Report: Mike D’Antoni objected to Tilman Fertitta focusing on his age

Per The Athletic, D’Antoni’s camp believed the Houston owner was publicly using the coach’s age as a weapon against him in negotiations.

The back-and-forth contract negotiations in 2019 between the Houston Rockets and then-head coach Mike D’Antoni fell apart in part due to a continued focus by owner Tilman Fertitta on D’Antoni’s age.

Those negotiations did not result in an extension agreement, and the sides parted ways earlier this week — only a day after Houston’s 2019-20 season came to an end in the second round of the playoffs.

On Tuesday, Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic published a detailed account of both the team’s view and D’Antoni’s perspective regarding where things went wrong in the relationship.

While there were minor issues in the 2017 and 2018 offseasons, including the transition from previous owner Les Alexander to Fertitta, the relationship seemed to significantly sour in the summer of 2019.

Regarding the talks in 2019, Amick and Iko report:

Not only did Fertitta misrepresent D’Antoni’s aspirations in terms of how long he wanted to coach, but he aged him along the way too. “Mike is going to be 69 years old and Mike doesn’t totally know what he wants to do yet,” he had said.

The problem, of course, was that D’Antoni had just turned 68 nine days before the interview was published. It might sound like a small thing, but it wasn’t in the least. D’Antoni wasted no time in setting the record straight, telling ESPN that he wanted to coach for three more years.

Sources say D’Antoni was frustrated with not only the media being used as a negotiating tool but also how his desires were being construed. Sources also say that Fertitta’s public comments contradicted the negotiations that were taking place regarding D’Antoni’s extension, with D’Antoni always making it clear that he wanted to coach the team and that he had no desire of leaving that summer, even after a bitter exit that left a bad taste in the organization’s mouth.

Believing that D’Antoni’s age was being used as a weapon against him, sources say that D’Antoni’s wife, Laurel, called an attorney and also called LeGarie. LeGarie then called Morey to let him know that discrimination based on age was against the law. D’Antoni’s age couldn’t be discussed as part of the reason why his extension wishes wouldn’t be met.

The Rockets weren’t willing to commit to D’Antoni on a longer-term basis, instead offering just a one-year extension that would have been for the 2020-21 season. That wasn’t especially appealing to D’Antoni, since that would make him potentially a coaching free agent in the 2021 offseason — when he will be 70 years old. Ultimately, a deal was never reached.

In 2020, the final nail in the coffin was D’Antoni’s desire for a phone call from Fertitta. Houston’s season ended on Saturday night, and D’Antoni was hopeful that by Sunday morning, ownership would call to discuss the future. By midday Sunday, that call had not come, and as the team headed back to Houston, D’Antoni informed GM Daryl Morey and the team of his plans to move on after four seasons with the franchise.

[lawrence-related id=38245]

Known best for his innovative offenses, D’Antoni finished 217-101 (.682) in the regular season and 28-23 (.549) in the playoffs over four years in Houston. D’Antoni has the second-most coaching wins in team history, trailing only Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich, and he ranks No. 1 by winning percentage. Over his four years, the Rockets were the West’s only team to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs in each season, and they had the top winning percentage in the regular season, as well.

Yet, there was also a sense that things had stagnated. After reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2018 and nearly knocking out the eventual NBA champion Warriors before Chris Paul’s ill-timed hamstring injury, the Rockets bowed out in the second round in 2019 and 2020.

[lawrence-related id=37290]

With All-Stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook both 31 years old, there’s a clear sense of urgency for the Rockets to win now, before the prime years of their superstars run out. And with the team seemingly devoid of salary cap room or significant trade assets for the foreseeable future, gambling on a coaching change could make the most sense as they try to finally get over the hump and win their first title since 1995.

Amick and Iko reported Tuesday that former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy and current Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue, who led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA championship, were among the potential candidates in Houston to be D’Antoni’s successor. Meanwhile, D’Antoni could be an option for vacancies in Philadelphia and Indiana.

[lawrence-related id=38273,38213]