The Trail Blazers are interviewing Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni on Monday for their open head-coaching position, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, Portland also has interviews lined up early this week with Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Spurs assistant Becky Hammon. All three names were previously identified as candidates to replace Terry Stotts in Portland.
A previous report stated that D’Antoni has “serious interest” in coaching the Blazers, but that it wasn’t clear whether Portland reciprocated that interest. The team appears intrigued enough by D’Antoni to give him an interview, though head of basketball operations Neil Olshey has indicated that the search will be fairly expansive, with upwards of 20 to 25 candidates receiving consideration. As such, we shouldn’t read too much into a single meeting.
Billups has previously been cited as a potential front-runner for the Blazers’ vacancy. He also received a public endorsement from star point guard Damian Lillard, who is expected to have a say in the team’s hire.
More must-reads: