Charlotte Hornets Head Coach Candidate: Mike D'Antoni
Last month, the Charlotte Hornets fired head coach James Borrego despite notching the organization's best record of 43-39 since the 2015-16 season. Borrego helped the Hornets improve from 23 wins two years ago to 33 wins last season to 43 wins this season. He became the first coach in NBA history to be fired after seeing a 10-win improvement in back-to-back seasons.
Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak is now searching for the team's next head coach and on Tuesday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported four candidates for the job - Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson, Milwaukee assistant Darvin Ham, Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney and longtime NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni.
Over the course of the next few days, we will be breaking down each of the four reported candidates and today, we start with longtime NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni.
D'Antoni has had a great deal of success in the NBA and has a long history of coaching some of the game's best players such as Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Shaquille O'Neal, and Amar'e Staudemire.
To some, D'Antoni's coaching philosophy isn't one that could lead to postseason success although it is a fun style of play. Really, D'Antoni is considered an innovator for offensive basketball in the NBA by being one of the first coaches to really preach and run and three attack. The uptempo style that features a ton of three-point shots is something that was already instilled under Borrego. D'Antoni also tends to use smaller lineups in order to get more shooters on the floor which is something the Hornets went a lot to over the past couple of years playing Miles Bridges at the four, prior to Gordon Hayward's injuries.
So, would D'Antoni be a good fit for the Hornets?
In the grand scheme of things, yes. He's a proven winner that gives his players the freedom to run their own stuff at times and doesn't hold his star players back and that's something that Borrego was accused of doing with LaMelo Ball. Ball even mentioned in an interview with SLAM Magazine that when they let him have full control of the offense, his game will go to a whole new level.
“When they really put them keys in my hand, I feel like it’s gonna be a whole new situation,” Ball said. “But until then, I’m gonna keep doing what I need to do, just try to get these wins. I ain’t gonna lie, every game I feel like I can do more than what I’m doing.”
In D'Antoni's offense, there should be no issue with Ball actually getting the keys to the car. More importantly, for a team to succeed in his offense, it has to have the right personnel. As we such throughout much of the 2021-22 season, the Hornets lived and died by the three ball. They won a number of games because they had four, sometimes five guys on the floor that could really shoot it which spreads out the defense. However, there were a few games where they shot 8/40 from beyond the arc and it cost them. By the end of the season, the Hornets finished fifth in three-point percentage, shooting 36.6%.
Having a guard that can facilitate the rock as good as Ball can will really allow things to flow as well. Just look at how Steve Nash did during D'Antoni's time in Phoenix as an example. Offensively, it seems like a perfect fit. Obviously, D'Antoni will need to hire a strong staff that has a bit of a defensive background to it or else this team will be right where it was this past season.
D'Antoni's career record (672-527, .560)
1998-99: Denver Nuggets, 14-36
2003-04: Phoenix Suns, 21-40
2004-05: Phoenix Suns, 62-20
2005-06: Phoenix Suns, 54-28
2006-07: Phoenix Suns, 61-21
2007-08: Phoenix Suns, 55-27
2008-09: New York Knicks, 32-50
2009-10: New York Knicks, 29-53
2010-11: New York Knicks, 42-40
2011-12: New York Knicks, 18-24
2012-13: Los Angeles Lakers, 40-32
2013-14: Los Angeles Lakers, 27-55
2016-17: Houston Rockets, 55-27
2017-18: Houston Rockets, 65-17
2018-19: Houston Rockets, 53-29
2019-20: Houston Rockets, 44-28
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