Report: Mike D'Antoni Unlikely to Return in 2020-21 Barring Championship

D'Antoni is currently in the final year of his contract with the Rockets

Mike D'Antoni has a "slim" chance of returning to the Rockets next season if Houston does not win the NBA Finals in 2019-20, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick and John Hollinger. 

The Rockets' head coach is currently in the final year of his four-year contract with Houston. D'Antoni engaged in extension talks with the organization after the Rockets were eliminated in the 2019 playoffs, but the discussions ended without a deal on May 30. 

"Barring a Rockets championship. ...a source with direct knowledge of these dynamics expressed serious skepticism that D’Antoni would return after this season," Amick and Holinger wrote. "To be more precise, the chances–per the source–are currently seen as 'slim.'"

D'Antoni was hired by the Rockets before the 2016-17 season. Houston is 188–91 in four seasons with D'Antoni, winning four playoff series in the past three seasons. The Rockets won 50-plus games in three straight seasons from 2016-19, tied for the longest stretch in franchise history. The Rockets have never won 50 games in four consecutive years. 

The 68-year-old has 643 career wins, the fourth most among active head coaches behind Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle. He is 23 wins behind Mike Fratello for the 20th-most wins in NBA history. 

D'Antoni and the Rockets are currently fifth in the Western Conference standings at 15–8. They will begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday with a matchup against the Cavaliers. Houston will face Orlando on Friday.

Tip-off in Cleveland on Wednesday is slated for 6 p.m. CT.