Daryl Morey insists Mike D’Antoni will coach Rockets upon restart

“Mike will be coaching our team,” Morey said. “It would be such a huge disadvantage to lose him. We would never stand for that.”

Mike D’Antoni will be in his usual role as head coach of the Rockets when the NBA’s idled 2019-20 season resumes in Florida this July, according to new comments by Houston GM Daryl Morey.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says adults over 65 years old are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and D’Antoni is now 69. Other head coaches in that category are San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (71) and Alvin Gentry (65) of New Orleans.

As such, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently suggested that “certain coaches” might not be allowed to coach from the bench upon the league’s restart. During games, NBA coaches frequently interact with players inside of the CDC’s physical distancing recommendation of six feet.

However, Silver walked back those comments later that evening, and Morey tells ESPN that the Rockets will stand by D’Antoni. Morey said:

Mike will be coaching our team. It would be such a huge disadvantage to lose him. We would never stand for that.

In fairness to the league, they set up a process whereby everyone will have to submit a medical record. I’m sure the doctors told them that some people over a certain age shouldn’t go. But Mike is in great health. He’s in better shape than some 40-year-old coaches we have. Besides, I think his dad lived to be 108 or something.

D’Antoni said Sunday that he is “completely comfortable” with the risks, though he will take basic precautions — such as wearing a mask.

Furthermore, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported Wednesday that there could be legal means to challenge the NBA, should they attempt to exclude coaches solely by age.

Legal experts consulted by ESPN, including a top attorney in the Miami office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agreed unanimously that the NBA could not exclude any personnel from participating in Orlando solely on the basis of age.

That would not change even if all personnel over a certain age agreed to a medical review before heading to Orlando and the review highlighted risk factors linked to more severe outcomes from any coronavirus infection, experts said.

As a result, Wojnarowski and Lowe said the NBA could opt to give a nonbinding recommendation to higher-risk individuals, rather than a mandate. If that’s the case, indications are that D’Antoni is prepared to accept any heightened risk and continue in his usual coaching capacity.

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