Definitely Seems Like Rockets Are Trying to Force Mike D'Antoni Out
By Will Fowler
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
One year removed from beating the Warriors to the top seed in the Western Conference and being a win away from the NBA Finals, it seems that dysfunction may have seeped all the way to the core of Rockets management.
According to my sources Tilman Fertitta made the decision to pick up #Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni’s option for the 2019-20 season. Daryl Morey was never fully on-board, which is why he’s now firing MDA’s assistants.
— Landry Locker (@LandryLocker) May 24, 2019
Let's unpack this -- Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, picked up head coach MIke D'Antoni's option for next season. Not a big deal, right?
Usually, no. Except for the fact that he did it without confirming with general manager Daryl Morey, who, based on his immediate reaction, makes it seem like Mike D'Antoni was not in his plans for 2019-20.
Most Rockets fans will agree with Morey's opinion on D'Antoni, which is that a return to Houston should still be up in the air. Despite seeing success, (last year, most notably) his tenure has largely been met by frustration from the faithful Houston fanbase.
Steven A said that Mike Dantoni system don't work in didn't work in Phoenix it didn't work in New York, LA, and not in Houston either sheesh... he done coached nash, melo, kobe, harden and cp3 and can't get it done smh
— Heck (@jheckcrossover) May 11, 2019
What will give Rockets fans cause for concern is the way Morey has handled things. Dysfunction is something that, as a fan of a team, you want nowhere near your front office. It seems Houston may be pummeling full speed ahead in that direction.