NBA Rumors: According to a recent report, it seems as if Mike D’Antoni is expected to be named the next Charlotte Hornets head coach.
It was somewhat surprising when the Charlotte Hornets decided to part ways with head coach James Borrego. After the front office elected to hit the reset button, Borrego helped lead the Hornets to 23, 33, and 43 wins in three consecutive seasons.
It may not seem impressive by any means, but improving by 10 wins year-over-year for the past three is not terrible. Nevertheless, the franchise elected that it was time for a new voice in the locker room.
According to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein, it’s looking more and more like Mike D’Antoni is set to make a return to the main bench in Charlotte. He’s reportedly in a “strong position” to be named the new Hornets head coach.
D’Antoni hasn’t coached since the 2019-20 NBA season, which seems like ages ago, and spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets. Now, it appears, he’s getting ready to lead LaMelo Ball and the young Hornets into the new era of basketball.
On one hand, I’d be really interesting to see what D’Antoni could do for Ball and his development. He has already proven he has the chance to be really special and D’Antoni has consistently gotten the best out of players.
On the other hand, D’Antoni is 71 and I think it’s fair to question how much he still wants to coach. He may still be looking for that elusive NBA championship, but, with all due respect to the Hornets, I’m not exactly sure that’s something he’s going to find in Charlotte.
Nevertheless, D’Antoni always has been one of the best basketball minds in basketball. It’ll be interesting to see how innovative he can continue to be with a talent as great as LaMelo.