According to Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated, Mike D’Antoni will become the head coach of the New York Knicks. It’s believed that he will get a 4-year deal worth $24 million.
Tim Sharobem Adds: Wonderful. Another coach that doesn’t preach defense. I love the Suns offensive strategy…the problem is you need ATHLETES to run it. Tell me, exactly who on the Knicks can run that offense. Who? Better yet, who on the Knicks is in good enough SHAPE to run up and down the court for 48 minutes?
Donnie Walsh took two steps forward by firing Isiah Thomas. He just went one step back with this decision.
Filed under: NBA - Knicks, Writer - Bill Slattery
I haven’t followed the Knicks quite as closely this year, but I come from the mold that the no matter how good a coach is, he has to tailor his system to the players he has, rather than the other way around. That being said, I don’t know a lot about Isaiah’s coaching style, but with the group of players he put together, I am not sure if ANY system would work out.
I think D’Antoni could work out, but only if Walsh shows some serious prowess in player evaluation and scouting, and gets some guys together who complement eachother rather than get in eachother’s way. It would also be nice to see all 5 positions actually being addressed, instead of having five 2-guards on the team.
I couldn’t agree more, Dan.
Donnie Walsh has made sure to state that his plan to bring the Knicks back to respectability is a marathon, not a sprint (rightfully so).
Therefore, he sees D’Antoni being there for all four years in an effort to change the Knicks culture.
However, because of how damaged the Knicks are finanically, in terms of the salary cap, I wonder how long the effort of revitalizing a roster will take.