NBA Trade Rumors: Indiana Pacers expected to pursue Mike D'Antoni as next head coach
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Indiana Pacers have already begun their search for a new head coach in our latest round of NBA Trade rumors. After firing head coach Nate McMilan following his second successive first round sweep, the Indiana Pacers will look ahead to a future without the experienced head coach.
NBA Trade Rumours: Is Mike D'Antoni bound for the Indiana Pacers?
Adrian Wojnarowski, who's renowned as the NBA trade rumors insider with the best sources, broke a story this morning that the Indiana Pacers are looking to lure Mike D'Antoni. Currently coaching the Houston Rockets, D'Antoni has been one of the most successful regular season coaches in NBA history.
Mike D'Antoni has won 2 Coach of the Year awards, one each with Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns and James Harden's Houston Rockets. If these NBA Trade rumors are to be believed, he will be expected to revamp their offense and make it a fast-paced one.
With Domantas Sabonis in the lineup, the Indiana Pacers ranked 24th in the league in pace. All of D'Antoni's teams have been fast-paced with respect to their era. The Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns were also the team in the league with the best offensive rating, while the Houston Rockets in 2017-18 ranked second behind the Warriors in the same category.
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NBA Trade Rumours: Likelihood of this happening
On face value, this is one of those NBA trade rumors which come out of the left field. Mike D'Antoni seems to be perfectly fine with life at Houston, and the Rockets organization seems to put all its weight behind him too. D'Antoni is one of the most well-respected coaches in the NBA and is likely to be offered an extension.
The opportunity to work with 2 scoring and assist title winners on the same team in Russell Westbrook and James Harden doesn't come along very often. It will take a really hefty raise by the Indiana Pacers for the 68-year-old to consider leaving the All Star backcourt he has at his disposal. Westbrook and Harden finished the regular season as the best-scoring duo of all time by a pretty good margin.
In other words, the Indiana Pacers will really have to make an offer that Mike D'Antoni won't refuse. There are also NBA trade rumors swirling around about the futures of Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo with the Indiana Pacers organization. Losing them to other teams will certainly not be a good look for them.
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