duncan228
12-14-2008, 01:22 PM
Minus coach Mike D'Antoni, things not so hot for Phoenix Suns (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2008/12/13/2008-12-13_minus_coach_mike_dantoni_things_not_so_h.html)
By Frank Isola
SACRAMENTO - The Phoenix Suns team that Mike D'Antoni sees tomorrow barely resembles the one that averaged 58 wins during his four seasons with the club.
A disgruntled Steve Nash is still around, and Amare Stoudemire is still wreaking havoc in the paint. But just about everything else with the run-and-gun Suns (14-10) has changed and continues to change.
On Wednesday, the team traded two D'Antoni favorites, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, to the Charlotte Bobcats for shooting guard Jason Richardson. The move comes less than a year after Shawn Marion was dispatched to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal in a deal that D'Antoni says he supported even though it went against the coach's basic philosophy of playing small and fast.
Asked about the trade of Bell and Diaw, D'Antoni replied: "I can't comment on that one. It's too hot."
D'Antoni's vision of the team clashed with that of his general manager, Steve Kerr, who was a role player on championship teams in Chicago and San Antonio. Kerr was surrounded by superstar talent - Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago and Tim Duncan and David Robinson in San Antonio - that dominated on the defensive end. Kerr wanted D'Antoni to focus more on defense.
It didn't seem like an outrageous request, but D'Antoni, feeling threatened, eventually left the Suns following their first-round loss to the Spurs and signed with the Knicks. Meanwhile, Kerr is building the team he wants, although the results have not been as good.
"They're trying to get better and win a title," D'Antoni said last night. "Things come up that you think are better and you try to seize the opportunity. Lots of times it works out and sometimes it doesn't."
On the eve of his return to Phoenix, D'Antoni is being careful not to say anything even remotely critical of the Suns, Kerr or his (D'Antoni's) successor, Terry Porter.
"A lot of good stuff went on there," he said. "It's basketball. We sometimes make it a life and death situation. It's not a drama. I had the best four years I've had in basketball and a lot of good friends."
By Frank Isola
SACRAMENTO - The Phoenix Suns team that Mike D'Antoni sees tomorrow barely resembles the one that averaged 58 wins during his four seasons with the club.
A disgruntled Steve Nash is still around, and Amare Stoudemire is still wreaking havoc in the paint. But just about everything else with the run-and-gun Suns (14-10) has changed and continues to change.
On Wednesday, the team traded two D'Antoni favorites, Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, to the Charlotte Bobcats for shooting guard Jason Richardson. The move comes less than a year after Shawn Marion was dispatched to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal in a deal that D'Antoni says he supported even though it went against the coach's basic philosophy of playing small and fast.
Asked about the trade of Bell and Diaw, D'Antoni replied: "I can't comment on that one. It's too hot."
D'Antoni's vision of the team clashed with that of his general manager, Steve Kerr, who was a role player on championship teams in Chicago and San Antonio. Kerr was surrounded by superstar talent - Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago and Tim Duncan and David Robinson in San Antonio - that dominated on the defensive end. Kerr wanted D'Antoni to focus more on defense.
It didn't seem like an outrageous request, but D'Antoni, feeling threatened, eventually left the Suns following their first-round loss to the Spurs and signed with the Knicks. Meanwhile, Kerr is building the team he wants, although the results have not been as good.
"They're trying to get better and win a title," D'Antoni said last night. "Things come up that you think are better and you try to seize the opportunity. Lots of times it works out and sometimes it doesn't."
On the eve of his return to Phoenix, D'Antoni is being careful not to say anything even remotely critical of the Suns, Kerr or his (D'Antoni's) successor, Terry Porter.
"A lot of good stuff went on there," he said. "It's basketball. We sometimes make it a life and death situation. It's not a drama. I had the best four years I've had in basketball and a lot of good friends."