Let it be said the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey is never as smart nor as handsome as when he is echoing my sentiments. “I’m stunned and baffled by the decision,” writes Vecsey of the Knicks’ hiring of Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach. “Eddy Curry’s cardiologist already has organized a protest stroll.”
If not Mark Jackson, who Donnie Walsh told me was definitely his backup choice had D’Antoni preferred to coach the Bulls, Cesar Milan would’ve made perfect sense. More than anything, the Knicks need a strong pack leader. By all accounts emanating from Phoenix, D’Antoni made very few demands, thus consequences were almost nonexistent when details were ignored and defense wasn’t employed.
Walsh is well aware of D’Antoni’s inability to extract so much as a consistently pedestrian defensive effort from Amare Stoudemire. That discredits both the player and the coach. Walsh brushes off such criticism. He has always held D’Antoni in high esteem.
It’s well documented how D’Antoni felt about Marbury after coaching him briefly in 2003-04; the Suns were better off without him. The Knicks are still hung over from Marbury’s intoxicating acquisition. How ironic that one of the prime wheelers behind that deal (Jerry and Bryan Colangelo coordinated the swindle) that helped sabotage the Knicks is reunited with Marbury (next season, anyway) for the franchise’s next attempted reconstruction.
When it became obvious Jackson was a legit candidate to fill the Knicks’ coaching cavity, sources say Marbury reached out to him and pledged allegiance to his unraised flag. Determined to resurrect his career and upgrade his reputation, Marbury promised to do whatever was asked and vowed to show up in camp in great physical and mental shape.
Still, in the opinion of every league person I regularly consult in such situations – excepting Walsh, the only mind that matters – Jackson was the ideal fresh voice to reach Marbury, Curry, Zach Randolph, Crawford, Quentin Richardson (another D’Antoni reject), Jerome James and Jared Jeffries.
Who would’ve had a better chance to get Knicks players to quit their low-down ways for the next year or two until cap restrictions subside? The point god whose motivating message was well received by the vast majority of teammates during his 17-year playing career? Or the coach who had it made in the shade because of Nash and the Suns are excited is gone?
Like Barack Obama, Jackson would’ve been a more effective choice for change because of his inexperience.
I’ve heard at least one radio yackster opine that perhaps the acquisition of D’Antoni might make MSG a more attractive work environment in 2010 when the likes of LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh hit restricted free agency. It’s not a ridiculous line of reasoning, but it remains to be seem just how committed D’Antoni and Wash are to a housecleaning in 2008.
does vecsey think that anyone actually wants to coach in phoenix while having the shit micromanaged out of them one curl at a time by steve kerr? with steve nash in obvious decline and shaq even past that point? it’s not like there was anything left for phoenix, they’re not a contender with a halfcourt offense…and even if they were (meaning that they’d be able to be the spurs) they still can’t get past the lakers, jazz, or hornets.
case in point: who cares if the suns are excited about him leaving? the brain trust that oversaw the suns reaching their peak are now all out of the picture. what’s steve kerr shown he can do besides being allegedly bullied into trading for shaq by d’antoni?
not to put words in Poison Pete’s mouth, Matt, but New York wasn’t the only franchise with a job opening. You could make an argument for Dallas being a team in decline, too, but even the dysfunctional Bulls seem (far) closer to contention than the Knicks.
Either we’re supposed to believe D’Antoni “loves a challenge” or Cablevision did the only thing they know how to do (besides fuck their customers and sexually harrass the employees) — grossly overpay.
” the brain trust that oversaw the suns reaching their peak are now all out of the picture”
Indeed. And with that in mind, it would be interesting to know if there was ever a thought in Toronto about replacing Sam Mitchell with D’Antoni.
Toronto, Chicago, New Jersey, even New Orleans (which shouldn’t fire Byron Scott, although the team has looked horrid the last two games) — there are any number of teams I’d rather see D’Antoni coach than the Knicks. While the team shouldn’t have any problem adapting to his defense-optional stezo, the rest of what he brought to Phoenix and used to make the team beautiful — finding a bunch of talented, athletic players willing to do whatever was asked; having a spectacularly unselfish point guard; putting together what generally was the best-conditioned team in the league — just plain isn’t there on the Knicks roster, the untradeability of which hasn’t changed for all these signings.
No one, but no one, can win with the Knicks roster as presently constituted. And barring a lottery win that brings Derrick Rose into the fold, that roster just isn’t going to change. Trying to put together an unselfish, break-oriented team out of these achy, aging, gripe-intensive ol’ doofs is not a task I’d wish on anyone. Let alone the coach who gave NBA fans the most enjoyable teams of the last decade. Bummer city.
As a Bulls fan I heaved a big sigh of relief when Chicago “missed out” on him- Phoenix was a special, unusual situation and for D’Antoni’s second act I keep picturing Paul Westhead- but I agree the Knicks seem a particularly terrible fit.
Toronto would have been by far the best situation but there’s way too much front office baggage, which is why Phoenix never granted permission for those parties to talk.
By the way, I thought Donnie Walsh was a genius- so does he have a next batch of complementary moves we’re overlooking, or did he just make a big blunder?
gc and david- if you really think the bulls are competitors with d’antoni i think you’re overrating their roster like most of the league did 2 years ago. luol deng doesn’t have the range that turns him into a three point threat like shawn marion which opened up so much more for the phoenix offense, hinrich is a b+ point guard at his best, ben gordon is a chucker who can’t get to the rim with the frequency of someone like barbosa or a defender like raja bell, tyrus thomas is more raw offensively than anyone that will be drafted this year. it’s not like the bulls have a bunch of stars or even one…there’s not a nash or a stoudemire or a marion on that team. granted the knicks aren’t even on par w/ that but there’s obviously a plan to blow up that roster or else mike d’antoni wouldn’t of gone there. i don’t think it’s all about d’antoni going there just because he’d have a few extra bills to make it rain whenever he shows up @ the scoot inn. but maybe i’m not cynical enough about it.
The Bulls roster isn’t as good as I thought it would be, that’s true. But the individual shortcomings you mentioned above are exactly the sort of things that D’Antoni proved so adept at covering up in Phoenix. I also think that Larry Hughes and Hinrich and maybe even Nocioni are every bit the defenders that Raja Bell is, and that Thomas and Noah’s relative lack of back-to-the-basket offense would be easily concealed if all you were asking them to do was run the floor, rebound, and dunk. You’re right that there’s no Stoudemire walking through that proverbial door, and that Deng may well have plateaued. But that’s still a pretty good team; if they get a real coach who’ll open things up — instead of trying to turn them into the Pat Riley Knicks, which seemed to be Skiles’ (terrible) idea — I bet they’ll do a lot better than they did last year. Who that coach is, I don’t know. What’s Doug Moe up to?
DR- eek!
Skiles had the Bulls running nearly as much (like within a few possessions) as D’Antoni’s Suns, they just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Skiles ran the same speedy offense when he coached Phoenix, and those teams couldn’t score either. Riley’s Knicks were always at the bottom of the league in pace.
But you are way more right than Matt, it’s just tough to respond to that kind of commentary.
what kind of commentary? run on sentences?
really though. the knicks will be good w. dantoni…eventually.
It was lazy and overstated. I’m too lazy to point out what a sucky defender Nocioni is, Deng and Marion playing two different positions, Gordon’s non-chucky TS%, and Thomas’ positive offensive traits. I have no idea what a B+ point guard is, so you’ve got me there.
Everyone guilty of overrating the Bulls prior to 2007-08 had a good reason. Unless you’re making a lame hindsight observation, you had some dumb ideas about Chicago at the beginning of the season.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard this was happening. But of course I totally believe it. Mark Jackson was so perfect a choice it hurts – after all, who better to teach troubled players about how to turn your career around than the former jerk who did the airplane every time he scored a basket?
This whole thing feels like a Don Nelson flashback – a name coach inheriting a team upon which he cannot implement any of the things that made him a name coach in the first place. Tack on another four years to the ‘rebuilding’.
TH
b+ as in…uh…a report card? he’s the top of the second tier on his best day.
nocioni regularly guards the other teams best player and locks them down?
deng and shawn marion aren’t small forwards by trade? they’re not roughly the same size? they’re both face up offensive players…
and if you’re ben gordon…who can’t get to the rim…who shoots like 95% jump shots and shoots in the low 40s i bet. you’re a chucker.
the bulls always had flaws that would keep them from being what everyone thought they would be, they had no post scorer, they still don’t. they needed someone who can takeover games with consistency, and they don’t have that either.
Heh, you really haven’t watched the Bulls, and the rest is easily looked up.
sure.