{"id":33498,"date":"2020-09-21T15:50:43","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=33498"},"modified":"2020-09-21T15:50:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:50:43","slug":"houston-rockets-mike-dantoni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/21\/houston-rockets-mike-dantoni\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Rockets: An Insight Into the Departure of Coach Mike D&#8217;Antoni"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Since being ousted in five games by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/rockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Houston Rockets<\/a> coach <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dantomi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike D&#8217;Antoni<\/a><\/strong> will be searching for a new home. The 68-year-old will test the market after electing not to renew his tender with the franchise.<\/p>\n<p>While his departure wasn&#8217;t surprising after failing to reach a contract extension back in May of 2019, his announcement on the team plane raised eyebrows. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sam_amick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1305874164843196419%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flastwordonsports.com%2Fbasketball%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D33498action%3Dedit\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Amick<\/a> of The Athletic took to Twitter offer some insight.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Why did Mike D\u2019Antoni green-light the dramatic announcement of his Rockets departure while he was flying with his (former) team? Because a certain phone call never came.<\/p>\n<p>Details on a hoops divorce that never needed to happen, w\/ @KellyIkoNBA<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2itfrvyf4M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/2itfrvyf4M<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sam Amick (@sam_amick) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sam_amick\/status\/1305874164843196419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Insight on Mike D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s Departure From the Houston Rockets<\/h2>\n<h3>Rocky From the Start<\/h3>\n<p>In May of 2019, negotiations between D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s representation and owner Tillman Fertitta came to a halt. D&#8217;Antoni desired a three-year extension, however, was offered a one-year deal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jonathan_Feigen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1134233610150699013%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flastwordonsports.com%2Fbasketball%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D33498action%3Dedit\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Feigen<\/a> of the Houston Chronicle reported details of the offer.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said D&#39;Antoni was offered a $5 million one-year extension with an additional $1 million per round he won.  The base salary is a slight raise, but under the current market of recent veteran coaches (Stotts, Casey, etc.)<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jonathan_Feigen\/status\/1134233610150699013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 30, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>D&#8217;Antoni is one of the most successful NBA coaches in history and an offensive genius. He pioneered the\u00a0<em>seven seconds or less\u00a0<\/em>offense and highlighted the importance of <em>space and pace <\/em>in the NBA. After three years of deep playoff runs with the Rockets, it was a move that took pundits by surprise.<\/p>\n<h3>Inside Contract Negotiations<\/h3>\n<p>During extension talks, Fertitta and D&#8217;Antoni understandably clashed heads regarding the nature of the contract. The West Virginian native was offered a deal below the likes of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brooksc01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scott Brooks<\/a><\/strong> (Washington Wizards) and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/donovbi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Billy Donovan<\/a><\/strong> (Oklahoma City). One-year deals for veteran coaches are unheard of. D&#8217;Antoni had multiple successful seasons in a row, so this came off as an insult to him.<\/p>\n<p>To make matters worse, there were also threats of legal action against Fertitta by D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s agent Warren LeGarie. During talks, Fertitta was leveraging D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s age to avoid a long-term commitment. The Age Discrimination Employment Act (1967) prevents the use of age against an employee prompting Morey to remind Fertitta of his illegal conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Contract talks ended with no agreement on an extension.<\/p>\n<h3>The Call Never Came<\/h3>\n<p>Following elimination, Amick and<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KellyIkoNBA\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Kelly Iko<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Athletic<\/a> reported Morey and D&#8217;Antoni met to discuss the future. The pair left optimistic with Morey prioritizing D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s return. However, the 68-year-old did not hear from Fertitta following elimination but expected a call prior to the team&#8217;s departure.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to moments before leaving Disney, Fertitta failed to make contact. Infuriated by the disrespect, the 68-year-old made the decision not to return. LeGarie contacted ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski to break the news.<\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s Next for Mike D&#8217;Antoni?<\/h3>\n<p>D&#8217;Antoni is an excellent coach who amassed an incredible 217-101 regular-season record in the last four years. Philadelphia, Indiana, New Orleans, Chicago, and Oklahoma City are searching for their next Head Coach so he will have options.<\/p>\n<p>The 68-year-old will meet with 76ers General Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brandel01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elton Brand<\/a> to discuss the optics of a potential deal. Philadelphia fired Brett Brown after losing to Boston in four games.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">D\u2019Antoni will be considered among a group of candidates for the Philadelphia 76ers coaching opening, sources tell ESPN. D&#39;Antoni was an assistant for several months under Brett Brown before accepting the Rockets job four years ago. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MeoUrwWADm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/MeoUrwWADm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1305206235193577480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>One thing working in D&#8217;Antoni&#8217;s favor is his connection to the franchise. As Woj reports, D&#8217;Antoni was an assistant Head Coach prior to accepting his role with Houston.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a successful tender with the Houston Rockets, all good things must come to an end. D&#8217;Antoni will be a busy man in the coming months and will have a myriad of options.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"7usPtoqCQ9pWLVkhKoB0tA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1174967809\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'7usPtoqCQ9pWLVkhKoB0tA',sig:'0RNYPOYvKF5bNTK2aIGcWAL5UOUfkPGS9-Qhbj9htik=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1174967809',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since being ousted in five games by the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets coach Mike D&#8217;Antoni will be searching for a new home. The 68-year-old will test the market after electing not to renew his tender with the franchise. While his departure wasn&#8217;t surprising after failing to reach a contract extension back in May of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3477,"featured_media":33634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1608,62],"tags":[1107,333,495],"class_list":["post-33498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rockets","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-daryl-morey","tag-houston-rockets","tag-mike-dantoni"],"modified_by":"David Ward, Associate Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}