D'Antoni New Skipper In Denver

The Denver Nuggets, coming off one of the worst seasons in NBA history, hired Mike D'Antoni as their head coach Monday.

D'Antoni, who joined the Nuggets as director of player personnel last year after coaching in the Italian League for seven seasons, becomes Denver's seventh coach this decade.

He replaces Bill Hanzlik, who was fired after an 11-71 season.

D'Antoni, who briefly served as interim general manager last season, was hired by GM Dan Issel, who took over the team in March.

"Mike is a tremendous individual with impressive coaching acumen," Issel said. "He is an excellent communicator and will be integral to revitalizing the Nuggets franchise."

Before joining the Nuggets, D'Antoni compiled a 144-68 coaching record with Benetton and Milan of the Italian League. His teams made the playoffs each season, and Benetton won the 1997 Italian League Championship.

D'Antoni, 47, also had success as a player, helping Milan to five league championships, two European Cup titles and two Intercontinental Cups in 13 seasons. He spent four years in the NBA and one in the American Basketball Association.

"Dan hired me today to do one thing and that's to get us back to respectability," D'Antoni said. "And respectability means the playoffs."

D'Antoni's assistant coaches, announced today, will be former NBA head coach John Lucas, former Nuggets player and assistant coach Mike Evans, and former player Louie Dampier.

"I feel we have an outstanding staff with a balanced blend of experience and personality," D'Antoni said. "This is a very hardworking, enthusiastic and innovative group of assistants and they'll relate well with the players."

D'Antoni served as the Nuggets' interim GM after Allan Bristow was fired in February. Issel took over the team in March, and D'Antoni finished the season as an assistant to Hanzlik.

As interim GM, his most notable move was signing point guard Cory Alexander, who played a pivotal role in helping the Nuggets avoid the worst record in NBA history.

They avoided that dubious distinction by winning six of their final 19 games to finish two games better than the 9-73 record set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.

Although it remains to be seen if the Nuggets will be any better this season, it is certaitheir roster will have some new faces. The new point guard is Nick Van Exel, who was acquired in a draft-day deal, and there are high hopes for first-round pick Raef LaFrentz, a forward from Kansas.

Forward Eric Williams, who was lost to a season-ending knee injury after four games, also is expected to be back.

The Nuggets still have a lot of work to do, and they have money under the salary cap to use in the free agent market. But, like other NBA teams, their efforts to get ready for the new season are hamstrung by the league's labor problems.

The owners locked out the players July 1 after failing to reach on a new collective bargaining agreement. There has been little progress in negotiations. The regular season is currently scheduled to begin Nov. 3.

As the rebuilding begins anew under D'Antoni, a high priority is re-signing popular forward LaPhonso Ellis.

In recent years, front-office decisions have come back to haunt the Nuggets. The team made little effort to re-sign center Dikembe Mutombo before he left for Atlanta in 1996, and they traded forward Antonio McDyess to Phoenix last October for draft picks.

More from CBS News