Knicks allowed to speak with D'Antoni
Let the bidding war begin between the Knicks and Bulls.
According to ESPN Radio's affiliate in Phoenix, KTAR 620 AM, the Phoenix Suns have granted coach Mike D'Antoni permission to speak with other teams about a new job.
Details are sketchy, but the report was picked up early this morning by ESPN.com and also on ChicagoSports.com.
D'Antoni (pictured right, photo from NBA.com) met with Suns president Steve Kerr and managing partner Robert Sarver on Friday in Phoenix to discuss the former Coach of the Year's future. Kerr called it a productive meeting and D'Antoni declined comment. The trio are expected to meet again Monday.
With two years and $8.5 million left on his contract with the Suns, the decision to allow D'Antoni to shop around is clearly a way to get out of paying him, which Phoenix would have to do if they fired him. And if D'Antoni quit, he would be walking away from that money with no guarantees he could make it back elsewhere. So freeing him up to explore other options works for both.
For D'Antoni, with two major markets looking for a coach, the grass will be greener -- financially speaking -- on the other side of the continent.
There are three current openings in the NBA -- New York, Chicago and Dallas -- and reports over the weekend said the Mavericks have decided to hire Rick Carlisle, which would take them out of the running. Mark Cuban is believed to want a defensive-minded, disciplined tactician. Cuban has seen plenty of D'Antoni over the years to know his style. But it will be interesting to see if he puts the brakes on hiring Carlisle if D'Antoni is available.
D'Antoni's arrival on the market will also impact Avery Johnson, who is looking to get another job after he was ousted in Dallas. Johnson is expected to at least get looks by both the Knicks and Bulls.
There's little doubt that Donnie Walsh will quickly get in touch with D'Antoni's representation, or vice versa. Same goes for John Paxson, who is said to have an interest in hiring an experienced coach.
It's not a given that the Knicks and D'Antoni would be a match. Walsh is not necessarily looking for the best coach available, but the best coach for this particular job. D'Antoni's uptempo style would be an exciting show at Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks traditionally are built on defense. D'Antoni does not stress defense, which is a major reason for his anticipated ouster in Phoenix.
The current Knicks roster has some players who fit the system -- Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Renaldo Balkman -- and yet others who don't -- Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph and Quentin Richardson -- and that could lead to a disaster with this group, which showed little interest in playing defense under Isiah Thomas. Plus, the Knicks clearly need a coach who stresses discipline and accountability. D'Antoni is more of a player's coach who is best suited for a veteran team that self-polices.
“He's a great offensive coach and his demeanor is non-combative as it relates to players, a stark contrast to the tirades he directs at officials,” one NBA general manager said of D'Antoni, when I asked him recently about how D'Antoni would fit with the Knicks. “If they are looking for a defensive minded drill sergeant, they better look elsewhere.”
Which suggests either Johnson or the front-runner from the start, Mark Jackson, would have the inside track. And despite his lack of experience, Jackson may still be the favorite because of his New York roots and ability to handle the peripheral challenges of the job.
Chicago's roster is also young and, as evidenced this past season, lacks discipline. But with Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and young, athletic players such as Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, they seem to be a better fit for D'Antoni's system.
Keep in mind if you are D'Antoni and you are going to leave a perennial 50-win situation that some have deemed as a failure, you have to pick your next stop carefully.
Two wild cards who may show interest are Toronto (Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo knows D'Antoni well from their days together in Phoenix and the Raptors team is built perfectly for D'Antoni's style) and the Atlanta Hawks, who just came off a promising seven-game loss to Boston but also have the right type of horses for the D'Antoni system.
Both teams would have to act quickly, however. Colangelo, who last week said he had no plans to fire Sam Mitchell, would have to reverse that decision. And while Mike Woodson was rumored to be out during the regular season in Atlanta, he might have bought himself time with the strong showing against the Celtics.
But in either situation, you can't fire the current coach unless you have D'Antoni locked up.
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Comments (19)
trane,
stop crying & complaining.
ur the one who keeps feeding the troll
walk the talk
I think we have to go for D'Antoni. I know everyone says that the Suns don't play any defense, but that is false. They just play at a faster pace than the rest of the league. If anyone looks at John Hollinger's stats on ESPN, you'll see that Phoenix was in the middle of the pack with defensive efficiency. And on top of that, they had the most efficient offense.
Don't get me wrong...I loved the Knicks of the 90's. Locking down teams down just put a smile on my face. But this coach is just too good to pass up. Johnson and Jackson are good, but Jackson has no bench experience and Johnson may have just inherited a good team so the jury's still out. We need to go with the best coach available and mold the team his way.
* Playoffs involve adjustments & countermoves. D’Antoni and none of his brilliant Assistants did anything to counter the Hack-a-Shaq. It disrupted the flow of the game & more importantly, disrupted the Suns’ rhythm.
At a minimum, D’Antoni should’ve employed a Hack-a-Duncan. Put TD on the line, a poor free throw shooter in his own right. It also would’ve disrupted the Spurs’ offense as well. This tactic should’ve been tried as opposed to just sitting there and twirling his thumbs.
D’Antoni can’t even strategize properly to protect a 3 point lead with seconds to go.... just like The Vermin Thomas.
D’Antoni will bring respectability and can build a competitive basketball team. But he will NOT bring home the shiny stuff.
* Just stating the obvious….. Doc Rivers would’ve been fired had the Cs lost that 7th game. That would’ve been one more big name coach available.
I love these 4 choices...
Mark Jackson
Strengths: Knows the pressures of NY. Was a true floor general when he played.
Weakness: No coaching exp
Tom Thidadeau:
Strengths: Defensive guru. Lots of experience under good coaches (Doc Rivers excluded).
Weakness: Can he make the jump to HC or is he just a d-coordinator? And what was he doing putting Ray Allen on Joe Johnson with no help in Game 4.
Mike D'Antoni:
Strengths: Proven 50 game winner. Offensive genius.
Weakness: Known as a players coach. This might not fly without leaders like Nash and Grant Hill. Also, can he develop young players? He will need to in this job.
Avery Johnson
Strengths: Defensive minded and will crack the whip on some of these players. Another proven winner-type. Press conferences will be entertaining with his voice.
Weakeness: Too subborn sometimes. Can he make adjustments? I hated the Dallas offense (aka Dirk isos all the damn time)
Who am I kidding, I`d talk myself into all 4 of these guys though I still have an affinity for Jackson. Let him develop for 2 years with no expectations. If he isn't a good coach, they can hire a new guy for when the Knicks have cap room. I imagine he`d sign a 3 year deal so you`d only have to eat one year in this case.
One HUGE difference that everyone is overlooking between the athletic Suns and some of the athletic players that D'antoni could use with the Knicks is that the Suns have intelligent leadership on the floor - Steve Nash n Co. The knicks do not and as mentioned above D'antoni being a player's coach would not work. I can see Steph, Z-bo, and the rest of the Low IQ bunch poisoning the locker room as soon as they are not happy with the plays called for them. D'antoni doesn't seem to have the reputation to discipline such situations with these characters....unless they are moved elsewhere, which is not likely since the Knicks aren't looking to add more salaries and are sitting pat for a couple of years as salaries simply come off the books. Lastly, does D'antoni want to come to a losing dysfunctional/malcontent team that will not make major moves to improve for still a couple of years?? Doubt it. Just take Jackson.
Eddie Curry is a team lag and another Kwame Brown. Mike D needs athletic and consistent players. We need a coach that can get in the ear of players when they make a bone headed play. I can't see this roster being the way it is and Mike's style going to New York. The only situation is were we can get Shawn Marion to opt out of the contract with the Miami Heat and trade Zach and Curry (were dreaming). What sucks is we need two first round picks - draft a center and a PG. JCraw and N8 can't be our answer for the future of the Knicks PG position. And J Craw is a nice guy who cant be consistent. N8 is unpredictable and is a better off the bench guard.
CMon Donnie help!!!
Thinking of D'Antoni though, the Suns owner didnt even give him a chance to develop young players as he would just give away first round picks. Barbosa turned out to be a good player for them and he`s very young.
Alan, I would love you to go through a more detailed strengths and weakness for each candidate.
Why anyone would want to coach this roster of overpaid, underachieving, lazy, incompetent, chronic losers - save perhaps David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Renaldo Balkman, a younger Malek Rose, and a healthy Quentin Richardson - boggles the mind.
Must drive the Possette Nation absolutely nuts.
Nothing worthwhile in Gotham for at least another two seasons. The Loser and Rose come off the books at the end of 2008-09. James, Little Man Nate, and Q disappear at the end of 2009-10.
By this time, the Knicks, provided they haven't foolishly traded for the broken-down Jermaine O'Neal and cancerous Ron Artest, will have some salary space.
Things get even better after the 2010-11 season, when the Four Horsewomen of Zeke's Apocalypse, Lazy Eddy, Fat Zach, Break A Backboard Crawford, and Jeffries, loose their precious Garden Sugar Daddy.
Surely by then, Rupert Murdoch will have someone other than The Loser's Personal Press Agent and a second-rate hockey writer to give Newsday readers the good news.
alfredo makes the point here.
Was the Suns' superior offense more a result of D'Antoni's coaching or Nash's leadership on the court?
Not only do the Knicks not have a floor general, they have players that "lead" by a negative example on the court.
They need a head coach who will beat them down and build them back up.
Alan- How has Mark Jackson demonstrated the 'ability to handle the peripheral challenges of the job.' Have the other candidates who have been already had success as head coaches not shown this ability? Please explain. Also, please tell me that Kenny Smith isn't going to be the GM of the Knicks. Please . . .
We need a guy to teach defense, and a set offense. But defense first. Thibedoue has paid his dues and is a better fit.
There are always athletic wingmen who can penetrate or shoot. New York has two in Crawford and Nate. The most important parts of D'Antoni's offensive system are the point guard who can lead the break, and a big man who can run, to fill the lane. Lee is the closest thing the Knicks have, unless they make some kind of trade (or somehow luckily sign Diop ahead of any other teams). Marbury...I really don't know if he'd be up to the challenge. You'd think he'd want to put in a good showing after this year, but who knows with that guy?
What made Phoenix formidable, on top of Nash and Stoudemire, was having Shawn Marion, who filled so many other roles. Not only did he run the floor and spot up, but he rebounded and defended the perimeter, and did all of these things very well. The Knicks can expect to suffer quite a bit, even if they have an effective fast break under Mike.
Mike-
"There are always athletic wingmen who can penetrate or shoot. New York has two in Crawford and Nate."
Break A Backboard Crawford bricks three out of five. The stat line of his career. Little Man Nate is only decent in the girls' summer league. Lost with the men.
"The most important parts of D'Antoni's offensive system are the point guard who can lead the break, and a big man who can run, to fill the lane. Lee is the closest thing the Knicks have, unless they make some kind of trade (or somehow luckily sign Diop ahead of any other teams)."
Lee cannot run. Diop is strictly backup center 14-18 minutes a night.
"Marbury...I really don't know if he'd be up to the challenge."
That Loser never met a challenge from which he did not run.
"You'd think he'd want to put in a good showing after this year, but who knows with that guy?"
Get in the truck's about the extent of that Loser's chronic inability. Next season, the Garden, then off to pizza parlor ownership in Milan or Siena.
Steph played in D'Antoni's system and they played the Spurs tough and lost just like Nash did... And Steph killed them so I dont know what alot of yall are talking about... Plus Nash was not playing like an MVP til he came to the Suns, so D'Antoni made him better...
Many of the Knicks will flourish under Mike, Nate would look just as good as Barbosa, maybe better... Q already played in the system as well... Lee, Jared, Crawford, Wilson, and Balkman would be better served playing uptempo... We also have a high draft pick and many of the players in this draft could play an uptempo style... The Knicks problem in the last few years is they had no consistent philosophy... At least with D'Antoni we would have an identity... Then you gradually bring in players who fit better for what you are trying to do... Curry and Zach will get in better shape or will not play as much as they like, running in practice all the time might really help Curry... Shaq got in much better shape after the trade...
wasn't skiles the coach when starbury was there...
anything rite now is better but make the best choice..
we do need to let like 2- of the starters gooo...
stay tuned for more KnowLedge
skiles was the coach when they played the spurs...
starbury only played 34 games under Dantoni..
Good looking out with the info Knowledge, my bad... Steph did play well under D'Antino for that short time but rumor was he didnt buy into the system...
I don't want Mike D'Antoni but it has nothing to do with how he fits with THESE players, who all stink btw. I do not want a up and down run and gun team that plays no D. That type of system cannot win in the Playoffs and the last few years proved it.
I want the Knicks to be a defensive oriented team that rebounds and is able to score in the halfcourt. I want a coach who preaches defense and installs some discipline. D'Antoni and Mark Jackson are not that. Tom Thibodeau, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell and Paul Silas are all like that.
"The current Knicks roster has some players who fit the system -- Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Renaldo Balkman -- and yet others who don't -- Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph and Quentin Richardson"
Quentin Richardson fits that system brilliantly: remember 2004-5? He had a great year and that, combined with a draft pick, is why we got him.