We already know the blockbuster news around town yesterday, that Mike D’Antoni has accepted the New York Knicks head coaching position last for $24 million over four seasons.
I admire D’Antoni for the job he’s done in Phoenix, the way he sort of transformed the league with the now highly copied system he introduced in Phoenix, but D’Antoni is not known as a defensive specialist, and considering the Knicks we saw in 2007-2008, I wonder how this is all going to be put together this November and in the Novembers to come leading up to 2010.
So we have another big splash in a series of big splashes. Lenny Wilkins, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas–Herb Williams never had a chance with the way the Knicks ownership likes to do things at 2 Penn Plaza. I wonder if Dolan forced Walsh’s hand (yet again, since Dolan forced Walsh to keep Isiah with the Knicks organization instead of justifiably firing him outright as he should have done), because Walsh probably did in some degree want to bring in someone like a rookie coach named Mark Jackson.
Especially when you consider what Walsh has already said about the Knicks’ immediate future. If we’re gutting the roster and looking to get under the cap by 2010, what sense does it make to bring in another big-name, top-dollar coach when the roster isn’t much of a match for the style that D’Antoni has clearly mastered? Do the Knicks right now have the horses to “run and gun” considering the way that they shot the ball this past season? How could the Knicks suddenly be athletic enough to get up and down the court the way D’Antoni has with Phoenix? Quentin Richardson can barely run up and down the floor at a slow pace these days. The Knicks were a high turnover team in a half-court offense, how would they fair pushing the ball the entire game?
Here is the thing: I think Chi-town wanted another Jackson (Mark) to coach the Bulls and were maybe dragging their feet making D’Antoni an offer in time. Wouldn’t be the first time the Chicago organization fleeced the Knicks (see Eddy Curry ,and the bad heart drama, versus the no heart reality). Now Chicago isn’t bidding against Cablevision, should they choose to bring in a Mark Jackson or a Tom Thibodeau, should Tom suddenly become available after the playoffs. I assume since Jackson quit his Yes gig that he is intent on getting out of broadcasting and into a NBA head coaching job.
We all know Stephon Marbury’s career with Knicks is soon nearing its end, but with D’Antoni on board, that severance package might be offered sooner than the Feburary ’09 trade deadline. Just as Bird dismissed Isiah through Walsh in Indiana, D’Antoni’s successful start in Phoenix was nearly paralleled with Marbury’s departure.
What’s up next for the Knicks? We have the draft lottery coming up in about ten days or so, and also the possibility that Donnie Walsh will announce a new GM to go with that new coach from Phoenix/Europe.
Another thing the D’Antoni signing indicates to me is that the Knicks will draft a point guard in June, irrespective of where they pick in the draft. One thing you’ll need if you want to play D’Antoni style basketball is an excellent point guard, and right now, the Knicks don’t even have a decent point guard.
And if you remember our poll last week, we had 26 defenders chime in and vote for their favorite coaching choice, Mike D’Antoni finished in second place.
It is worth mentioning that the current MVP of the NBA thinks the world of the Knick’s new coach, as does the former MVP Steve Nash, of course.
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From Wikipedia:
Kobe Bryant, star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, grew up in Italy during the height of D’Antoni’s European career and cites D’Antoni as the player he loved most growing up as a child. During his early career with the Lakers, Bryant chose to wear the numeral 8, D’Antoni’s old jersey number with the Olimpia Milano.
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Lastly, for all the people that think Wilson Chandler will flourish under D’Antoni, did you actually see the injury at the end of the season? That looked pretty bad. I hope Chandler is all right. We’ll know by summer league how bad Chandler’s injury is in reality (can’t ever trust what MSG tells us about Knick injuries), as was the case last season with Mardy Collins. Collins sat out summer league due to knee surgery, and ended up having a horrible second year in orange and blue. If Chandler sits out summer league, consider that a red flag that Isiah played Chandler much too much at the end of a season that was already clearly lost.
For the file attached below, the February numbers are indicative of what Chandler was getting all season long, about 5mpg for about 5 games each month. Then March and April come, and you start seeing heaving minutes from out of nowhere, just like that other promising rookie that got hurt, Mardy Collins, in the preceding season.
Chandler’s season-ending stats
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
Well
I was certainly surprised by this move, I surely hope that Walsh insists that a defensive specialst(Dick Harter anyone) be included on his staff. D’Antoni, Walsh and and Brittenham should make visits to all the players and personally check on the training regimen of each of them. Jerome and Eddy should be first and last (just in case they cannot be moved for other players.
Well
I was certainly surprised by this move, I surely hope that Walsh insists that a defensive specialst(Dick Harter anyone) be included on his staff. D’Antoni, Walsh and and Brittenham should make visits to all the players and personally check on the training regimen of each of them. Jerome and Eddy should be first and last (just in case they cannot be moved for other players.
Sorry about the double post it was NOT intentional
The Alternative Lifestyle Tandem of Bytch Lawrence, and Frank “I’m your Ass” whola have begun their latest round of smear campaign on the pages of the Daily Sleuth.
Check out the Links
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/05/11/2008-05-11_just_make_mike_dantoni_gm_too.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/05/11/2008-05-11_donnie_walsh_took_crooked_path_to_new_kn.html
But on another note, NYT Sportwriters Howard Beck puts foward a positive spin on the D’antoni Hiring.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/sports/basketball/12knicks.html?_r=1&ref=basketball&oref=slogin
The Howard Beck Article in the NYT seems to suggest that D’antoni will likely reconsider his prior position with the Suns about not having a defensive specialist assistant.
If he hires a defensive specialist as an assistant it will also cure my concerns. What I’m reading about D’antoni suggest that he is flexible and innovative, and can adapt when necessary. Lets see how this goes. Also you can check out Knicksfantics, which is linked here for a debate on the D’antoni firing.
Read ya later.
Excellent points throughout, KD. We dropped the ball AGAIN !
What’s up gentlemen?In our country’s legal system a man is generally innocent until proven guilty?Mr. Mike is the new coach and that’s not going to change any time soon so it makes sense to embrace the positive, at least for the near future.Unless the man is an idiot, and he appears not to be, there must be a plan in place.It will succeed or fail on its merits.Let’s first see who is drafted,who is traded, who is motivated to get in shape, is there a summer plan for conditioning or trading Big Eddie? Can Marbury be resurrected? etc.There are a lot of ifs and challenges here.But this is”the Apple” and dreams and fortunes are both made and burst here.We have Mayor Mike here and now we have Maybe Mike as our new coach.Maybe he succeeds, and maybe not!Give the brother a chance before he gets kicked to the curb.Hey, we’re NYers, we know the game.He ain’t my choice, but he’s our coach now!Good luck Mr. Mike.We got your back…..for now!
On another note. It appears Cablevision is about to buy Newsday.You got to wonder if a certain sportswriter who’s trashed the owner and management of the Garden is feeling a little nervous this morning.In all probability Jimmy D has probably gotten a lot smarter in the last few days, at least in LI.We’ll see.LGK!!!!By the way.I love Mr. Love, UCLA,very young,but a physical phreak with tremendous upside.He has a lot of growing to do and is not NBA ready from the gate, but neither was Willis who was drafted after NBA ready Bad news Barnes.See how that worked out.But seriously,this is a gifted kid who has a tremendous upside.There will be pressure to go after someone who can help right away.Most rookies can’t do that anyway.It’s not draft time, soooo,we’ll talk more later.LGGGK!
Our new york knicks are surrounded with such negative energy, they are doomed before they’ve even gotten started. Hopefully, our players absolutely refuse to read these sports writers around the globe. Already the headlines are surfacing against Mike D’Antoni, all the so called experts are voicing their negative opinions. Even Reggie Miller on TNT Last night saying our choice of coach is a big mistake. What they all fail to see is that the Knicks are a run and gun team and requires a coach with that type of mindset and system. It’s obvious the knicks cannot defend anyone at this time, and that’s not going change over the summer, but we sure can put points on the board.
Last years Las Vegas summer league team showed us the gifts of Nate Robinson and Renaldo Balkman, it was easy pickings, they played off each other scored easy baskets. Taz defended and rebounded the basketball and initiated the fast break and they went undefeated. That style of play was never evidence in Isiah’s System.
How many times last season (when he did get to play) did we see Taz rebound break full speed up the court only to stop at the 3 point line to pass the ball to one of our guards. Isiah Thomas forced the team to play half court basketball and they are not good at it. Renaldo Balkman is one of our better defenders and rebounders and I see him as key in D’Antoni’s system. We can now play at a faster pace, move the ball around score easy baskets and make other teams scramble to defend us. Its’ gonna be a new and exciting brand of basketball for my New York Knicks. I betcha it will get us more than 23 wins next season.
yea 24 wins.. lol just kidding
I am really stoked too my biggest hope is that the knicks can pick up rose or beasly in this draft. bayless would be ok too, mayo seems a little iffy at this point.
I hear you Tman and Syd, and I’m going to support Mike D and Walsh and give them a chance just as I gave Isiah a chance and Larry Brown a chance. Isiah’s first season as Knicks coach I had seasons tickets. In the end, I gave up on Isiah and also on LB, but right now, we’ve got reason to be optimistic that overdue change may finally be coming.
With reference to last years summer team, I must say I watched all of those games and liked what I saw. I would not have complained one bit if Hanners had been given the rains but obviously that wasn’t going to happen with the Knicks still in Dolan’s pocket.
I wonder if Herb is going to stick around much longer after the buck has been passed now four or five times without getting the nod. He’s a true Knick loyal soldier, no doubt, but obviously Dolan has a way of doing things that is not conducive to lower profile head coaching candidates.
I still think Jamal should go. Move him if possible. I know people think he’d do well with Mike D’antoni at the helm, but if he’s one of our few with trade value, I saw him mess up games too many times during his tenure in New York, particularly this past season.
Wow I guess Hahn’s feeling the heat right now, huh Tman? BTW, check out Hahn’s new article. Walsh got Mike D to land LeBron in 2010. I’m paraphrasing of course.
The NBA Draft is is june, but the lottery is coming up very soon. Can’t argue with Mr. Love, as the force MD’s gave their scouting approval to the UCLA prodigy, but I wonder if Mike D’ was told behind closed doors before he signed on, that since Dolan went through with Stern’s recommendation of Walsh, Stern would deliver Derrick Rose come lottery time.
We must also remember the year the rockets got Yao they had only the 7th or 8th best chance or landing the top pick.
Just bloggin’ y’all!
Next up? It’s 50-50. Either a new GM will be named or the lottery positioning will be determined.
Also I read in the paper today that D’Antoni has “full autonomy” over the coaching staff. Think anyone will be spared? Brendan Suhr? Gone. Mark Aguirre? Gone. Herb Williams and Dave Hanners? You tell me…
Knicks need to start with a new slate …. period…. new coaches are need to motivate our players show them the new direction of the team. Right now the team is too comfortable with what they’ve got and the losing. IMHO
And, they should also minimize practicing in Westchester which is relatively far away from MSG.
They should try to practice in the Garden as much as possible. Restore home court advantage because the Knicks have been an away team at the garden for the past 4+ years.
I know that the garden is a busy place but obviously Dolan doesn’t mind spending on the Knicks, and Dolan is the Garden, let’s face it, he owns it. They need to make time for the Knicks to really get comfortable playing in the garden. Learn the rims, the floors, ect.
The Alternative Lifestyle Tandem of Bytch Lawrence, and Frank “I’m your Ass” whola have begun their latest round of smear campaign on the pages of the Daily Sleuth.
Check out the Links
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/05/11/2008-05-11_just_make_mike_dantoni_gm_too.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/05/11/2008-05-11_donnie_walsh_took_crooked_path_to_new_kn.html
But on another note, NYT Sportwriters Howard Beck puts foward a positive spin on the D’antoni Hiring.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/sports/basketball/12knicks.html?_r=1&ref=basketball&oref=slogin
Here is a very weird baseball article with a basketball article sandwiched right in the middle. The gist of it? Since Calderon is blowing up, trade T.J. Ford to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford. Where do I sign up for that deal? I’m sick of Jamal, sorry, but I mean it. Get us some people that care about and know how to go about winning basketball games.
I really think Balkman will see a lot of time next year. with Mike D’Antoni’s running game, Q will either get traded or dropped. Balkman, Chandler and Crawford because of their ability to play the running game will be featured.
you don’t need balkman and chandler in there at the same time. chandler is balkman with better offensive abilities.
like many knicks, balkman had a bad year.
crawford doesn’t know how to win. i want no part of him on the knicks. i hope walsh can see he’s got to go along with the guy who brought him here.
I’ll be very interested in hearing who will be on the new coaching staff
and if we can have christmas in the summer, I wanna see a tenacious boardman/shotblocker
It just seems strage that a team that doesn’t run would hire a running coach. Could you see Curry and Zach running down the court? I can’t.
I hope they keep D Lee. I received his jersey as a gift and I’d like to keep sportin it.
You can add Peter “The Rabbit” Vecsey to the alternative lifestyle gang!
Check out his latest article.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132008/sports/knicks/walsh_rolling_dice_with_wrong_general_110575.htm
Seems to me most of the writers, columnist etc, who were politiking for Mark Jackson are bitter about eating salty nutz when DCD slipped them the Mikey, as in D’antoni!
Check out this article from Chicago Sports.com. It seems as if Bulls Owner Jerry Riensdorf was legitamately spurned when D’antoni chose to coach the Knicks over the Bulls, even though, according the article Chicago was on the verge of making a comparable offer to D’antoni.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080512-chicago-bulls-jerry-reinsdorf-coach,1,4059651.story
Commets?
Been a long time Defenders. Hope all is well with y’all. D Antoni choice was an interesting one both from a Knicks choice perspective (school of thought is that they would go Jackson or defensive rep coach) and a D Antoni choice perspective (Bulls seemed like choice). I will be optimistic and hope that D Antoni (and Walsh) see something the pundits don’t see. Knicks should get a very good to great player in this draft as it is deep. Also maybe they will get lucky and find a young stud via trade that currently has not reached full value but just needs a chance. Kind of like where Jermaine O Neal was Indiana got him from POrtland or Joe Johnson was when Phoenix got him from Boston.
He said, he said: D’Antoni, Reinsdorf tell their sides
The Sporting News via Yahoo! News Mon, 12 May 2008 11:35 PM PDT
Mike D’Antoni admits he probably had a better chance to win as the next coach of the Chicago Bulls. He acknowledges he could have been Bulls coach if he had wanted to, and believes he would have had a significant offer. D’Antoni says he cannot give a great reason he agreed to become the next coach of the New York Knicks. Other than it felt like the right thing to do.
Whaddup Guys!!,
Been away from the Knicks blog for sometime now. Blame it on my Boss for putting me on an assignment that takes me out of the country for long periods of time. I missed so many important stuff bu5t am happy to be back when the Knicks are getting Mike D.
I don’t really see what the fuss is all about. You have a coach coming out of multiple winning seasons available and a TV commentator/former point Guard with no coaching experience and the NYMSM is making it seem like Walsh and co don’t know what they are doing. Walsh and Mike D’s logic is simple:
1. The Knicks will spare nothing in getting the kind of players that the coach wants, irrespective of the Cap.
2. The Knicks are not as bad as their record for this season shows. Just one or two additions/subtractions and they will be an exciting team to watch.
3. High draft pick
I can’t wait to see all these media guys come out and concede how wrong they are
Good to be Back
Jazz
welcome back my homies Jazz, Syd, Tman, Kevin Harewood, Eward, SapianKnickster and the regulars, JohnQ, the universal O&B, and the new guy, banpeaceman, welcome. Good to see you guys on here for real.
I’m eyeballing the soon-to-begin press conference right now on MSG. I will type as much as I can for my knicks brothers not in the NYC range for this day of announcement.
Mike D’Antoni!
Hey, its something. We needed something, and he did a hell of a job in Phoenix.
Donnie Walsh up first to the mic. (nate and q are in attendance, i’m trying not to read into the fact that both have ties to phoenix).
“after a long search that lasted over three weeks, i decided that mike d’antonio–mike d’antoni–is the right fit to coach the new york knicks as we build this team back to contention. mike is a proven winner in this league with a long and impressive coaching resume both in the nba and abroad.
while mike’s style was extremely sucessful, with a running offensive team, he can adjust his style to the personell. we’ll work together to build this team to be competitive as quickly as possible and bring excitement back to madison square garden. i have admired mike for a long time and i know exactly what he is capable of as a coach. he teaches his teams how to win, and that’s probably the most simplistic but profound statement. i look forward to working with mike, i think he’ll be a great partner to work with, to turn this thing around.
so mike, welcome to the new york knicks.”
Mike D
“thank you. I want to thank mr. james dolan, donnie and the knick organization, this is a great opportunity for me and im excited to get started, i know the job that has to be done and with donnie we’ll get it done, so, if there’s any questions…”
AP question: “the general feeling is that this was not the right team for you because of the personell and the style that you run, why did you think otherwise?”
Mike D: “I think foremost, having donnie on my side is a big asset and I can adjust the style. this is about the players and the team that you have, and how to win. we were seven seconds or less, the rules state it has to be 24 seconds or less, we can adjust it to anything we want.
howard beck from the NY Times: “how difficult a decision was this for you, you obviously had a couple teams pursuing you, and not even chicago and new york, but just even the decision in phoenix to leave an established elite team?”
Mike D: “I think that was the biggest hurdle was getting over the emotional ties to phoenix and coming to a decision that is just wasn’t going to work out. both teams were great organizations and did a super job, at that point it wasn’t a hard decision, but just trying to make the right decision, and obviously i think i did, you know, for me and my family, the right decision was new york.
warner wolf espn wabc radio: “would it be safe to say that perhaps up to 50% of the current 12 man roster might not be around next year?”
[goes to show you about MSM, the roster comprises of 15 guys, not 12]
Mike D, laughing: “50%! Geez… Ahh. I don’t know that. I look at the roster, and that is the roster I’m going to win with. And donnie and i will work together and we’ll see where you go. obviously every team has some turnover, but I didn’t come in thinking, oh, we’ll have to start from zero. there are a couple players here I like, players in general. I think if they’re put into the right position, hopefully they can perform and be productive, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
1050 espn new york: “how much emphasis do you put on defense in your coaching?”
Mike D, laughing again, “that’s been a hot topic lately. i know one thing for sure, we averaged 58 wins in four years, so 58 times a year, we were the best defensive team on the floor. i do know that. from there, i think every coach tries to coach both sides of the ball, you want to be the best defensive coach, the best offensive coach, alot of times your players dictate, one is better than the other. like i said before, we try to put our players in the best position to win, whether it is offensively or defensively, and to be honest with you, we were really good offensively.
“so practices and film were all on the defensive end, it wasn’t from lack of trying, but i think our guys in phoenix get a bad rap, you don’t win 31 road games not playing defense or rebounding or moving the basketball and i think our guys did a great job and im proud of them. that’s not going to be an issue.”
tom mcdonald, new york one “new york is a tough place to work. the landscape is littered with guys who come here with sterling reputations, and have left town, don nelson, lenny wilkins, isiah thomas, larry brown, what is it that you feel you bring to this city basketball wise, that makes you different than some of the people that have failed?”
mike D “first of all, there are a lot of cities littered with people that have failed, thats not just new york. coaching is tough profession, i think i was in phoenix my second year, and i think i had the longest tenure than any eastern conference coach, so it is not just new york it is a hard job. but it is an enjoyable job, i couldn’t think of a better place to coach than new york. i just think the lifestyle, the organization is first class, i’ve got a great guy to work with. i’ll love my players, and i’ll try to bring in a good coaching staff as well as I can, this is basketball and this is fun, so i’m excited for it.”
bruce beck, nbctv “how long do you think it will take for this franchise to be respectable, consider how bad the club was last year”
MIke D: “well, that’s one thing I’ve heard about you guys is you’ll give me plenty of time. I imagine by the third game of the preseason, we’ll need to show that we’ve turned it around. you know, its hard to put a timetable, i have no idea. we don’t have a crystal ball. there are 30 teams prepairing to make the playoffs next year, and we’re going to do everything we can to get there. the only thing i can promise is that we’re going to play hard and were going to be exciting, so put on your seatbelt and lets go.”
marc berman, ny post “it’s been said that you’re not a fan of stephon marbury, the point guard, could you shed some light on that? you did trade him pretty quickly after you became the head coach”
mike d. “yeah, you know, we traded quentin richardson too, I love quentin, he’s here. i won 62 games with quentin richarson, have nothing but great memories. there is also the business side of basketball that has to be addressed. back in phoenix that was kind of a business decision, i have no problems with steph whatsoever, i think he’s a very talented basketball player, and looking forward to working with him.”
italian press “in italy you were know as a coach who adopted to his player, you were able to win with an uptempo, but you were also able to win with a very static big men, for instance prosconi. in the nba you have a tag of being uptempo, do think think there is an unfair tag that you have in the nba just because you coach only one way?”
mike d “that was the way that was succesfull in phoenix. we brought the best out of what we had. i do know that there are things that are constant, spacing ball movement, playing as hard as you can.”
john rothstien msg network “when you played new york last year, what’s the one thing you noticed that new york needed to be more successful?”
mike d “well, that’s.. i was just looking at trying to beat them. again, well go through the summer and try to evaluate everything and try to put a great product on the floor.”
waltzstein, newark star ledger “i know you can adjust, given your preference, if you could start from scratch, what style would you like to play?”
mike d “we can go five or six seconds! shoot, we want to run, we want to be exciting, i think that’s a great style and i think the players love it. you have to be sucessful at it, and you have to play defense, i know that, we want to win a championship eventually. i know all the components you have to have, you have to have defense and rebounding and you have to have a great offense. and we will tinker with it until we try to get those components in the mix. at the same time you play to your players strengths and keep plugging away. in phoenix we had a great chance and no one is more disappointed than me, but we were there competing every night if we do that, i’m pretty happy as a coach”
ken berger, newsday “can you tell us what are the traits you are looking for in players?”
mike d “wish list? i don’t think there is no secret, be able to shoot and run and play defense and rebound and be great teammates. not all players are like that, but basically, you have to have great character and be a great teammate.”
unknown reporter “In phoenix you were used to winning, in new york, the fans are used to losing, how do you change the culture with this team to expect to win every night.”
“by winning. that’s the only thing that works. until we put the product on the floor and win, it’s not going to change anyone’s opinion. the bottom line, we need to win and do it as soon as we can and i’m looking forward to the challenge of it. i love our players and we’ll see what we can do”
AM New York asked about leaving Steve Nash behind in phoenix.
Mike D. “steve nash with him and a lot of the players we had, i wouldn’t be here if it werent for him. my son is very happy because now i can send him to a nice school because of the guys. i’m real happy to be here, but i have nothing but thanks to that organization and mainly to the players.”
howard beck asks donnie walsh if he was waiting for d’antoni over the past three weeks.
donnie walsh “yeah i think i was looking to see what was going to happen with the playoffs. i was following it and i thought there was a possibility that he might be loose, and then out of nowhere, basically about a week ago, i got a call from steve kerr, we’ll give you permission to talk to mike dantoni, i was on a plane about a day later. i can’t say i thought mike would be available when i first got here. it was a very crammed week, lets put it that way.”
Is steve nash someone you’d like to add to your list?
mike d. “lets just say that we to add players like, him obviously he was great for me in phoenix, but i think that’s where he is.”
–end of press conference–
it is worth noting that Steve Nash lives in New York City in the offseason, and has done so for years…
the thing i take away from the press conference is that Mike D’antoni’s family had a big role in his decision to come to new york, but not as big of a role as Donnie Walsh’s presence as the new president. I highly doubt D’antoni would have come to new york if Isiah was still in charge, not for $24 million, not for more.
Mike D’antoni seems like a very confident, positive guy. we need that right now. we also need a shot blocker and a real point guard, but for now, it is a start.
KD, Thanks for the typing…. nice surprise, and great Job…. good reading and so refreshing…. I love him already.
as I said earlier, its gonna be exciting basketball at the Garden.