“That’s where you run into problems with coaching. But when everybody said “yeah, this is great,” and then we started off pretty quick, that was an easier sell. Then, management, ownership, they all want the same thing. Then it’s that your star player wants the same thing, then now it becomes just coaching and doing what you do.”
Here’s more from Shelburne’s piece:
- D’Antoni was never able to win a playoff series with the Lakers and he blames the team’s injuries as well as his player’s unwillingness to buy into his system. “There were just injuries, and people were pretty stubborn in their roles, and it’s like ‘sorry guys, this is not me. It’s not going to work right here,'” D’Antoni said of his time in Los Angeles. “So, things happen, and you coach, you learn, you go on and you hope for a better situation.”
- D’Antoni applauds Harden’s determination to win, something that propelled the guard to consider switching positions. “I would have never got the job if his reaction was ‘No, I’m not playing point.’ So, let’s not kid ourselves. He was open to it, and it took a little, just showing him film and talking about it. James is willing to try anything to win.”
- Harden was always meant to play the point guard position and his prior coaches weren’t using him correctly, according to D’Antoni. “He was spending a lot of time off the ball, and he was spending a lot of energy trying to get the ball. It’s like, why go through all that? Just give it to him,” D’Antoni said.
- D’Antoni believes most Coach of the Year winners receive the award because they’ve overachieved and that sometimes comes with consequences. “That’s why most Coach of the Years get fired the next year. You overperform, then you come back to normal and they fire you,” D’Antoni said. You can check out Hoops Rumors’ picks for the COY award here.
Dude seriously can’t stop talking about the lakers. kobe, dwight, and pau and YOU couldn’t use them right. YOU couldn’t adjust, stop throwing players under the bus. played a 34ish year old kobe 40+ min a game until YOU over worked him and he tore his Achilles. You’re in Houston now, focus on that. we hate you in LA, worry about being liked in Houston
Very classy comment. Good job.
all true
Except D’Antoni was not the problem. It’s hard to use people right when there is chemistry issues, and there were issues between Kobe and Dwight. Don’t blame D’Antoni for that. Also, don’t blame D’Antoni for Kobe getting hurt. D’Antoni is already liked here in Houston. He’s already focused on Houston, but he will continue to talk about his time with the Lakers as long as people continue to bring it up with him. You got no reason to hate D’Antoni.
He came in and refused to adapt his style to fit pau and dwight, great coaching. He played a 34ish year old dude 40+ min, age 30-40 is when you’re at higher risk to tear your Achilles. that info is easy to find. Glad he’s liked in Houston, he’s not in LA and he needs to move on. Say I’m done talking about the Lakers But he doesn’t cause he likes talking about them
Leave it to Lakers fans revise what happened. It’s hard to stop talking about something when people bring it up to you.
leave it to a rockets fan to get butthurt haha. Wait until you get bounced round 2 cause D’Antoni can’t coach defense or beat pop in a series. Average coach, worry about beating the rockets, that’s your team now. He will get Lakers questions as long as he keeps running his mouth about them, he can sto at any moment
being with the rockets*
Totally agree with you!!!!!
He’ll stop talking about the Lakers when people stop asking him about the Lakers. But they won’t, because it’s too damn easy to get bites from the suckers.