National Basketball Association

D'Antoni won't coach U.S. in worlds

Published Aug. 4, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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U.S. assistant coach Mike D'Antoni will miss the world championships because of a back injury and be replaced by Toronto Raptors coach Jay Triano.

D'Antoni, the New York Knicks coach, will continue working with the Americans when they train next week in New York, but won't join them in Europe and instead will rest the back before the NBA season begins.

D'Antoni's absence, first reported by ESPN.com, is another blow to a U.S. team that already has been weakened by player withdrawals. The Americans have implemented some of D'Antoni's offensive schemes while he worked under Mike Krzyzewski over the last four years.

''We'll miss Mike on our trip, he's been a big part of this program, but we know he'll be with us in spirit. We all realize this is what is best for him and we hope that he's feeling better soon,'' USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement.

D'Antoni was occasionally troubled by back pain during the NBA season and said he realized after the Americans' training camp last month in Las Vegas that he needed time to rest.

The Americans are scheduled to travel to Spain and Greece before the world championships begin Aug. 28 in Turkey. D'Antoni would then have little time to rest before having to return to Europe, with the Knicks playing preseason games in Italy and France.

''I regret not being able to be with the team through the world championship. I wish them the best of luck and I look forward to continuing to work with USA Basketball,'' said D'Antoni, who is committed to serving on Krzyzewski's staff through the 2012 Olympics.

Triano is an experienced international coach who coached Canada from 1998-2004. He started working with USA Basketball in 2007, coaching the select teams that scrimmaged against the national team. He also ran the Americans' minicamp last summer.

''I've had the chance to work with a lot of these players over the past few years coaching the USA select teams and I'm looking forward to taking the court with them and Coach K in Istanbul,'' Triano said.

The U.S. team will resume training next Tuesday in New York.