Coach Mike Krzyzewski's will return to the USA Basketball sidelines somewhat empty-handed.
Hours after the iconic Duke basketball coach indicated he will return to coach the U.S. men's basketball team through the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his assistants, current Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan, will not accompany him.
RotoWorld.com reported that D'Antoni doesn't want to return because of the time commitment that would take away from his family life. McMillan, who last coached the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005-2012, was quoted as saying "Be good for someone else to experience it," according to Yahoo.com.
The two assistants helped Krzyzewski win 62 of his 63 games as coach of the U.S. team since he took over the group in 2006. Team USA is currently on a 50-game winning streak.
The trio guided the U.S. to gold medals at both the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and the 2012 Games in London.
D'Antoni already has another media circus brewing with his current job as Lakers coach. Free-agent center Dwight Howard recently said D'Antoni misused him during the Lakers' 2012-13 season that ended with a first-round sweep at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
McMillan is trying to rejoin the NBA coaching ranks. McMillan, who also coached the Seattle SuperSonics, reportedly is a potential candidate to replace Vinny Del Negro as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. His name also has been linked to openings with the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons.
USA Today reported that USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo never started the process of looking for Krzyzewski's replacement when Coach K announced his retirement after the Long Olympics. Colangelo's strategy was to give Krzyzewski all the time he needed to reconsider.
That strategy doesn't appear to be an effective one to retain D'Antoni or McMillan.
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