Mike D'Antoni and Suns Divorce

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ml?eref=sircrc

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SAN ANTONIO -- Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2004-05 season and the man credited with re-invigorating fast-break basketball in a league gone stale, will not be back to coach the Phoenix Suns for the 2008-09 season, SI.com has learned.

D'Antoni deferred questions about his job status after the Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in Alamo City. "I'm just really proud of my guys," D'Antoni said after the Spurs' 92-87 win that marked the third time in four years that San Antonio has ended the Suns' season. He did not address his own situation. But sources within the organization confirm that D'Antoni feels he does not have the backing of upper management--specifically owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr -- and considers the situation irredeemable.

The Suns have long been one of the NBA's model franchises, and both D'Antoni and Kerr, for whatever differences they might have about the direction of the team, are respected around the league. It's hard to believe, then, that D'Antoni's situation would devolve into an ugly, protracted war, New York Knicks style.

How exactly the scenario unfolds depends largely on whether or not D'Antoni gets another job offer. The most palatable scenario for all in Phoenix would be: Team A asks the Suns for permission to talk to D'Antoni, who has two years left on his contract; Suns say OK; D'Antoni interviews and is hired.

One landing spot for him would seem to be Chicago, where general manager Jim Paxson has not yet replaced Jim Boylan, who himself replaced Scott Skiles (now in charge in Milwaukee). The Bulls underachieved this season under both coaches but would seem to have the kind of offensive nucleus (Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni) with which D'Antoni could build.

One other possibility is New York, where new GM Donnie Walsh is taking his time making a head-coach decision despite speculation that the hiring of former point guard Marc Jackson is a done deal. There has also been whispers of D'Antoni taking over in Toronto, where Sam Mitchell's coaching future is an ongoing discussion and where Bryan Colangelo, D'Antoni's former boss in Phoenix and still a close friend, is calling the shots. But Toronto doesn't seem as comfortable a fit for D'Antoni as Chicago or even New York. Don't look for that to happen.

As is the custom with all NBA teams, D'Antoni will meet soon with Sarver and Kerr, together or separately. Kerr said before Sunday's Game 4, which turned out to be the Suns' lone series win, that D'Antoni's departure was not a fait accompli as far as he is concerned. He would not comment on D'Antoni's status after Game 5. But a source said that Kerr would make a few demands in the postseason debriefing: that D'Antoni devote more practice time to defense; have more confidence in his bench players, i.e., go to an expanded rotation; develop a clearer plan for a point guard to back up Steve Nash; get more planned touches out of Amare' Stoudemire in post-up situations.

D'Antoni, sources say, believes that the situation has been festering all season and that nothing would be accomplished in the meeting. Whatever the circumstances of his departure, it will probably be presented as as a rift between coach and GM, and to a large extent that's true. But when Colangelo left for Toronto, mostly because he and Sarver were doomed not to co-exist harmoniously, D'Antoni lost his biggest booster in the front office, as well as a friend. It's what happens in the NBA and in all pro sports.

Over four full seasons D'Antoni racked up a 232-96 record, made the Western finals twice and changed the way that observers both in and out of the league thought about the game. Management might have some legit gripes about his defensive coaching, and remember that D'Antoni was a bigger booster of the trade for Shaquille O'Neal than Kerr was.

But Suns' management now faces one extremely formidable challenge in l'affaire D'Antoni: Finding someone better.

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later, jackhole

:lmao

Let's go!

OMG!!!

rotflmao!!!!

I hope this is true.

no way. wow.

Dan Tony to Mavs. Avery to the Suns. It's planned.

No more "couple more stops, guys" for Dasani boy :(

First Avery now Mike they are dropping like flies. I am NOT shocked at all. This is a classic case of "This coach has taken us as far as he can" right here.

Please basketball Gods, do not let AJ end up in Phoenix. He'd take that team over the help.




P.S.

D'Antoni is a pretty bad coach but I think this is pretty harsh. The Suns lost this series mostly because Nash finally got old. If Nash played his MVP level, this series would still be going on.

Besides, that was an advantage the Spurs could count on :depressed

That didn't take long at all.

Damn, I must have been one minute late on my post.

And yeah, AJ to the Suns would be a nightmare for the Spurs.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Please basketball Gods, do not let AJ end up in Phoenix. He'd take that team over the help.




P.S.

D'Antoni is a pretty bad coach but I think this is pretty harsh. The Suns lost this series mostly because Nash finally got old. If Nash played his MVP level, this series would still be going on.

Besides, that was an advantage the Spurs could count on :depressed

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Agreed, now if they get Carlisle, I think they are tougher, BUT, not AJ level tough.

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Originally Posted by ShoogarBear

AJ to the Suns would be a nightmare for the Spurs.

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you're kidding, right? you must be. really.

This was the Suns' last chance. They have set.

Do you seriously think Shaqs gonna listen to AJ?? LOL

Doing it the night of the last game is not a classy move. When the trigger is pulled before they leave the arena is such chicken sh**.

Carlisle would take them to another level for one or two years, and that what the Suns need.
:pctoss

But now we do not have to worry

**edit: D'Antoni..... my bad. Fact still stands.***

What, was he in a race with Avery?

SAN ANTONIO -- Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2004-05 season and the man credited with re-invigorating fast-break basketball in a league gone stale, will not be back to coach the Phoenix Suns for the 2008-09 season, SI.com has learned.

D'Antoni deferred questions about his job status after the Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in Alamo City. "I'm just really proud of my guys," D'Antoni said after the Spurs' 92-87 win that marked the third time in four years that San Antonio has ended the Suns' season. He did not address his own situation. But sources within the organization confirm that D'Antoni feels he does not have the backing of upper management--specifically owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr -- and considers the situation irredeemable.

The Suns have long been one of the NBA's model franchises, and both D'Antoni and Kerr, for whatever differences they might have about the direction of the team, are respected around the league. It's hard to believe, then, that D'Antoni's situation would devolve into an ugly, protracted war, New York Knicks style.

How exactly the scenario unfolds depends largely on whether or not D'Antoni gets another job offer. The most palatable scenario for all in Phoenix would be: Team A asks the Suns for permission to talk to D'Antoni, who has two years left on his contract; Suns say OK; D'Antoni interviews and is hired.

One landing spot for him would seem to be Chicago, where general manager Jim Paxson has not yet replaced Jim Boylan, who himself replaced Scott Skiles (now in charge in Milwaukee). The Bulls underachieved this season under both coaches but would seem to have the kind of offensive nucleus (Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni) with which D'Antoni could build.

One other possibility is New York, where new GM Donnie Walsh is taking his time making a head-coach decision despite speculation that the hiring of former point guard Marc Jackson is a done deal. There has also been whispers of D'Antoni taking over in Toronto, where Sam Mitchell's coaching future is an ongoing discussion and where Bryan Colangelo, D'Antoni's former boss in Phoenix and still a close friend, is calling the shots. But Toronto doesn't seem as comfortable a fit for D'Antoni as Chicago or even New York. Don't look for that to happen.

As is the custom with all NBA teams, D'Antoni will meet soon with Sarver and Kerr, together or separately. Kerr said before Sunday's Game 4, which turned out to be the Suns' lone series win, that D'Antoni's departure was not a fait accompli as far as he is concerned. He would not comment on D'Antoni's status after Game 5. But a source said that Kerr would make a few demands in the postseason debriefing: that D'Antoni devote more practice time to defense; have more confidence in his bench players, i.e., go to an expanded rotation; develop a clearer plan for a point guard to back up Steve Nash; get more planned touches out of Amare' Stoudemire in post-up situations.

D'Antoni, sources say, believes that the situation has been festering all season and that nothing would be accomplished in the meeting. Whatever the circumstances of his departure, it will probably be presented as as a rift between coach and GM, and to a large extent that's true. But when Colangelo left for Toronto, mostly because he and Sarver were doomed not to co-exist harmoniously, D'Antoni lost his biggest booster in the front office, as well as a friend. It's what happens in the NBA and in all pro sports.

Over four full seasons D'Antoni racked up a 232-96 record, made the Western finals twice and changed the way that observers both in and out of the league thought about the game. Management might have some legit gripes about his defensive coaching, and remember that D'Antoni was a bigger booster of the trade for Shaquille O'Neal than Kerr was.

But Suns' management now faces one extremely formidable challenge in l'affaire D'Antoni: Finding someone better.

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Originally Posted by polandprzem

Carlisle would take them to another level for one or two years, and that what the Suns need.
:pctoss

But now we do not have to worry

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Shaq and Nash are too old. No coach is going to be able to turn back the clock. Fuggedaboutit.

The article doesn't say that D'Antoni got fired exactly. It just says that he won't be back. I'm guessing, they'll talk about it and just come to a mutual agreement buyout. It doesn't seem like he wants to be there anyway. I think the same will happen with Avery. I don't think they'll technically be fired, but I think a buyout will happen.

Oh.. timvp changed the title of the thread.

This series loss isn't solely D'Antoni's fault....(at least not this year's series).

This is Kerr and Sarver thinking that their team is the shit, and that there is no possible way they could've lost to ANYONE, much less the Spurs. So now that they lost, they would NEVER NEVER ever point the finger at themselves. Someone's got to eat it, and it ends up being Mike.

Pat Riley?
Doug Collins?
Brian Hill?
JVG?
Del Harris?
Kerr?
Avery Johnson?

Hopefully the Spurs will offer D'antoni an assistant coaching position...

He's been a pretty good judge of talent(especially European talent) and he knows how to play small ball which Pop likes. I could definitely see this as being an arrangement that benefits the Spurs.


D'antonio knew Beno was going to be lazy and unmotivated back when everyone else thought he was going to be good...he knew Manu was going to be a stud. I definitely think this guy has insight to offer the Spurs.


Fantastic replacement for the offensive insight of PJ if you ask me...

The Big Cactus claims his first victim!!!!

Wow. That was really funny. I cannot believe A) how fast two of the former premier coaches in the NBA will "no longer be with the team" (fired, whatever) B) How fast everyone found and posted the stories, and c) how fast the 10 D'Antoni threads were merged into one.

I think that the Spurs should shell out some cash and hire AJ, JVG and Carlisle as assistants to keep them away from others. :drunk The Mavericks have like 15 assistants, the Spurs should too. :lmao

Woah More panic moves from teams that are prone to panicing. This is just a bit crazy. D'Antoni got more from his run and gun style than most coaches could even dream.

And AJ lost his team. He couldn't keep his hands off the reigns enough to make things work out.

I wouldn't mind D'Antoni here as an offensive coordinator, but leave AJ to the league. He's too much of a locker room cancer.

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Originally Posted by sUPER sOAKER

Pat Riley?
Doug Collins?
Brian Hill?
JVG?
Del Harris?
Kerr?
Avery Johnson?

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Pat is building the team in Miami

AJ and JVG are the best options for Phoenix and the worst for Spurs

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

I think that the Spurs should shell out some cash and hire AJ, JVG and Carlisle as assistants to keep them away from others. :drunk The Mavericks have like 15 assistants, the Spurs should too. :lmao

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that's so evil brilliant!!! :lol:lol

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Originally Posted by whottt

D'antonio knew Beno was going to be lazy and unmotivated back when everyone else thought he was going to be good

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That's a nice way to put it. Someone asked D'Antoni what he thought of Beno and he said that in Europe Beno was just a fat kid who would always get hurt.

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Originally Posted by timvp

That's a nice way to put it. Someone asked D'Antoni what he thought of Beno and he said that in Europe Beno was just a fat kid who would always get hurt.

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I'd hire D'Antoni as an offensive coordinator and talent scout.

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Originally Posted by timvp

That's a nice way to put it. Someone asked D'Antoni what he thought of Beno and he said that in Europe Beno was just a fat kid who would always get hurt.

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But at some point he was as good as Tony



past tense good made by polandprzem

grammar previeled !

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Originally Posted by DespЏrado

Woah More panic moves from teams that are prone to panicing. This is just a bit crazy. D'Antoni got more from his run and gun style than most coaches could even dream.

And AJ lost his team. He couldn't keep his hands off the reigns enough to make things work out.

I wouldn't mind D'Antoni here as an offensive coordinator, but leave AJ to the league. He's too much of a locker room cancer.

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AJ has an excellent coaching mind..but I do think he has the potential to be a Larry Brown type who loses his players after a couple of years. That's his drawback right there....his personality does tend to wear on his teamates...even when he finally left the Spurs...no one was shedding tears, because he can and does nag.


At the same time...he's been pretty much humbled about as badly as one can be humbled the past couple of years. He's definitely lost a lot of his swagger and cockiness...if he's willing to drop the tude I think he has something to offer the Spurs at least on a short term basis.

D'Antoni sucks. I don't see why people say they would hire D'Antoni as an offensive assistant.

Did he even have a playbook in Phoenix?

Telling horses to run and entertain isn't coaching.

D'Antoni as a Euro talent scout would be a good idea. A lot of scouts had Manu not as good as Giricek. Even more had Manu not as good as Jaric. D'Antoni told the Spurs that Manu was a superstar.

D'Antoni should get a championship ring just for helping the Spurs figure out Ginobili > Giricek :lol

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Originally Posted by polandprzem

But at some point he was as good as Tony



past tense good made by polandprzem

grammar previeled !

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He was never as good.

You can reference euro games and all that jazz.

NEVER was Beno Udrih as good

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Originally Posted by sUPER sOAKER

Pat Riley?
Doug Collins?
Brian Hill?
JVG?
Del Harris?
Kerr?
Avery Johnson?

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Can they resurrect Cotton Fitzsimmons?

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Originally Posted by timvp

D'Antoni as a Euro talent scout would be a good idea. A lot of scouts had Manu not as good as Giricek. Even more had Manu not as good as Jaric. D'Antoni told the Spurs that Manu was a superstar.

D'Antoni should get a championship ring just for helping the Spurs figure out Ginobili > Giricek :lol

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Euro scout, yes.

Coach, HELL NO.

The guy that needs to be taken down now is Kerr...what a prick this guy has turned out to be. I'm ready for his humbling...

He's kind of a dick for firing D'antoni in his first year there when he was the guy who basically forced D'antoni to change his team in mid-season. I'm not excusing D'antoni...but Kerr didn't really give him a fair chance to make a go of it....D'antoni actually did succeed in getting this team to play defense pretty well...their D was the cause of the difficult moments in this series, not their O.

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Originally Posted by whottt

AJ has an excellent coaching mind..but I do think he has the potential to be a Larry Brown type who loses his players after a couple of years. That's his drawback right there....his personality does tend to wear on his teamates...even when he finally left the Spurs...no one was shedding tears, because he can and does nag.


At the same time...he's been pretty much humbled about as badly as one can be humbled the past couple of years. He's definitely lost a lot of his swagger and cockiness...if he's willing to drop the tude I think he has something to offer the Spurs at least on a short term basis.

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I would have thought his playing career would have humbled him. The guy has been through more "humbling" experiences than most...and yet he still seems like an arrogant ass to me.

I used to love the guy. But not anymore. And I don't think he and TD are compatible, in fact I think TD's island attitude is diametrically opposed to AJ's cajun brimstone and fire approach.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

D'Antoni sucks. I don't see why people say they would hire D'Antoni as an offensive assistant.

Did he even have a playbook in Phoenix?

Telling horses to run and entertain isn't coaching.

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Yeah, I don't get what D'Antoni could help with. He's not a small ball expert ... as evident by going with the tri-towers look. He doesn't come up with complicated play sets.

He's basically a players' coach who is a pretty good motivator. But how would that help the Spurs? Maybe if you put him in the Coyote suit . . .

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

D'Antoni sucks. I don't see why people say they would hire D'Antoni as an offensive assistant.

Did he even have a playbook in Phoenix?

Telling horses to run and entertain isn't coaching.

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I'm gonna disagree with this...D'antoni knows how to get guys to knock down threes like a mofo. He definitely knows how to develop offensive confidence in players in virtually all aspects of their game...and that is Pop's A#1 weakness as a coach. Pop's just the opposite...he tends to destroy the confidence of players in their offensive game...

Kerr should fire himself for the Shaq trade. What a douchebag.

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Originally Posted by whottt

The guy that needs to be taken down now is Kerr...what a prick this guy has turned out to be. I'm ready for his humbling...

He's kind of a dick for firing D'antoni in his first year there when he was the guy who basically forced D'antoni to change his team in mid-season. I'm not excusing D'antoni...but Kerr didn't really give him a fair chance to make a go of it....D'antoni actually did succeed in getting this team to play defense pretty well...their D was the cause of the difficult moments in this series, not their O.

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Agreed. Kerr handled this situation horribly. How much better did Kerr hope that D'Antoni would handle the Shaq trade?

The biggest reason why D'Antoni is fishing right now is Nash all of a sudden got old. If Nash played even like he did last year, this series would have been a whole hell of a lot tougher.

Suns fans haven't figured out Kerr is a snake. He's even more to blame than D'Antoni.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think Kerr made the trade, in a way, to humiliate and get D'Antoni fired.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Yeah, I don't get what D'Antoni could help with. He's not a small ball expert ... as evident by going with the tri-towers look. He doesn't come up with complicated play sets.

He's basically a players' coach who is a pretty good motivator. But how would that help the Spurs? Maybe if you put him in the Coyote suit . . .

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False...Steve Nash was nowhere near the player under Don Neslon that he was under D'antoni.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Agreed. Kerr handled this situation horribly. How much better did Kerr hope that D'Antoni would handle the Shaq trade?

The biggest reason why D'Antoni is fishing right now is Nash all of a sudden got old. If Nash played even like he did last year, this series would have been a whole hell of a lot tougher.

Suns fans haven't figured out Kerr is a snake. He's even more to blame than D'Antoni.

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I'll agree with that...didn't take Kerr long to turn into a typical NBA GM.

This series was about Nash getting old more than anything else...his prime was extended way beyond the norm and it finally caught up with him in this series...everyone is now saying Nash is a choker or whatever(he's no more of one now than he ever was)...he's not a choker, he's just old. I can honestly say Nash looked ancient by the end of this series...


Tony retired him as a Superstar/MVP candidate.

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Originally Posted by whottt

False...Steve Nash was nowhere near the player under Don Neslon that he was under D'antoni.

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Agreed. But how does that make him a "small ball expert". D'Antoni basically gave the ball to Nash and told him to do whatever he wanted offensively. I don't really see what he'd bring to the Spurs. Tell Pop to let Parker to handle the ball more?

This doesn't bow well for the Phoenix Suns.

Firing coaches and what have you is bad for the players and so on. Right after being elimated.

That's a confidence killer right there. If a new coach is appointed then they'll have to re-built how that team makes plays.

This is probably just me but maybe changes aren't really warranted right now. Maybe its just the Spurs are a better team then the Suns? I mean the Spurs had beaten the Suns 4 out of 5 times in the playoffs so maybe is not so much the coach as it is on the player's poor defense.

Furthermore on the issue of D'antoni with the Spurs...

I could see Pop offering him a spot(provided he doesn't get offered a head coaching gig) if only because Pop thinks he can help D'antoni improve in aspects of his coaching...it's basically what Pop did with PJ...and I think that sort of thing does motivate Pop.


What cannot be argued is that D'antoni has a past with the Spurs both as a player and as an office employee(under Pop and RC) it won't surprise if they bring him back to this organization.



More than likely though...D'antoni will get offered a head coaching gig with a franchise struggling to sell tickets because the style of ball he coaches has been known to be popular with fans(and players).



I don't really dislike D'antono...I think he's definitely clueless about the defensive side of the game...but he's not the biggest dickhead to ever be the coach of a Spurs nemesis, and he doesn't qualify as a whiner to me(unlike the majority of Suns players and their fans).

steve kerr should be fired also

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Originally Posted by timvp

Agreed. But how does that make him a "small ball expert". D'Antoni basically gave the ball to Nash and told him to do whatever he wanted offensively. I don't really see what he'd bring to the Spurs. Tell Pop to let Parker to handle the ball more?

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What did the Suns do before he got there?

He's the guy that put Marion at PF and Amare at C...that was a very resourceful use of the pieces that he had at that time, and I'm not sure it's one that a lot of coaches would have tried...and it actually had a ripple effect league wide IMO with many teams moving in that direction.

And he did well when the Suns lost Amare for a year.

I don't think it's as simple as letting Nash go...and even if it is...then that was a pretty smart move...it's evidentally something Don Nelson was not smart enough to think of.

The article I read said that Kerr was going to want D'Antoni to focus more on defense, develop a deeper rotation, and find a backup for Nash, and D'Antoni didn't think that was going to work out.

I'm not sure how Kerr is the bad guy, here. He's simply asking for shit that we've been saying they need for four years now.

Shaq should fire Sarver

Who Has The Balls To Fire George Karl?

That Man Is Horrific


DANTONI and AVERY, both gone now and George Karl is still coaching. KARL has not gotten out of the first round since 2002. 4-24 record


NBA Coaches of the Year

2008 -- Byron Scott, New Orleans
2007 -- Sam Mitchell, Toronto
2006 -- Avery Johnson, Dallas
2005 -- Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix
2004 -- Hubie Brown, Memphis
2003 -- Gregg Popovich, San Antonio
2002 -- Rick Carlisle, Detroit
2001 -- Larry Brown, Philadelphia
2000 -- Glenn Rivers, Orlando
1999 -- Mike Dunleavy, Portland
1998 -- Larry Bird, Indiana
1997 -- Pat Riley, Miami
1996 -- Phil Jackson, Chicago
1995 -- Del Harris, L.A. Lakers
1994 -- Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta
1993 -- Pat Riley, New York
1992 -- Don Nelson, Golden State
1991 -- Don Chaney, Houston
1990 -- Pat Riley, L.A. Lakers
1989 -- Cotton Fitzsimmons, Phoenix
1988 -- Doug Moe, Denver
1987 -- Mike Schuler, Portland
1986 -- Mike Fratello, Atlanta
1985 -- Don Nelson, Milwaukee
1984 -- Frank Layden, Utah
1983 -- Don Nelson, Milwaukee
1982 -- Gene Shue, Washington
1981 -- Jack McKinney, Indiana
1980 -- Bill Fitch, Boston
1979 -- Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City
1978 -- Hubie Brown, Atlanta
1977 -- Tom Nissalke, Houston
1976 -- Bill Fitch, Cleveland
1975 -- Phil Johnson, Kansas City-Omaha
1974 -- Ray Scott, Detroit
1973 -- Tom Heinsohn, Boston
1972 -- Bill Sharman, L.A. Lakers
1971 -- Dick Motta, Chicago
1970 -- Red Holzman, New York
1969 -- Gene Shue, Baltimore
1968 -- Richie Guerin, St. Louis
1967 -- Johnny Kerr, Chicago
1966 -- Dolph Schayes, Philadelphia
1965 -- Red Auerbach, Boston
1964 -- Alex Hannum, San Francisco
1963 -- Harry Gallatin, St. Louis

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Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

The article I read said that Kerr was going to want D'Antoni to focus more on defense, develop a deeper rotation, and find a backup for Nash, and D'Antoni didn't think that was going to work out.

I'm not sure how Kerr is the bad guy, here. He's simply asking for shit that we've been saying they need for four years now.

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Right on point.

Yeah well if Steve Kerr thinks he is going to turn Steve Nash into a defensive player...he's stupider than I thought. Even Amare is a project.


See that's the thing.....the Suns didn't have the personnel to be a particularly great defensive team anyway. They've got Raja Bell...

D'antoni may not give a damn about defense, it didn't matter.

You can't turn a VW into a tractor...

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Originally Posted by T Park

He was never as good.

You can reference euro games and all that jazz.

NEVER was Beno Udrih as good

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You're right. He was better. :lol

I think I remember reading recently that some source said that D'Antoni wanted to trade for Shaq, while Kerr didn't...

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2008 -- Byron Scott, New Orleans
2007 -- Sam Mitchell, Toronto
2006 -- Avery Johnson, Dallas
2005 -- Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix

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I wonder if Mitchell will get fired too. That'd be kind of funny, all COY of the previous 3 seasons fired in this one.

Isiah is available......:lol

Suns lost because they made a conscious decision to rely on old guys:

- Aging Steve Nash
- Old and ever-injured Grant Hill
- Older and ever-lumbering Snaq O'Neal

D'Antoni never ever developed his bench, it's been going on for years, and once again this year it cost them. They've got some talent there if it was ever allowed to develop, and D'Antoni is the man responsible for the everpresent seven-man PHX rotation. Time for a change. At least they're going to allow him to bow out gracefully as opposed to canning his ass (see Cuban, M).

Finding someone better? This quy won during the regular season on the backs of great talent that he could not coach to win playoff series. What a joke.

Avery would not make a difference in the Suns. They would need one or 2 players that can play defense. Avery could not make Stoudamire or Nash play defense.

come on...

My thoughts on some of the points addressed in this thread:

- I don't see Avery meshing with the personalities in Phoenix. I think it worked when he was coaching a group of hungry young role player-types and a passive superstar, but I can't see Shaq and Amare putting up with his micromanagement for a whole season. Nash would probably cooperate, but even he would have to get annoyed if Avery Johnson insisted on running the offense.

- Mike D'Antoni will not have to take an assistant or scouting position. He's built up enough of a resume in Phoenix that he will always be one of the top candidates for any open head coaching position.