Yeah, I know this could have gone in the thread about D'A having a better shot at the Knicks but with Jackson in the mix it's a bit of a different story.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8...ntoni,-Jackson
Knicks deciding between D'Antoni, Jackson
by Marc Berman, New York Post
Updated: May 9, 2008, 2:00 PM EST
It's a two-horse race.
Sources indicated yesterday New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh is torn on whether to offer the job to the star coach available, Mike D'Antoni, or take a slight gamble on someone with no head-coaching experience, Mark Jackson.
Last night Walsh, through a spokesman, emphatically said he has not offered the job to anybody, contrary to a report.
If Walsh really wants D'Antoni, he likely can get him with a five-year offer of $25-to-$30 million — a contract that would bowl D'Antoni over. Walsh must decide if the highly regarded D'Antoni is the right fit at the right time for this Knicks' team.
The Bulls, the only other club in the mix, aren't prepared to offer D'Antoni what he would be making on average in the final two years of his Phoenix deal ($4.25 million).
D'Antoni's agent Warren LeGarie admits the Knicks' money could be the deciding factor if owner James Dolan is willing to spend it. Dolan has told commissioner David Stern he will spend what it takes to get the Knicks out of their laughingstock ways.
LeGarie flew from Greece to New York on a connection to San Francisco, but did not meet with Walsh. It is believed they talked via phone.
"It's still play for pay," LeGarie told The Post. "(The offer) is still a factor. You want to feel wanted. You want to feel recruited."
The hiring of Jackson likely would be better for Stephon Marbury, whom Walsh plans as the Knicks starting point guard for next season. Nevertheless, Marbury is in the last year of his contract and, barring a career year, it's unlikely he will be re-signed.
Jackson and Marbury are New York City homegrown point guards — and born-again Christians. They have a good relationship, and D'Antoni's breakneck offense didn't suit Marbury and soon after he got promoted as head coach during the 2003-2004 season, he was traded to the Knicks to clear cap space. D'Antoni is not known as a big Marbury fan.
Contacted yesterday, Marbury, rehabbing in Los Angeles, did not give an endorsement of either coaching candidate.
"I like whoever Donnie sees fit for this team," Marbury told The Post. "I think he has a great feel for what we need, and to go where all of New York wants us to go. There is a new process of how things are going to be so I'm going to follow his lead and allow his expertise to come into play."
According to one source, Walsh told D'Antoni's camp that if he makes an offer, "It would be one he wouldn't have to think about."
Walsh denies ever making the statement. ESPN.com reported yesterday that the Knicks were preparing "a staggering offer" to D'Antoni. But signals out of the Garden are they're waiting, presumably to see what the Bulls are offering.
Dolan gave Larry Brown a five-year, $50 million pact, so giving former Coach of the Year D'Antoni $30 million is not mind-blowing. His innovative, small-ball fastbreak attack was revolutionary and a model for other franchises, including the Knicks. Isiah Thomas drafted Renaldo Balkman, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson and David Lee with D'Antoni's attack in mind.
Dolan gave Larry Brown a five-year, $50 million pact, so giving former Coach of the Year D'Antoni $30 million is not mind-blowing. His innovative, small-ball fastbreak attack was revolutionary and a model for other franchises, including the Knicks. Isiah Thomas drafted Renaldo Balkman, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson and David Lee with D'Antoni's attack in mind.
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Losing model thread. Cannot believe all these teams clammoring for a coach this over-ranked.
Update from ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3387873
Sources: Knicks ante up, D'Antoni waits for Bulls' counter
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Updated: May 9, 2008, 4:05 PM ET
The New York Knicks on Thursday outlined the lucrative parameters of a five-year deal they're prepared to give new No. 1 coaching target Mike D'Antoni, according to NBA coaching sources.
A rival proposal from the Chicago Bulls -- the team many still favor to land D'Antoni -- is expected by Sunday at the latest, sources said.
Although Knicks president Donnie Walsh, through a team spokesman, insisted Thursday night that the Knicks have not offered "anyone" a coaching contract, that might just be a technicality. Sources close to the process say D'Antoni, who celebrated his 57th birthday Thursday, has had advanced discussions with the Knicks about leaving the desert for Manhattan.
The Phoenix Suns' coach will naturally wait to hear what the Bulls present before continuing or breaking off his dialogue with New York, given his well-established interest in the Bulls' opening and his standing as Chicago's top choice.
But the latest estimates on the five-year package New York is prepared to formally put on the table fall in the $30 million range. Although that figure had been projected Wednesday by coaching sources to be even more "staggering," it's a level of annual compensation exceeded by only a few coaches in the game, such as Phil Jackson and recent coaching retiree Pat Riley.
ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, quoting a source close to D'Antoni, reported on SportsCenter early Friday that D'Antoni is leaning toward taking the New York job.
It remains to be seen how high the Bulls are willing to go financially in comparison and how much security their pitch will afford. The Chicago Tribune reported in Thursday's editions the Bulls are determined to "pay D'Antoni only on their terms" and won't engage in a "protracted price war" with the Knicks. because the er has never won anything and has never shown he can actually coach a team
Questions surrounding the Bulls' willingness to spend for a coach of D'Antoni's caliber have been circulating for days, thanks largely to the $4 million Chicago still owes Scott Skiles for next season.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf authorized a $5 million farewell payment for Skiles after firing him on Christmas Eve that -- unlike in most NBA coaching arrangements -- was not wiped out by the new four-year, $18 million contract that Skiles received last month from the Milwaukee Bucks.
But sources close to the process contend D'Antoni remains determined to go to Chicago as long as the Bulls assemble a quality offer. D'Antoni is scheduled to earn $4 million and $4.5 million in the final two seasons of his Suns contract.
It was widely assumed -- even by the Knicks to some degree -- that New York's emergence as a rival to Chicago was pursued by the D'Antoni camp strictly to get the Bulls to make a more substantial bid. That perception is changing. The word Thursday night in NBA coaching circles suggested that D'Antoni is ready to team up with Walsh if his talks with the Bulls dissolve.
It's believed the chase will extend through the weekend, with Monday serving as an unofficial target date for D'Antoni -- and the Suns -- to know where he'll be coaching next season.
The Suns want to accelerate their own search but have resisted contacting prospective candidates until they know D'Antoni has a new job. It's unclear what would happen if D'Antoni can't reach an accord with the Bulls or the Knicks, since Phoenix refuses to fire him and pay off the rest of his contract and since D'Antoni won't walk away from the money. But sources indicate Suns management -- as D'Antoni has been saying privately for days -- has no interest in trying to bring him back as coach given the public deterioration of his relationship with his bosses and an even more public crusade to find a new job.
It's still unclear who Phoenix will pursue to replace D'Antoni. Team president Steve Kerr insists he's years away from considering a coaching job, TNT analyst Doug Collins said Wednesday night he has "no interest" in being a head coach again in this league and NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com the Suns do not plan to consider recently fired Dallas coach Avery Johnson, who also appears to be a back-burner candidate at best in both New York and Chicago.
The Bulls are expected to pursue a less experienced (and thus less expensive) alternative to D'Antoni, namely Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau, if a deal can't be struck.
New York, meanwhile, will almost certainly turn to Walsh's original favorite in New York -- Knicks alumnus and ESPN analyst Mark Jackson -- if D'Antoni resists the Knicks' lucrative pitch, perhaps as early as next week.
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