# Knicks hire D'Antoni, according to SI.com



## Zuca (Dec 4, 2003)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/05/10/coach.knicks/index.html?eref=sircrc

Bad move in my opinion. Bulls is a way better fit for D'Antoni to coach than Knicks, who needed a defensive-minded coach.


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## knickstorm (Jun 22, 2003)

terrible hire, they got a win now coach without a win now team......might as well have hired mark, let the team and him grow together, especially when Walsh is gonna start trying to clean house..........like i said, the knicks play no defense as is, maybe walsh just wants them to be more fun to watch...........but after seeing how far he could take nash/stoudemire/marion-shaq, how far can we expect him to take marbury/curry/randolph...............we will be calling for his head after the first 2-3 months on the job, even though it wont really be his fault.


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

Walsh is off to such an idiotic start, back to the same old Knicks. This is a brutal hire, we just got a soft coach who is going to let these guys run all over him, and they won't play a lick of defense. Just brutal!


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## knicksfan (Jan 4, 2003)

If he can do to Marbury what he did to Nash (or at least close to it) this is a nice hire. Of course this now means that Balkman and Lee will be less useful unless D'Antoni changes his ways a bit, but next year will probably be a slightly better version of this year's team. D'Antoni IS a historical winner though, so maybe he can implement something good.


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

^ Historical winner? I can win some ball games too if I had Nasty Nash on my squad, and Amare.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

bottom line , he's a good coach , the team has some talent , i expect some real improvement off of that alone.

walsh also has a lotto pick he should use for some help...possibly the MLE and while paying D'Antoni 6 mil. a year it would seem to be unwise to gut a team so he doesn't have much to work with.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Its sweet for D'Antoni and bad for the Knicks IMO. Its a 4 year deal and with all the bad contracts he really isnt expected to have a big turnaround the first 2 years. He is a decent coach but I dont know about him getting any better with his stubborn ways. I expect the Knicks to win several more games but nothing to give too serious of hope for the near future. His coaching methods in the east coast should be interesting


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

knicksfan said:


> If he can do to Marbury what he did to Nash (or at least close to it) this is a nice hire. Of course this now means that Balkman and Lee will be less useful unless D'Antoni changes his ways a bit, but next year will probably be a slightly better version of this year's team. D'Antoni IS a historical winner though, so maybe he can implement something good.


I don't know how two players like Lee and Balkman become less useful in an uptempo offense that'll give both of them easier shots and better utilize their hustling abilities.


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## Dean the Master (Feb 19, 2006)

Well, now the team's got a good coach, it's time to change the team up. 

Relax people, I am sure the Knicks are not going into another season with this lineup. I expect major changes.


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## ChosenFEW (Jun 23, 2005)

im not upset.... but im not ecstatic about it either



we'll see what happens on draft night


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## iversonfan 349 (Oct 15, 2006)

That sucks for him the knicks are still going to struggle.


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## knicksfan89 (Jan 6, 2005)

I am not sure I agree with all of you I mean give it time


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## knicksfan (Jan 4, 2003)

USSKittyHawk said:


> ^ Historical winner? I can win some ball games too if I had Nasty Nash on my squad, and Amare.


Don Nelson had Nash AND Dirk and never won a championship with them, honestly. Sure, D'Antoni probably won't ever win a championship in New York, but at this point would you really be mad with a perrenial contender that can score 125 a night? Not that we will be that right away, but I think with a few years under D'Antoni, we'll be back in the playoffs. The old way (Larry Brown's defense first mentality and Don Cheney's "Wierd offensive sets" as Marbury put it) were unsuccesful, so why not bring in an offensive minded coach who can open up the floor a bit? You know he will make his guys play smart and hustle for boards, that's part of the euro game. This is definetly an interesting hire, but I'm going to let it play out before trashing it.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

By: Dustin Chapman




Recent reports circulating around the sports world suggest that Mike D’Antoni has left the Phoenix Suns with the intention of becoming the newest head coach of your New York Knicks. The reported contract agreement is said to hover around the four-year, $24 million vicinity.

In his six years of head coaching experience in the NBA, D’Antoni has held a respectable 267-172 (.608) regular season record, and has reached back-to-back Conference Finals series’ (2005, 2006). Along with those credentials, however, comes questions regarding his ability (or inability, depending on which way you look at it) to make adjustments and lead a team to the next level. With his new surroundings, he’ll have even more to prove.

The latest inquiry about Mike D’Antoni is whether or not he is the right fit for the New York Knicks. Before the ink has even made its way to the league office, I’m here to tell you why he is not, from multiple angles.

Team Direction/Personnel: D’Antoni is evidently a coach that has adopted the run n’ gun style, and has yet to show that he is able of adjust to a contrasting setting. He is a coach that requires the proper personnel to operate his system.

The New York Knicks defy everything D’Antoni is known for. One thing D’Antoni needs is a reliable point guard to set the tone. Stephon Marbury certainly has the talent to do so, but his mental antics and me-first mentality contradict the type of initiator D’Antoni needs. Moving down the roster, a Mike D’Antoni system needs a collective group of athletes willing to get out in the open floor and push the tempo at all times. Looking at New York’s top options, it’s clear that they do not have that. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph have absolutely no desire to get in shape, and might even be unable to run unless they are racing for a whopper. Even then, they might stop halfway and wind up splitting the burger.

Some of New York’s athletic role players, such as Renaldo Balkman, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Nate Robinson are hustle players that will provide the energy and effort that D’Antoni is asking for, but those aren’t the guys that will be demanding touches.

Overall, this roster lacks the mental and physical needs to suit D’Antoni’s body of work. The players may enjoy the “shoot within seven seconds” memo, especially Jamal Crawford, but they do not have the wheels or will power to get the job done as a group.

Defense has been one the biggest issues in New York for a plethora of consecutive years. Logically, it makes sense to bring in a defensive-minded coach to ameliorate the problem. Unfortunately, Knicks General Manager Donnie Walsh appears to disagree. Throughout his career, Mike D’Antoni has not shown the ability or desire to teach defensive basketball, and it is now definitively convincing that the Knicks will continue their struggles in that area.

Financially, this does nothing more or less than dig a deeper hole for the franchise with the league’s largest payroll. In addition to their cast of overpaid scoundrels in uniform, the Knicks are now paying a one-dimensional head coach roughly $24 million to coach a team lacking direction or the necessary pieces to adapt to his methods.

If you’re going to spend this kind of money on a coach, why not wait until the team’s direction is defined with light at the end of the tunnel? The Knicks are in a dark tunnel with instability poisoning the organization across the board. This is a match made in hell that will not benefit either party any time soon.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

I'm confused with most people's rationale. I say it is fair to assume that its evident that the Knicks need changes with their personnel, right? So why is everyone knocking the D'Antoni signing? He may very well symbolize the first move in preparing for the changes with this roster. The league is becoming more uptempo and so should we, which D'Antoni certainly will help do. We're not likely going to be competitive for a season or two but at least we'll have the officials in place that will cultivate what we want to do. You got to have a system in place first before you start bringing in players to win, which is something DaGrinch touched on earlier. I do not think we're that far away from being the sort of team I just mentioned either. Aside from maybe Randolph or Curry, all our other key players can get up and down the court fairly quickly. With our draft pick this year, we could be a lot closer than most think to having a D'Antoni type team; hopefully he brings in some defensive minded assistants.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

P.S., I know a lot of people complain about the Knicks not entering the foreign markets to acquire the next up and comer. Hiring D'Antoni should certainly help considering he is very familiar with the European market and plays a style of offense that attracts most Europeans ie Bostan Nachbar who now has interest in the Knicks. D'Antoni compliments Walsh well in this regard because I can not remember Donnie ever drafting a good European.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

TwinkieFoot said:


> P.S., I know a lot of people complain about the Knicks not entering the foreign markets to acquire the next up and comer. Hiring D'Antoni should certainly help considering he is very familiar with the European market and plays a style of offense that attracts most Europeans ie Bostan Nachbar who now has interest in the Knicks. D'Antoni compliments Walsh well in this regard because I can not remember Donnie ever drafting a good European.


p. brezec was a walsh draft pick, snatched away by the bobcats in the expansion draft....also he drafted rik smits , although he went to an american college.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

Da Grinch said:


> p. brezec was a walsh draft pick, snatched away by the bobcats in the expansion draft....also he drafted rik smits , although he went to an american college.


I stand corrected but the intent of what I was trying to say is that D'Antoni is familiar with the foreign markets, which does not appear to be Walsh's strong suit. On the other hand, most foreign players do not ever amount to be anything more than complimentary/role players. These sort of players can help you become a better team though.


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## Damian Necronamous (Jun 10, 2002)

So D'Antoni is interested in bringing in Barbosa and Diaw, according to several sources.

If he can maybe do a deal like Jamal Crawford, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson and Malik Rose for Barbosa and Diaw, the Knicks will be in better shape. I could see Phoenix doing that, as it adds depth, keeps a scorer coming off the bench (Crawford) and gives them $7 million in cap relief next year with Rose's contract. Malik could probably even log some minutes in Phoenix.

PG: Leandro Barbosa
SG: O.J. Mayo?/Jerryd Bayless?/Eric Gordon?
SF: Boris Diaw
PF: Zach Randolph
C: David Lee

I'd hang on to Quentin Richardson, Balkman and Mardy Collins as backups but do all I could to get rid of Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries and Jerome James. When I say "all I could", that includes dealing future first round picks.

They could try to deal Marbury, but all they'd be taking back would be more huge contracts, so they should just buy out his final season. Although, who knows? Maybe they could deal him to Cleveland and get Eric Snow and Wally Szczerbiak out of him. Both are expirings and Szczerbiak would at least be in New York's rotation.


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## TwinkieFoot (Jul 8, 2006)

Damian Necronamous said:


> So D'Antoni is interested in bringing in Barbosa and Diaw, according to several sources.
> 
> If he can maybe do a deal like Jamal Crawford, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson and Malik Rose for Barbosa and Diaw, the Knicks will be in better shape. I could see Phoenix doing that, as it adds depth, keeps a scorer coming off the bench (Crawford) and gives them $7 million in cap relief next year with Rose's contract. Malik could probably even log some minutes in Phoenix.
> 
> ...


We'd be in better shape but the question is whether the cost of adding those players long term is worth the prospects of financial flexibility. I have never been one to support gutting a team for cap space but I certainly am not one to support bringing in high priced role players to a team without core pieces (for what we want to do). We need to address how we are going to obtain the players we'll build around in our new basketball culture and then worry about the Barbosa's and Diaw's of the league. I think the draft this year is the first step and maybe bring in a couple complimentary players that effect your team to a much greater degree ie Josh Smith.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

is hiring d'antoni not more of the same? imo, it seems like the franchise is just going around in circles, hiring the biggest name at every opportunity (regardless of how 'different' this year's big name is from last's). lenny wilkens, larry brown, isiah thomas, mike d'antoni- they're different in most every way save for the fact that they're well known for/through the media. 

i don't know. as knicks fans, you're being told that it's different this time, but isn't that what they say every time? i don't think this team is looking to be bad, i just think they're caught in the same trap/habit of finding the biggest name to serve them. the strategy has not worked in a long time; i think they would do well to try something different now, in spite of how 'controversial' it would seem through the media.

honestly, i think this d'antoni move is a major waste. i don't think the problem with this team is x's and o's- or basketball at any level. i think it's culture. for a team in the knicks' position, that issue will not change as long as they continue to roll out the red carpet for their next celebrity addition. instead, bring in a guy who nobody's ever heard of. they'll have to pay for it for awhile (until people get used to him) but at least it'll have the chance to succeed in the end. more of the same probably won't get it done, imo. i mean, you've already seen this before.

peace


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

^ Couldn't agree with you more Ballock!


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