Houston Rockets: Why it’s time for Mike D’Antoni to silence his agent

It’s no secret that Mike D’Antoni is in his final contract season with the Houston Rockets, but his agent isn’t helping to make negotiations easy.

The Houston Rockets‘ negotiations with Mike D’Antoni have been highly publicized, and they reached a boiling point after the 2018-19 season. The Rockets offered D’Antoni an extension, but the two parties weren’t able to agree to terms, as D’Antoni’s agent, Warren LeGarie, intervened.

LeGarie deemed the Rockets’ offer to be significantly less than his client’s worth, which Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta said was advantageous for the Rockets. There’s been a wide array of speculation since the Rockets’ last proposal, as it seems to be a foregone conclusion by the national media that the Rockets and D’Antoni are bound for a divorce.

Early in the 2019-20 season, we heard rumblings that the Rockets would only be keeping D’Antoni if they reached the NBA Finals. That was followed by reports that the Rockets and D’Antoni both understood that their time would soon be coming to an end, and are merely trying to make the most of it.

We heard that the Rockets were interested in both Tom Thibodeau and Jeff Van Gundy as D’Antoni’s replacement options, which was simply a game of poker, as Thibodeau ultimately accepted the coaching job for the New York Knicks. The latest update on the saga came on Sunday before the Rockets’ biggest win of the season over the Milwaukee Bucks, who have the best record in the league.

ESPN Senior Analyst Adrian Wojnarowski pointed out that D’Antoni’s contract has technically expired, but that LeGarie stated that if the Rockets want to extend D’Antoni, they’ll need to improve upon the last offer they made last summer.

One must commend LeGarie for fighting for his client, as that’s the job of an agent, but it’s important to know that LeGarie works for D’Antoni. At some point, D’Antoni will need to let LeGarie know that he wants to stay in Houston if he does like he’s previously stated.

D’Antoni needs to communicate with his agent, which would end the media circus regarding his future with the Rockets. Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has already publicly endorsed D’Antoni on multiple occasions this season, and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has previously stated that he expects D’Antoni to be back with the Rockets.

So why doesn’t D’Antoni seize control of his camp and put an end to the back and forth?