Former Sixers Assistant Mike D'Antoni Walks Away From Brooklyn Nets

When head coaching positions started opening up around the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets anticipated they'd have a few changes to make with their staff. As Nets assistants Ime Udoka, Mike D'Antoni, and Jacque Vaughn garnered interest from teams around the league, the Nets believed they could lose a few guys ahead of the next season.

Udoka, who was a strong candidate for the vacant Boston Celtics job, got his first head coaching gig of his career. While Vaughn and D'Antoni didn't get head coaching offers after receiving interest, the Nets will still lose one of those guys.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Mike D'Antoni is stepping away from Steve Nash's staff on the Brooklyn Nets. While there was no definitive reason as to why he's stepping away -- one thing is for sure -- it's not because he's retiring.

The 70-year-old former head coach has had tons of experience coaching in the NBA. After getting his first coaching job as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets in 1997, D'Antoni eventually earned the opportunity to take over as the Nuggets' head coach for the 1998 season.

Since then, he's coached in Portland, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and most notably Houston, where he was the head coach of the Rockets for four successful seasons. 

After mutually splitting with the Rockets, D'Antoni was a favorite to be hired as the head coach of the Sixers before they ultimately chose Doc Rivers. Although D'Antoni is no longer going to assist Nash, Wojnarowski reports the veteran coach will pursue head coaching opportunities in the future. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.