LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Brooklyn Nets announced Friday they have hired Mike D’Antoni as an assistant coach, reuniting the former Phoenix Suns bench boss with newly-hired Nets head coach Steve Nash.
Nash won two league MVP awards while playing point guard for D’Antoni with the Phoenix Suns in the mid-2000s.
Last month, the 69-year-old D’Antoni stepped down after four seasons as head coach of the Houston Rockets.
The Nets also announced the hiring of Ime Udoka as an assistant coach and Amar’e Stoudemire as a player development assistant.
”We’ve assembled an experienced staff of high-character individuals with varied backgrounds, both on and off the court, that will help create a solid foundation for me and our players,” said Nash.
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Silas named Rockets head coach
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Houston Rockets named Stephen Silas as the team’s new head coach on Friday, replacing Mike D’Antoni who left last month after the franchise’s latest post-season disappointment.
Silas, who has more than 20 years experience in the NBA as an assistant coach or scout, joins the Rockets after a two-year stint as part of Rick Carlisle’s coaching staff at the Dallas Mavericks.
The Rockets job is Silas’s first head coaching position.
”This is an opportunity that was well-earned and long overdue for Coach Silas and we’re thrilled to have him as head coach,” said Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. ”Stephen is a basketball lifer who is highly regarded around the league.”
Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Silas’s work with the Mavericks — who had the highest offensive rating in the NBA in 2019-2020 — had tipped the balance in his favour.
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CBA opt-out deadline extended anew
NEW YORK – The NBA announced Friday it has extended the deadline for opting out of the CBA, as both the owners and the players union work through key issues regarding a return to play for the 2020-21 season.
The two sides agreed to push back the deadline by one week until November 6, and talks will continue in the interim regarding the numerous issues that have to be decided before next season begins.
The move was expected and it is the fourth extension of the opt-out deadline since the coronavirus pandemic started in March.
”The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today that they have agreed to push back to November 6 the date by which either party may notify the other of an intention to terminate the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. The deadline had previously been today,” the league said in a statement on Friday night.
The league is targeting a December 22 start to next season and a season of 72 games for each club, with a play-in tournament for the playoffs and a conclusion in time to have NBA players in the Tokyo Olympic basketball competition.
The NBA entry draft is set for November 18.
