II – Mike D’Antoni
With the hiring of Mike D’Antoni, the Houston Rockets may have placed more gasoline onto the chances of retaining Howard. Mike D’Antoni and Dwight Howard worked together with the Los Angeles Lakers and were reportedly having a dispute when the team decided to focus around Steve Nash instead of Howard. Some suggest that the Rockets focused on hiring D’Antoni specifically to make Howard’s decision to stay in Houston all the more difficult. However, the Rockets management said that they will let their new coach decide whether if they will let Howard stay or not.
But D’Antoni is bringing HIS offense. While Dwight Howard is the type of player who prefers back-down post-ups while D’Antoni runs a Sixers similar pace-and-space style. This means that in order to be fit for the Rockets, Howard should make a huge adjustment with how he plays.
D'Antoni called Dwight Howard "One of the best players in the league. We're going to play a certain way. I hope he wants to play that way."
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) June 1, 2016
That pretty much reads to me like a line in the sand.
Next: Nerlens Noel