Just yesterday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania fleshed out the Portland Trail Blazers’ list of top head coach candidates, with familiar names like Chauncey Billups, Dawn Staley, Brent Barry and Becky Hammon looking for their first head coaching gig at the NBA level.
As of this morning, the only person with head coaching experience at the NBA level that was listed by Charania—70-year-old Mike D’Antoni—has already lined up his first interview with the Blazers’ brass.
Initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach is interviewing with the Blazers today, less than 24 hours after the Nets’ series-tying loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, D’Antoni is also connected to the Indiana Pacers’ head coaching vacancy and the Milwaukee Bucks’ potential split with Mike Budenholzer.
The two-time NBA Coach of the Year holds a career record of 672-527 in 16 seasons with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.
Last week, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey said the organization was conducting a “very expansive, diverse search” for its next head honcho saying that there were “anywhere from 20 to 25 candidates.”
Along with D’Antoni, the Blazers are also interviewing two other assistants early this week: Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Chauncey Billups and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon.
