NBA Rumors: Celtics, Blazers, Magic All Considering Nets’ Coach For Vacancy

Three NBA teams are looking for a new head coach, and all of them are at least monitoring the same accomplished candidate. Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Mike D’Antoni is receiving interest from the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic, ESPN’s Jordan Schultz reports.

D’Antoni is currently busy with the Nets, who have a 2-0 second-round series lead over the Milwaukee Bucks and could be headed toward the NBA Finals. Brooklyn will allow teams to interview D’Antoni after the postseason, according to Schultz.

Prior to becoming an assistant on Steve Nash’s staff in Brooklyn for this season, D’Antoni was a head coach in 15 of the previous 17 years. The 70-year-old led the Phoenix Suns to Western Conference Finals appearances in 2005 and 2006. D’Antoni’s Houston Rockets won 65 games and pushed the defending champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in the 2018 conference finals.

Despite 718 regular-season victories and a .564 winning percentage, D’Antoni never reached the Finals as a head coach.

Orlando might be the least likely landing spot for D’Antoni, considering they are the furthest from being a contender of the teams that have head coaching vacancies. The Magic went into a full rebuild by dealing their best players at the trade deadline, finishing with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Boston made the conference finals in three of four seasons before being swiftly eliminated by Brooklyn in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. Brad Stevens replaced Danny Ainge in the Celtics’ front office, prompting the search for a new coach. Several candidates have been linked to the Boston job, including some assistants that were part of Stevens’ staff.

Portland and coach Terry Stotts parted ways after yet another first-round exit. Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has said he’s in favor of the team hiring Jason Kidd or Chauncey Billups. Both former point guards are assistant coaches in Los Angeles and could be candidates in Boston.

D’Antoni is known for his offensive genius, and Brooklyn led the NBA in offensive rating during the regular season. Portland finished second in points per possession. Boston was 10th.

Only the Oklahoma City Thunder had a worse offense than Orlando in the 2020-2021 season.