When Bryan Colangelo resigned, Mike D’Antoni was the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. He stepped up and fulfilled the role of General Manager from February 2006 until June of 2007, making the playoffs in both seasons.
More from Valley of the Suns
- Ranking the Phoenix Suns’ 5 holiday games in 2023-24
- Zion Williamson gets compared to Phoenix Suns legend
- Suns player preview: Bol Bol can be the perfect role player
- Former Suns’ guard shows he is officially done with Phoenix
- NBA insider guarantees Suns’ rival won’t make blockbuster trade
D’Antoni is not remembered for his time as GM, but for his six seasons with the Suns, five as a head coach. In June of 2007 he handed the General Manager position over to Steve Kerr and focused on coaching.
D’Antoni left the Suns in 2008 after being eliminated from the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. He went on to coach the New York Knicks for several seasons before resigning in 2012. The Los Angeles Lakers then hired Mike in November of 2012, but D’Antoni’s Lakers struggled and he resigned in April of 2014. In December of 2015 D’Antoni signed with the Philadelphia 76ers as an associate to head coach Brett Brown.
In June of 2016 Mike was named the new Head Coach of the Houston Rockets.
Before Steve Kerr was named General Manager of the Suns in 2007, he was part of the Suns ownership group and before that he played at the University of Arizona and was drafted by the Suns in 1988.
In April of 2004 Kerr and a group of buyers acquired the Suns from Jerry Colangelo, and he left his broadcasting position at TNT to become the Suns General Manger at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season.
Next: The Steve Kerr Era