Yesterday was Groundhog’s Day for the Cleveland Cavaliers. For the second time in four years, they fired Mike Brown as head coach of the team.
As soon as Brown was let go, rumors started to swirl as to who would be the next head coach of the team. With star point guard Kyrie Irving and the rest of their young roster in a precariously fragile state, the franchise needs a strong hand to guide them the next couple of seasons.
One name not being included on the list of potential candidates is former Suns/Knicks/Laker head coach Mike D’Antoni. Newly-named GM of the team David Griffin actually spent time with D’Antoni while in Phoenix, but according to the Akron Beacon Journal has no real interest in bringing D’Antoni in.
The Cavs have yet to start compiling a list of names, one league source said, but names to keep in mind are Alvin Gentry, Vinny Del Negro, Fred Hoiberg, Steve Kerr and Mark Jackson, among others.
One name omitted from the list of candidates is Mike D’Antoni, who spent five seasons in charge of the Suns while Griffin worked in the front office. D’Antoni, however, is not considered a strong candidate in this coaching search.
Amid a growing belief that the coach simply got lucky in Phoenix, D’Antoni likely isn’t the correct choice for the team. But just thinking about Kyrie running that D’Antoni offense has to make us all a little sad that we’re going to be missing out on that potential pairing.