SI: D'Antoni accepts offer to coach Knicks

[kyrv]

have the Bulls come out with a statement about how smart and financially responsible they were yet? Or that D'Antoni was great except for being supported by Hamas?

It is possible they feared D'Antoni would go to Reverend Wright's church.

[OldSchoolNoBull]

I wonder how Mark Jackson feels. The way I understood it, he had been all but assured that the Knicks job was his, and now...

[League Circles]

Stutterstep:

I'm not soured on MD because he went to the Knicks instead of us. I'm soured on him because I think any coach who was coaching the Suns with success with a dream PG for his system with two years left on his deal would leave all of that to coach the Knicks, who I consider a trainwreck. NY is fortunate that they have a very good GM now and deep pockets. i have no doubt that NY will return to be a quality franchise soon enough. Walsh is a great addition. I do, however, think that MD is a very bad fit for your roster, and I honestly think you have the worst roster in the NBA. I truly think that almost every team in the NBA has about 4 players better than every player on the Knicks. That's OK, though, cause your salary situation will be much better soon and Walsh won't keep screwing it up like Dolan and IT did.

I think NY should trade Curry for an expiring if at all possible, cause certainly they can't trade Zach for one. Crawford's good to keep as a third guard, and Lee as a third forward. That leaves a lot of holes still, and only resources to fix one (your pick).

[fleet]

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Yeah you're right on. I can now see why the Suns were OK with him leaving, especially if he didn't want to hear anything about IMPROVING. Also, he will be eaten alive in NY. Absolutely alive. I don't think he has any idea what he's up against. Trying to get that team to win with his style.... I actually think he may be the worst fit for the Knicks and vice versa. Especially since I can't see them getting rid of Zach and Eddy very easily. Yes, Craford and others may be good or OK for MD's system, but Zach and Eddy will SUCK.

I'm sure everyone in NY is aware of the challenges. They aren't expecting things to work right away. That whole roster will get a workover.

challenge to get rid of certain players? Yes, but if you can get rid Of Ben Wallace anything is possible
Yeah, The Lakers had a tough time unloading Kwame

but seriously folks, it can't get any worse in NY. Give it time. The first instinct seems to be to predict doom over there to make ourselves feel better. I think we ought to give credit where credit is due. They made a good move for once

Man trading for Zach may have been their worst all time move. I really though tAvery would have been a decent fit for them. I don't know.

true and true. But if we are going to say D'Antoni will have it rough at first, I think it would be worse for Avery at first over there. D'Antoni at least will let them be who they are instead of cramming them into defensive schemes

[Tommy Udo 6]

I was neutral on Mr Pringles so I am devastated that we didnt get him

I suspect someone like Thibodeau was the target all along. Yet, Bulls decided to interview D'Antoni & see if he fit

JR obviously felt that he didnt

If he wanted him, the extra $4 million is only $1 million a year - and that is petty cash to JR

Wisely or wrongly, JR just didnt want him. Period

JR is cheap - but he is not stupid. A successful coach would be very profitable for the tea,. JR didnt think he'd be the right guy to lead them

[fleet]

after all the smoke clears, I would not be surprised to learn that the biggest reason MD went to NY was that they gave him free reign to run his program as is, while the accomplished Bulls management thought they could tell him a thing or 2 about winning basketball and insisted on changing him for the better

[InSportsHell]

I hope EC, upon hearing this news, went to the gym immediately. If he thinks he had heart problems in Chicago, wait until D'Antoni starts installing his offense in pratice.

[League Circles]

See for me, the only thing I ever liked about MD, which was in fact very important for me, was that he was able to relate to his players well and especially because he loved our players and wanted to coach them. I think it's important to believe in your players. I find it hard to believe that MD believes in NY's players as a group. But aparently he's OK with that if there's enough money and he's in NY.

I never really cared that much about his supposed tactical benefits, liek the thought that his up tempo game would be so great for us. I din't think it would be bad, but I'd prefer JVG at any price, and he's as slow as you get.

Also, I said that NY will eventually get much better, but it will be because of Walsh, not DA. The reason I say that is that I think different teams need different things. I think that roster needs a drill seargent with credibility, which would have been Skiles or Avery, not DA. I think we need a coach, maybe more than anything, who believes in the players, trusts them and will go to bat for them. I think our needs are much different than NY's.

As for Phoenix, I'm not sure what their needs are, but if I were them, as I've said, I'd trade Nash now, get a good coach (I also think Avery would be good their without Nash), and I'd expect them to be better, as I think that Amare and Shaq can be special together up front and Nash can return a great perimeter player who can defend.

[JeremyB0001]

I'm somewhat disappointed because D'Antoni was one of the best options available and would've done some good things for this team that none of the other options can probably do. I'm not distraught though. He had enough question marks that he wasn't head and shoulders above every other candidate IMO.

I'm glad others are furious though because the one thing that bothers me the most about this is that the organization seems to think it can do whatever it wants without being held accountable. They need to know that's not true. We've had three winning seasons and one second round playoff birth in ten seasons. If they want to continue to do things like pass up top coaching candidates, pass on great players due to money, etc. and don't win a lot in spite of that, no one should be following this team.

I'm pretty outspoken about Reinsdorf's disgusting unwillingness to spend money but I'm not convinced this is a result of that. Why have Pax interview D'Antoni twice and send Reinsdorf out to meet with him if we weren't even willing to match his Phoenix salary? It could all be an elaborate scheme to make fans think we were actively pursuing D'Antoni but I'm not sure the organization deserves that much credit.

[League Circles]

I'm somewhat disappointed because D'Antoni was one of the best options available and would've done some good things for this team that none of the other options can probably do. I'm not distraught though. He had enough question marks that he wasn't head and shoulders above every other candidate IMO.

I'm glad others are furious though because the one thing that bothers me the most about this is that the organization seems to think it can do whatever it wants without being held accountable. They need to know that's not true. We've had three winning seasons and one second round playoff birth in ten seasons. If they want to continue to do things like pass up top coaching candidates, pass on great players due to money, etc. and don't win a lot in spite of that, no one should be following this team.

I'm pretty outspoken about Reinsdorf's disgusting unwillingness to spend money but I'm not convinced this is a result of that. Why have Pax interview D'Antoni twice and send Reinsdorf out to meet with him if we weren't even willing to match his Phoenix salary? It could all be an elaborate scheme to make fans think we were actively pursuing D'Antoni but I'm not sure the organization deserves that much credit.

I really agree with you. I do think that Pax had decided he' like to hire him, but was still only 75% on whether he was the best choice, but that he was willin gto roll the dice. I think he probably was honest about this with JR (telling him that he wanted to hire him but that he thought there was a risk that he wouldn't work out well - which is reasonable), and JR decided to chat with him himself. Jr probably met with him and wasn't that impressed, which also isn;t suprising as MD probably didn't want to meet with JR due to his ego and thought he shouldn't have to interview a third time for a different person.

JR probably then told Pax, "hey, screw it, neither of us are sure about this guy, he has major question marks, will cost a lot, and there are other good candidates we haven;t interviewed yet. Let's not even make an offer because although I may be willing to risk normal money on this guy, NY will probably drive the price to a ridiculous level , and we'll back off because of the risks and look bad in the process to the fans. Let's just move forward and get a traditionally strong coach who relates to players and rusn rotations better than Skiles."

And Pax was glad to not have to make the decision anymore, cause he always had doubts. I think Pax may have been a little swept off of his feet with MD loving the Bulls players so much, as that is a direct comliment and credit to how Pax has done his job. The effect of that on Pax faded as the days went by, IMO.

[kyrv]

I'm going to wait until we find out. I have a feeling, neither Paxson, JR, or MD are going to look great. But that's a guess.

[moocow007]

NYC destroyed LB's rep in one years time. He's a Hall of Famer and Championhip coach. D'Antoni is none of those things..

LB helped destroy his own reputation.

[DanTown8587]

D'Antoni went to NY because of three reasons:

1. He will have much more input on the players that come in. D'Antoni never was happy when Phoenix gave the GM job to Kerr, he wants to bring in his system players.

2. $$$. If neither team is a title contender, why would you coach a team for over a 15% discount?

3. JR probably reminded him to much of Sarver. D'Antoni never vocally expressed it, but you know it had to be upsetting to never get good players that were young and athletic in there the past three years. D'Antoni only plays guys he thinks are talented. Maybe he didn't think JR would start selling draft picks, but maybe he also didn't think JR was fully committed to winning over money. Dolan on the other hand, would probably pay a $100 million payroll to just make the playoffs.

[Neusch23]

Welll, I was more up set that we didn't get Larry Brown...but when Dantony was availible, he was a good fit, and would have been fun to watch....but I don't think he wins us a championship.

either way, we are going to get stuck with a newby coach, and have to live with the growing pains.
...
We all know what it is like to have a first time head coach after this last seaons...

To me, if we sign thibo...we have the worst head coach in the league.

Part of the reason that people wanted to sign in PHX was the system they ran.

I know they were serious, and I think Pax again just felt it was a done deal., a

I really think pax can stay as the GM, but I believe the Bulls should hire a prez of basketball ops that has a pair and that wants to build a winner...

[JeremyB0001]

Jr probably met with him and wasn't that impressed, which also isn;t suprising as MD probably didn't want to meet with JR due to his ego and thought he shouldn't have to interview a third time for a different person.

All good points.

My first reaction, considering that I didn't think we were on a strict deadline to make an offer, was that due to his ego, D'Antoni was turned off by the Bulls' uncertainty and decided he'd rather be with the team that more actively courted him.

Reversing course and deciding not to make an offer at all after Reinsdorf's meeting could also be a possibility.

[kyrv]

Three reasons Pringles went to New York:

1) More money.

2) More money.

3) More money.

That's my guess. I was worried about his character when he didn't want to coach the Suns but wouldn't quit unless he had guaranteed big bucks lined up. Shows lack of confidence and, well, $.

[fleet]

well I'm getting upset seeing it repeated over and over how many flaws D'Antoni had. Is this etched on a stone tablet someplace? Just because a bunch of red assed Phoenix fans and an arrogant Suns management are blaming the coach doesn't make this the 11th Commandment

[AirP.]

Yes! NY helps our franchise again. What a waste of money for NY. Sweet, even less defense, similar problem they had before, except on hook for 6 mill a year for it now! Awesome!

Now go get Avery

Because ever since he went away from Nellie's system with defense first... they've not got past the first round with their talent the last 2 years.

Yeah... Johnson's a great choice

[DuckIII]

Why would you guys be upset about not hiring him?

A lot of us aren't. But we're hiding in our basements to avoid becoming casualties of the rioting.

[League Circles]

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Because ever since he went away from Nellie's system with defense first... they've not got past the first round with their talent the last 2 years.

Yeah... Johnson's a great choice

In Dallas/Avery's defense, what do you mean by "with their talent?"

I'm confused by people who think Dallas is a particularly talented team. They have a top 5 PF, a top 10 SF, and a couple decent guards in Stack and Terry. Kidd was brand new to the system, and even so is maybe not a top 10 PG anymore. They are talented, but NO is clearly much more so, with the best PG, a top 5 center, an all star PF and a great outside shooter in Peja. They're more talented and more well balanced. I mean Dallas was supposed to lose that. Yes they should have beat GS the year before, and I would like to think Avery learned from that. Dallas just isn't an elite team in terms of talent.