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The Denver Nuggets seem to be all over the place with their coaching search so far, from having Melvin Hunt as the “front runner” for the job to interviewing more head coaching candidates for the position.
According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski the Nuggets have interviewed former Lakers and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni for the head coaching job.
Denver general manager Tim Connelly conducted a sit-down with D’Antoni in California on Tuesday, league sources said. D’Antoni’s vaunted running game fits into Denver’s determination that it wants to play faster in the future. Melvin Hunt, the interim coach in the wake of Brian Shaw’s firing, remains a strong contender to retain the full-time job, league sources said.
Along with D’Antoni and Hunt, ex-Sacramento Kings coach Michael Malone has had conversations with Connelly and could soon emerge with a sit-down interview, league sources said.
If D’Antoni is hired for the job he would be back where his head coaching career started in Denver. In the lockout shortened season in 1998-99 season D’Antoni went 14-36 he was then fired from the position and would not coach again until 2003.
D’Antoni’s last head coaching gig in Los Angeles ended terribly after losing Dwight Howard in free agency, and Steve Nash to a back injury which he would never comeback from the Lakers went 27-55 in a miserable year.
D’Antoni was fired, but I think the Lakers were at fault making D’Antoni the scapegoat for a roster that aged and trying to rebuild on the fly by tanking.
We all know D’Antoni is an offensive guru and that’s about it his 455-426 record shows he’s had a mixture of success and failures, but I think the Nuggets job will end in horror for Denver and D’Antoni.
Melvin Hunt is already familiar with this roster and knows which players he needs to have in place whether it involves trading away Kenneth Faried or Ty Lawson that’s to be seen.
It’s time for the Nuggets to give an opportunity to someone who has served as an assistant for the Lakers in 2004-2005 and the Cavaliers in 2005-2010 which he was involved in some successful seasons there.
Hunt went 10-11 in his time as interim head coach for the Nuggets, and if he does not workout you start over but that’s better than hiring a D’Antoni or a Mike Woodson.
