Report: Mike D'Antoni Gets Follow-Up Interview With Blazers

Chauncey Billups and Becky Hammon aren't the only coaching candidates being seriously considered by the Trail Blazers.

Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni is also receiving a follow-up interview with team officials this week, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sources: Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni will get a second interview for the Portland job this week. Spurs assistant Becky Hammon met Monday for her second and Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups will also meet again with the Blazers this week. https://t.co/hvexakHlZ6
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2021

Multiple outlets reported on Monday that Billups and Hammon have second interviews scheduled this week with Portland's front office, though were careful to note that the Blazers hadn't whittled remaining candidates in their coaching search down to two.

ESPN reported that D'Antoni was still in the running for Portland, while The Athletic confirmed that the coaches who'd previously been linked to the Blazers—D'Antoni, South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley and San Antonio Spurs president of basketball operations Brent Barry—also remained under consideration.

NBC Sports Northwest's Dwight Jaynes even suggested the notion of a "secret candidate" being championed by Neil Olshey.

While two candidates have been widely known as finalists for the Trail Blazers’ coaching job, NBA sources confirm they are not the only finalists. And knowing Neil Olshey, there may be a secret candidate out there who will surprise us all by getting the job.
— Dwight Jaynes (@dwightjaynes) June 22, 2021

Billups is also a leading candidate for the Boston Celtics' vacancy, while Hammon interviewed for the Orlando Magic job last week.

D'Antoni, 70, is in his first season as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets under rookie head coach Steve Nash, his fellow architect behind the groundbreaking "Seven Seconds or Less" Phoenix Suns teams of the late 2000s. One of the most innovative and influential offensive coaches in league history, D'Antoni also helped James Harden grow into superstardom with the Houston Rockets.

Though a championship or even NBA Finals berth still eludes D'Antoni, he's enjoyed a fair share of postseason success during his lengthy coaching career. The Suns made the Conference Finals twice during his six-season tenure, while the Rockets—led by Harden and Chris Paul offensively while deploying a stingy, switch-everything defense—pushed the juggernaut Golden State Warriors to seven games in the 2018 Western Conference Finals, a series Houston easily could have won if Paul hadn't missed its last two games with a hamstring injury.

A two-time Coach of the Year, D'Antoni owns a 672-527 (.560) regular-season record and 54-56 (.491) playoff record over his 16 seasons as a head coach in the NBA.

[Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN]

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