Amico: D'Antoni with Rockets? Well, OK

Multiple reports say Mike D'Antoni will be the new coach of the Rockets. These are the same Rockets of James Harden and Dwight Howard, right?

The same Rockets that lost in the first round to the Warriors -- after backing their way into the playoffs?

And the same Rockets that appeared not to celebrate a Harden game-winner in the team's lone postseason win?

Now, there may be nothing wrong with the Rockets. Maybe a new coach is all it will take.

But with Howard, Harden, Patrick Beverly and several others, the Rockets could probably use a coach who specializes in getting sometimes difficult players to mesh.

D'Antoni doesn't necessarily seem to fit that profile.

His players supposedly didn't like him with the Lakers. His players supposedly didn't like him with the Knicks. His players did seem to like him with the Steve Nash-led Suns, but those were easy players to deal with -- Nash, a young Amare Stoudemire, a young Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, etc. Not a difficult guy to be found.

So this isn't intended to say D'Antoni isn't a good manager of personalities. He just may not be a good manager of "difficult" personalities. And again, the Rockets have some personalities that may be considered difficult.

Overall, D'Antoni is 455-426 in 12 seasons as a head coach, including a 50-game stint with the Nuggets in 1998-99. His teams have made the playoffs six times.

Quick fix

Howard can opt out of his contract, but the Rockets should just trade him. He could lose money by opting out, anyway. He hasn't exactly been a guy who changes the course of a franchise lately.

So tell Howard you're trading him as soon as he opts in. I just can't see any scenario where he works with D'Antoni. And you could get lots of decent pieces that actually fit in return.

Harden and D'Antoni may actually be OK. There are plenty of guys who fit D'Antoni's fast-breaking style on the roster already. Harden is one. Howard is not.

D'Antoni spent most of the past season as the lead assistant for Brett Brown with the 76ers. Both are bright men, but men with very different styles.

Still, the simple eye test showed the Sixers got better looks at the basket with D'Antoni in the fold.

That makes him a good offensive coordinator.

Does it make him a good head coach?

It appears the Rockets are willing to take a flyer and give him a try. And honestly, why not? It's not like anything else has worked lately.