D'Antoni Closer to Deal with Knicks than Bulls

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/933889,bull050608.article

Report states D'Antoni-Bulls close, but are they?
May 7, 2008
BY JOHN JACKSON
General manager John Paxson has declined to comment, but ESPN.com is reporting, citing NBA front-office sources, that the Bulls and Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni are close to agreeing on a deal. But a Phoenix radio station reports that D'Antoni is closer to a deal with the New York Knicks because money is getting in the way of a Bulls' deal.

And Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf once told WSCR-AM (670) that the next head coach will have to adhere to the organization's defensive philosophy. D'Antoni is an offensive-minded coach.

The Sun-Times reported in Tuesday’s edition that D’Antoni wants to coach the Bulls next season. In 4 1/2 seasons under D’Antoni, the Suns have a 253-136 record, including two 60-win seasons. But D’Antoni and GM Steve Kerr have had a clash of philosophies since the former Bull took over the front office before last season and a split might be in the best interest of all.

That’s why the Suns allowed the Bulls and other teams to speak with D’Antoni. The Suns don’t want to fire D’Antoni because he has two years and $8.5 million left on his contract. If he leaves for another job, the Suns won’t owe him anything.

A Bulls source said a deal with D’Antoni isn’t in place and it’s doubtful a contract has been offered. But if the Bulls hope to land D’Antoni, they probably will have to move quickly. The Suns likely will want to have D’Antoni’s future determined by the end of the week.

Contributing: Brian Hanley

[CubanMustGo]

Watching D'antoni deal with that mess in NY would almost make up for what's happening to the Spurs.

[MajicMan]

that would be career suicide taking over for the knicks..two failures in a row would ensure a lengthy lay off before anyone ever hires him again. if they would hire him.

[nashzilla]

that would be career suicide taking over for the knicks..two failures in a row would ensure a lengthy lay off before anyone ever hires him again. if they would hire him.

3rd biggest turnaround in nba history, two 60 win seasons in 4 years, four 50 win seasons in four years. i wouldn't exactly call that failing.:rolleyes

[MajicMan]

3rd biggest turnaround in nba history, two 60 win seasons in 4 years, four 50 win seasons in four years. i wouldn't exactly call that failing.:rolleyes

thank steve nash..

[Zee Laker]

thank steve nash..


umm NO. Thats like when haters say about Phil riding his stars to 9 rings

[JMarkJohns]

umm NO. Thats like when haters say about Phil riding his stars to 9 rings

Umm YES. D'Antoni had Marion, Amare and Johnson and went 21-40 the year prior to Nash. Nash comes in with Quentin Richardson (entirely dependant upon Nash for the set up for his threes) and they only lose 20 games of 82 the next season.

That same season with a healthy squad sans Nash, he went 2-6. That meant with Nash in the lineup, D'Antoni compiled a 60-14 record.

That 2-6 (.250) sans-Nash record is much closer as far as win percentage goes to his previous two years coaching sans-Nash (.280 and .344) that his Nash-led teams.

[pauls931]

that would be career suicide taking over for the knicks..two failures in a row would ensure a lengthy lay off before anyone ever hires him again. if they would hire him.

His only failure is not winning the title. Frankly I'll hate seeing him go. More boring half court pound me in the ass offense from some other coach I guess...

[Tacker]

OMG Come on Bulls get him

[MajicMan]

that makes sense, but after Steve left the Mavs they had a better winning percentage too..it was the system that D' Antoni ran that helped Nash! Nash was never a nba caliber point guard on the Mavs. So even though he doesn't believe in defense or trust young players, he is an offensive genius! Shit the Suns even with Shaq were scoring roughly the same amount of points.

Never NBA caliber? You obviously never watched him play in Dallas. He was the man in Dallas not Skirt. He did exactly what he has been doing in Phoenix.

[Armando]

He is crazy if he takes over for the Knicks.

[Jeremy]

And now this:


The Suns aren't expected to seek compensation for D'Antoni's exit and merely are looking to offset their financial commitment over a failed relationship.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080506-mike-dantoni-chicago-bulls-knicks,1,1581969.story

I was hoping the Suns could maybe swap 1st round draft picks with Chicago or NY... But then again, the Suns should have gotten the Heat's first round pick in the Shaq trade, but didn't even ask for one if I remember correctly. Kerr has got to be one of the worst GM's as far as making player moves, so far. (Although a lot of it ihas been Robert Sarver's fault.)

Having a better coach might not help much, if we still have a horrible GM and owner. :(

[ducks]

they want to get rid of the coaches big bloated contract

[JackArse]

the other thing he may be looking at, besides a bigger contract with the knicks, a solid gm, and the year that lebron becomes a free agent is the year that the knicks have alot of money coming off the books..

[mojorizen7]

the other thing he may be looking at, besides a bigger contract with the knicks, a solid gm, and the year that lebron becomes a free agent is the year that the knicks have alot of money coming off the books..

Agree.

[sribb43]

LOL at the Suns not wanting any compensation for D'Antoni heading to Chicago. There just interested in shedding his contract.....Sarver is such a cheapskate

[Matchman]

Actually the Knicks have a load of offensive players that dont care about playing defense (Curry, Crawford, Robinson, Randolph, J-Rich, etc), the exact kind of players that coach D likes. so if they can just get a Raja-Bell-like defensive stopper, they might get into the playoffs next year with coach D.

[Ray Combs]

the other thing he may be looking at, besides a bigger contract with the knicks, a solid gm, and the year that lebron becomes a free agent is the year that the knicks have alot of money coming off the books..

Lebron won't be going to the Knicks. If anything, he'll go to New Jersey/Brooklyn. Jay-Z connection.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Actually the Knicks have a load of offensive players that dont care about playing defense (Curry, Crawford, Robinson, Randolph, J-Rich, etc), the exact kind of players that coach D likes. so if they can just get a Raja-Bell-like defensive stopper, they might get into the playoffs next year with coach D.

isnt that why they have balkman?

[Matchman]

isnt that why they have balkman?


Balkman cant hit an outside shot like Bowen, Bell, or Battier to space out the floor.

[JMarkJohns]

that makes sense, but after Steve left the Mavs they had a better winning percentage too..it was the system that D' Antoni ran that helped Nash! Nash was never a nba caliber point guard on the Mavs. So even though he doesn't believe in defense or trust young players, he is an offensive genius! Shit the Suns even with Shaq were scoring roughly the same amount of points.

Look. D'Antoni's "system" equates to handing the ball to Nash and staying out of his way. There was almost zero coaching. Everything that led to scores did so because of what Nash created on the floor. Nash was the engine, but he was also the mechanic. D'Antoni's system basically allows the players to do what they do all the time. When you have Steve Nash as the PG, you win 65/70% of your games. When you don't? 25/35%...

It's a credit to D'Antoni for not falling prey to the notion that overcoaching is a must, but truth be told, D'Antoni proobably felt like calling a single play or running an actual practice was overcoaching.

[Ocotillo]

umm NO. Thats like when haters say about Phil riding his stars to 9 rings

You think Phil would have won any rings in the 90s if he was coaching the Jazz instead of the Bulls? Say Sloane was in Chicago with Jordan, Pippin et al. and Phil had Stockton/Malone, you think he wins any rings against Chicago or Houston?

Just asking.

[JackArse]

LOL at the Suns not wanting any compensation for D'Antoni heading to Chicago. There just interested in shedding his contract.....Sarver is such a cheapskate

they're probably worried that a team would reneg if they tried that.

[lefty]

Phoenix Suns to D'Antoni : " Go, go, go ! "

[pauls931]

New York is the NBA's version of hell right now. I'd much rather seen him in Toronto or Chicago.

[RonMexico]

I had to stay away for a few days in order to digest this D'Antoni insanity.

#1 - he's a stubborn, bitchy moron for wanting to leave or even going after these open jobs
#2 - What appeal is there in Chicago or New York? The rosters are not better than Phoenix's... maybe he can sneak in an 8 seed with either of them.
#3 - If he has complained about the Phoenix fanbase and media for questioning his short bench and lack of adjustments, how will he handle the NY media? He's too big of a pussy to handle that for long.
#4 - Bucher is reporting that New York is willing to offer $30 million over 5 years for him which is only trumped by Phil Jackson and Pat Riley... both of whom have won titles.
#5 - I don't agree with Phil Jackson much, but he said D'Antoni is all about himself and he's pretty much right.
#6 - Suns should bring back Paul Westphal.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Maybe Walsh has some trick up his sleeve for clearing out some of these guys, but I can't think of any good reason besides money to take the Knicks job. Truthfully to think that you can turn that shit pile around takes a pretty big ego, which would be the last thing that locker room needs anyways.

[JMarkJohns]

Chicago has plenty of talent. If they can acquire a legit big man (and they have parts) then they'll make noise. Although, with D'Antoni, assuming he can coach them up is a bit of a stretch.

[Cry Havoc]

Chicago has plenty of talent. If they can acquire a legit big man (and they have parts) then they'll make noise. Although, with D'Antoni, assuming he can coach them up is a bit of a stretch.

Unless the big is dominant, they need a super-scoring player that they can go to in crunch time AND a big.

Right now it's a collection of role players and a Jekyll and Hyde Luol Deng.

[Obstructed_View]

Mike D'Antoni caught lightning in a bottle by inheriting a team of great athletes who all got healthy at the same time under the radar of the media who predicted doom for them and lowered expectations. Now he's in the midst of a bidding war for teams that are too stupid to have looked into how he achieved his success. He might as well cash in on it before he's found out as a fraud.

[lefty]

D'ANtoni won't be a coach in NY.

He'll be hired to sing " Go NY go NY go ! " during the players intro.

[Strike]

3rd biggest turnaround in nba history, two 60 win seasons in 4 years, four 50 win seasons in four years. i wouldn't exactly call that failing.:rolleyes

0 rings to show for it. That's why it's a FAILURE :lmao

[BonnerDynasty]

Dude is gonna get PAID.

It'll be interesting to see what he can make of his next team within 5 years. Especially in the East.

[JackArse]

i don't necessarily blame d'antoni, as much as spin is put into this team, and there is A SHITLOAD of it lately, kerr didn't want d'antoni back, at least that's the feeling i get. during the series with the spurs, kerr didn't necessarily give d'antoni any glowing reviews or any type of indication that he would be back. i mean, as a coach, if someone asks your boss 'if he doesn't win this series, will he be back?' and the boss can't answer that, that's not much motivation to stay.

as for adjustments to his game to include more practice and such, it should happen even if it's 15-30 minutes, that's 15-30 minutes more than they were doing before.
but if you asked phil jackson, larry brown, pat riley or any high profile coach to change the way they do things, they're gonna tell you to fuck off. which is what d'antoni did, not saying he's in their league, but he is still a high profile coach at this point.

chicago is his best bet for the talent, half the players there are ones he wanted here, ny is his best bet to get paid, and hell, he could kill someone and still look good following isiah.

as for phil jackson talking about another person being only about themselves is calling the pot calling the kettle black.

[Obstructed_View]

but if you asked phil jackson, larry brown, pat riley or any high profile coach to change the way they do things, they're gonna tell you to fuck off. which is what d'antoni did, not saying he's in their league, but he is still a high profile coach at this point.

Typically you don't have to ask guys like that to think about defense, to have a backup for the best player on the team (or at least one guy on the roster who plays the same position), or to actually figure out a way to utilize more than eight players over the season. I certainly can't imagine one of those guys reacting the way D'Antoni did.

The huge holes in his game along with the complete inability to adjust prove that Mike D'Antoni is an assistant coach. Thanks to the love from ESPN, nigga's gonna get paid, but it doesn't make him a good head coach.