D’Antoni to… New York?!?!

If you’re sitting there in complete disarray right now, you’re not alone.  Its one thing for a team to make a stupid trade or to draft a player and have him crash and burn, but to purposely commit career suicide is something else altogether.  This is something I cannot begin to understand, let alone fathom.  Mike D’Antoni to New York- I just don’t get it.

I was tentative to even write this article because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.   I admire D’Antoni if his passion weren’t so idiotically channeled.  I’m not one to go out and just bash someone, but this is unbelievable.  It’s not that he won’t succeed here, he can’t.  This is a marriage that simply cannot work.  It’s like Ike and Tina.  D’Antoni is going to go there, he’s going to fail, and then he’s going to get pimp slapped by the media over and over again.

Right now no one is blaming D’Antoni for what happened in Phoenix, and certainly no one is doubting his genius as a basketball coach.  One could even attest that he played a defining role in bring the fan back to the league post-Jordan.  That will soon change. 

Patience is something that doesn’t exist in New York.  They like their life fast and their championships even faster.  He isn’t going to be able to deliver, at least not in the first few seasons.  It takes a certain roster for this man to work his magic, one that is built on speed and chemistry, or in other words, the exact opposite of what the Knicks have on the books.  They are big and slow, more defensive minded, if they have any positive attributes at all.  A D’Antoni team runs and doesn’t play much defense.  This is basically the reason was even looking for a job.  The Phoenix front office went against their coach by dealing Shawn Marion to Miami for Shaq, which was the equivalent of casting Jenna Jameson as June Cleaver in a remake of Leave it to Beaver.

It doesn’t look like things are going to get any better any time soon.  The Knicks books are locked up for the foreseeable future, so there will be no quick turn around like D’Antoni experienced with the Suns.  Ironically, his success and the Knicks demise can be traced back 2003 deal that sent Penny Hardaway and Stephen Marbury to New York.  This move would lock up the Knicks salary for the foreseeable future, while clearing cap space so that the Suns could sign Steve Nash that offseason.  Who knows, now that he is reunited with Marbury, maybe he will be the coach that can finally get him to get his head in the game, but from the outside looking in it appears that he’ll be one of the first players made available since he doesn’t really fit the system.  This will likely be addressed in the Draft, but if he can’t fix things, and fix them fast will he be given the chance to see this thing through?

In choosing New York, D’Antoni will become the Knicks sixth coach in seven seasons.  Clearly, when things go bad, heads roll.  So, what makes him any different?  Larry Brown, one of the games most successful coaches of all time, was given the old heave ho after one bad season. 

The good news is that New York finally looks committed to winning.  They’ve made all the right moves in their front office, especially by bringing in Donnie Walsh, who had the much needed gull to fire Isiah Thomas.  Walsh presence is said to be what tipped the scale for D’Antoni.  He has a reputation of being very hands off, which was a major selling point after publically clashing with Steve Kerr over differing philosophies last season.  With Walsh, D’Antoni, and the city itself, New York could become a favorite destination for free agents, so an end may be in sight, but it’s going to take work, and some serious creativity to get out from under their financial burdens.

Still, choosing New York is a little puzzling, especially when the Bulls were pursing him at the same time.  With their cast of young, athletic players it seemed the natural fit.  Now toss in the fact they the franchise isn’t a mess, and it seems like a no-brainer.  We’ll never know what happened behind closed doors, unless, of course, someone speaks up, but this doesn’t look good for John Paxson.  Just this past year Paxson has had a shot at acquiring Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and now D’Antoni, and he struck out each time.

The Knicks appear to be making all the right moves, now they just have to fix the roster.  For D’Antoni’s sake, I hope Walsh is as brilliant as everyone thinks he is.