Mike D’Antoni Set to Reunite with Steve Nash at Brooklyn Nets

Mike D’Antoni was job hunting in the NBA, something that was never expected to carry on for long. A former two-time coach of the year, D’Antoni is one of the foremost basketball minds in the NBA. But his new role is sure to leave some scratching their heads.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Mike D’Antoni and Ime Udoka are closing a deal to become assistant coaches at the Brooklyn Nets. They will operate under new Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash. This comes days after reports that Nash’s former teammate, Amar’e Stoudemire, will join the Nets as an assistant coach.

D’Antoni recently parted ways with the Houston Rockets as head coach. He was with the franchise for four years, from 2016 to 2020. D’Antoni endured criticism for not being able to reach the NBA Finals with the Houston Rockets. He had players such as James Harden, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook in the team, but could never make it out of the Western Conference.

Ime Udoka, on the other hand, was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs for seven years, where he won an NBA Championship in 2014. Last year, he became an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Steve Nash and Mike D’Antoni – Reunited

The hiring of D’Antoni reunites him with his former player Steve Nash. It was under D’Antoni that Nash rose to MVP status in the NBA, as the Phoenix Suns became one of the foremost NBA franchises in the mid-2000s. Nash was the focal point of D’Antoni’s ‘seven seconds or less’ offensive strategy that led the Suns to two consecutive Western Conference Finals in 2005 and 2006.

The appointment, while an excellent coup for the Nets, is an odd one. D’Antoni is easily one of the best coaches in the NBA. Him becoming an assistant coach, when he could easily become a head coach for any number of NBA teams, is odd. He was even linked to the Philadelphia 76ers head coach position before Doc Rivers was appointed.

The addition of D’Antoni will add more pressure and expectation on the shoulders of the Brooklyn Nets. Head coach Steve Nash came forward recently to say that for the Nets, it is ‘Championship or Bust’ this season. With the available players like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and a stacked coaching staff, it is difficult to argue with that assessment.