Mike D’Antoni stepping away from full-time coaching role with Nets

The Brooklyn Nets’ coaching staff is set to look a bit different next season.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni is stepping away from his full-time role as an assistant to head coach Steve Nash. D’Antoni is not winding down his career, however, and is expected to pursue head coaching jobs again in the future.

Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni is stepping away from a full-time coaching role on Steve Nash’s staff, sources tell ESPN. D’Antoni is expected to pursue head coaching jobs again in the future. He was a finalist for the Portland opening this year.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 28, 2021

D’Antoni was a big help to Nash in his first year as an NBA head coach. That was especially true with the focus that was placed on the Nets, who ultimately paired James Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to build a team that fell just short of the Eastern Conference Finals.

D’Antoni boasts a .564 career win percentage as an NBA head coach. The 70-year-old was one of the finalists for the Portland Trail Blazers job that ultimately went to Chauncey Billups instead.