Former NBA and NCAA head coach Rick Pitino spent last season in a different environment, the highly-competitive Greek basketball league. After a successful season with Panathinaikos, in which Pitino lead his team to the Greek Cup title, the veteran coach is reportedly ready to make his return the United States with an NBA team. From ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Pitino wants to return to a full-time pursuit of a job in the NBA — coaching, player personnel or an advisory role, he said. https://t.co/asJVbzyULP
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2019
Rick Pitino is one of the more decorated college basketball coaches, winning two NCAA titles and making a slew of Final Four appearances. However, he has been embroiled in scandal that also lead to vacated victories and ultimately a firing from Louisville.
A return to the NBA has been discussed with Pitino last year for a number of teams who were looking for interim help. Ultimately, nothing materialized. This time around, however, Pitino seems interested in several non-coaching roles such as player personnel or special advisor.
“I’m not looking for any of that [control] at this stage of my life,” Pitino told ESPN prior to taking the job with Panathinaikos. “I want to develop teams and develop players and build a winner. I value analytics. I want to fit into an organization. At this stage, that’s all I’m interested in.”
The Naisith Basketball Hall of Fame coach has not been in the NBA since the 2000-2001 season when he was with the Boston Celtics. He then spent 16 seasons coaching at Louisville, winning an NCAA title that was ultimately vacated. He also won a championship with the Kentucky Wildcats in 1996, making him one of the few coaches to win a title with two different programs.
