Former Knicks and Lakers boss Mike D'Antoni has reportedly become the top choice as the next Houston Rockets head coach as he had "impressed" team owner Leslie Alexander during their multiple meetings together.
ESPN reported that the current Philadelphia 76ers associate head coach "emerged as a leading candidate for the post, having impressed Rockets owner Leslie Alexander in multiple conversations since the search began". Alexander said in an interview last month that he will take a more prominent role in Houston's coaching hunt and that is what he has done in the past several weeks.
Reports were out that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is preferring former coach Jeff Van Gundy to take over from interim boss J.B. Bickerstaff next season, but Alexander is said to be not in agreement with the GM in that particular decision. It was also said that Alexander is keen on hiring another coach who is more adept on defense which can serve as D'Antoni's "defensive coordinator" if his employment pushes through.
In their current head coaching search, the Rockets have gone out to meet with other candidates such as former Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns head coaches David Blatt and Jeff Hornacek, current NBA assistant coaches Sam Cassell, Stephen Silas, and Ettore Mesina, Houston's own assistant Chris Finch, and NBA television analyst and former Rockets point guard Kenny Smith.
Rumors earlier this week said that Alexander wants a more "seasoned former head coach" than former assistants or a rookie one like Smith to spearhead the team moving forward. Hornacek is recently reported as finalizing a head coaching deal with the New York Knicks, which leaves D'Antoni and Blatt to battle it out for the spot, but the former clearly has the owner's blessings at the moment.
Meanwhile, SB Nation noted that D'Antoni to the Rockets actually makes sense as both Alexander and Morey loves "the run-and-shoot offensive system" that the American-Italian coach prefers.
The report further said that "without Seven Seconds or Less, there are no Golden State Warriors and, frankly, there are no Moreyball Rockets, for better or worse".
D'Antoni will surely find a way for the Rockets to become a much better offensive team with James Harden on hand, but Alexander's plan to hire a defensive-minded assistant would be critical if the team wants to go deeper in next year's postseason.