ducks
05-06-2008, 02:52 PM
Pax meets with coach, needs to know if he'll emphasize defense
May 6, 2008Recommend (5)
BY BRIAN HANLEY [email protected]
While Bulls general manager John Paxson maintained his vow of silence with the media Monday concerning his coaching search, Paxson apparently is doing plenty of talking.
After reportedly interviewing Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap on Saturday, Paxson was in Phoenix on Sunday and Monday to meet with Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.
Word out of Phoenix is that D'Antoni told Paxson he wants to be the Bulls' next coach. New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh also traveled to Phoenix over the weekend to interview D'Antoni.
Suns GM Steve Kerr, initially hesitant to give teams permission to talk to D'Antoni, acquiesced after a meeting Friday involving Kerr, D'Antoni and Suns owner Robert Sarver.
''We value Mike D'Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team,'' Kerr said Monday in a statement released by the team. ''Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head-coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission. We will have no further comment until this process further evolves.''
The Suns are hoping D'Antoni -- who has been at odds with Kerr since November on the team's philosophy and practice policy -- will be hired by another team, getting them out of the $8.5 million they owe D'Antoni over the two remaining years on his contract.
D'Antoni declined to comment when reached by the Associated Press, and his agent, Warren LeGarie, did not return a message left by the Sun-Times.
LeGarie also represents Rick Carlisle, the first person Paxson interviewed for the Bulls' vacancy. Carlisle reportedly is close to being named coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Avery Johnson, fired by the Mavs last week, is also on Paxson's list of candidates.
The Rocky Mountain News reported that Dunlap interviewed with Paxson and Gar Forman, the Bulls' director of player personnel, at a Denver hotel Saturday.
''I feel very fortunate,'' Dunlap, who was head coach at Metro State College in Denver before joining the Nuggets, told the paper. ''It was a very good interview.''
Because he doesn't have NBA head-coaching experience, Dunlap acknowledged he's a ''dark-horse candidate,'' joking that he's a ''Clydesdale'' in the race.
As much as D'Antoni might want to take over the Bulls' bench, Paxson may have to be convinced that he will emphasize defense and hold young players accountable for mistakes, two things Kerr reportedly believes D'Antoni did not do enough this season, which ended for the Suns in a first-round exit at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
The fact that Kerr and Paxson remain close and are like-minded in their basketball philosophies could make D'Antoni a longer shot for the Bulls' job than Johnson.
Nicknamed ''The General'' for the way he ran his teams as a point guard, Johnson's firmer hand and more disciplined approach would seem to be more to Paxson's liking.
But Paxson said at the start of his search that he was willing to listen to all philosophies and wanted to hear how other basketball minds perceived the Bulls' talent and direction. The Suns reportedly have no intention of pursuing Johnson, who has indicated he might take a year off from coaching and collect the $4 million he is owed by the Mavericks next season.
Paxson also has interviewed former point guard Mark Jackson, who reportedly remains the odds-on favorite to land the Knicks' job.
Walsh also might talk with Toronto's Sam Mitchell if he and the Raptors part ways, which would make D'Antoni the likely front-runner in Toronto. Raptors president Bryan Colangelo was the one who wooed D'Antoni from Italy in 2003 to coach in Phoenix.
But the Raptors owe Mitchell about $9 million for the two years left on his contract, so Colangelo would want Mitchell to take another job to get the Raptors off the financial hook.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/933391,CST-SPT-bull06.article
May 6, 2008Recommend (5)
BY BRIAN HANLEY [email protected]
While Bulls general manager John Paxson maintained his vow of silence with the media Monday concerning his coaching search, Paxson apparently is doing plenty of talking.
After reportedly interviewing Denver Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap on Saturday, Paxson was in Phoenix on Sunday and Monday to meet with Suns coach Mike D'Antoni.
Word out of Phoenix is that D'Antoni told Paxson he wants to be the Bulls' next coach. New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh also traveled to Phoenix over the weekend to interview D'Antoni.
Suns GM Steve Kerr, initially hesitant to give teams permission to talk to D'Antoni, acquiesced after a meeting Friday involving Kerr, D'Antoni and Suns owner Robert Sarver.
''We value Mike D'Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team,'' Kerr said Monday in a statement released by the team. ''Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head-coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission. We will have no further comment until this process further evolves.''
The Suns are hoping D'Antoni -- who has been at odds with Kerr since November on the team's philosophy and practice policy -- will be hired by another team, getting them out of the $8.5 million they owe D'Antoni over the two remaining years on his contract.
D'Antoni declined to comment when reached by the Associated Press, and his agent, Warren LeGarie, did not return a message left by the Sun-Times.
LeGarie also represents Rick Carlisle, the first person Paxson interviewed for the Bulls' vacancy. Carlisle reportedly is close to being named coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Avery Johnson, fired by the Mavs last week, is also on Paxson's list of candidates.
The Rocky Mountain News reported that Dunlap interviewed with Paxson and Gar Forman, the Bulls' director of player personnel, at a Denver hotel Saturday.
''I feel very fortunate,'' Dunlap, who was head coach at Metro State College in Denver before joining the Nuggets, told the paper. ''It was a very good interview.''
Because he doesn't have NBA head-coaching experience, Dunlap acknowledged he's a ''dark-horse candidate,'' joking that he's a ''Clydesdale'' in the race.
As much as D'Antoni might want to take over the Bulls' bench, Paxson may have to be convinced that he will emphasize defense and hold young players accountable for mistakes, two things Kerr reportedly believes D'Antoni did not do enough this season, which ended for the Suns in a first-round exit at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.
The fact that Kerr and Paxson remain close and are like-minded in their basketball philosophies could make D'Antoni a longer shot for the Bulls' job than Johnson.
Nicknamed ''The General'' for the way he ran his teams as a point guard, Johnson's firmer hand and more disciplined approach would seem to be more to Paxson's liking.
But Paxson said at the start of his search that he was willing to listen to all philosophies and wanted to hear how other basketball minds perceived the Bulls' talent and direction. The Suns reportedly have no intention of pursuing Johnson, who has indicated he might take a year off from coaching and collect the $4 million he is owed by the Mavericks next season.
Paxson also has interviewed former point guard Mark Jackson, who reportedly remains the odds-on favorite to land the Knicks' job.
Walsh also might talk with Toronto's Sam Mitchell if he and the Raptors part ways, which would make D'Antoni the likely front-runner in Toronto. Raptors president Bryan Colangelo was the one who wooed D'Antoni from Italy in 2003 to coach in Phoenix.
But the Raptors owe Mitchell about $9 million for the two years left on his contract, so Colangelo would want Mitchell to take another job to get the Raptors off the financial hook.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/933391,CST-SPT-bull06.article