SyndicationUPDATE: D'ANTONI IS KNICKS HEAD COACH
So much for a change in the media policy at MSG. After multiple denials to the New York beat, it is now reported by Jack McCallum of CNNSI that Walsh and Dolan have hired fiery Mike D'Antoni to roam the Knicks bench next season. The story has been affirmed by Alan Hahn and ESPN.COM. Let the excitement, for better or worse, begin.
The Word Is, D'Antoni Is Not Defenseless
The primary concern regarding the potential hire of Mike D’Antoni as the Knicks coach is his apparent lack of defensive acumen as illustrated by the Phoenix Suns teams he has coached. However, a look at D’Antoni’s pro career and European coaching career may suggest that D’Antoni knows a little bit about adapting a system to his players. Apparently, he can coach different styles and the pre-Shaq Suns were built to play a smaller up tempo brand of ball with little defense which they did well.
D’Antoni, considered Kobe’s idol, was named the top Euroleague point guard of all time in 1990. After a brief NBA career during which he made the all-NBA Rookie Second Team in 1974, D’Antoni led his team to five Italian League titles, two Euroleague titles, two Cups of Italy, one Korac Cup and one Intercontinental Cup. D’Antoni was also known for his ability to steal the ball from his opponents.
One report suggested that D’Antoni, who has a stellar Euroleague coaching record (twice voted Coach of the Year) as well as an excellent NBA coaching record, has not always coached small, up tempo teams. From 1994-1997, he coached the famed Pallacanestro Treviso (Benetton) to the Cup of Europe and Coppa Italia in 1995, the domestic league title in 1996-97 and the playoffs each season. After working in the NBA, in 2001 D'Antoni returned to coach Benetton Treviso, a team of former NBA stars, and guided the team to a 28-8 record and a league championship.
It also serves to remember that when D’Antoni joined the Suns as an assistant in 2002, the over achieving Suns finished with a 44-38 record and made the playoffs behind what was considered a breakout year for Stephon Marbury. D’Antoni joined coach Frank Johnson’s staff which oversaw a team that included Marbury, Rookie Amare Stoudemire, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and Bo Outlaw.
The Suns organization seemed a bit stunned when the very next year the Suns fell apart. D’Antoni was made the coach in December and a month later Marbury was traded to the Knicks. D’Antoni’s team in turmoil finished with a 29-53 record. The following year, the addition of Nash changed the team’s dynamic, with Nash leading Stoudemire, Marion, Johnson and Quentin Richardson to an amazing 62-20 record in the 2004-05 season. With the addition of Nash, the team returned to a "motion" offense and focused less on defense.
One might suggest that the Suns lack of defense is not totally D’Antoni’s fault since Nash is consistently exposed as a horrible defender. Nash’s latest experience in guarding Tony Parker was an absolute disaster and D’Antoni appeared to do a decent job of integrating an aging Shaq into the offense enough to put up a little fight in the playoffs. However, observers seem to be characterizing the split between Kerr and D'Antoni as a philosophical split in which Kerr is the defensive-minded one and D'Antoni is resistant to this change. This probably could bear closer scrutiny.
Similarly, it appears that if D’Antoni is actually the Knicks' choice, it may be of some value to examine his entire record and not just his teams with Nash at the helm.
Press Menu To Check Out More D'Antoni
Or check the man out during more of his coaching and Playing Days. Interesting stuff. You might need a translater or Stephon Marbury though.
IT APPEARS THAT VANDEWEGHE AS KNICKS' PRESIDENT
WAS MORE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS MYTHOLOGY
Today, former Denver Nuggets GM, Kiki Vandeweghe was promoted by the Nets to General Manager after being hired as a special assistant in December of 2007. Vandeweghe, who replaces Ed Stefanski, the 76ers new GM, will have two first-round picks in the NBA draft to work with in June. Vandeweghe promises to focus on the team’s "toughness, interior defense and outside shooting," but he suggests that the core is the threesome of Devin Harris, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. It makes one wonder whether he notices that Carter cancels out Jefferson on offense when they are on the floor together. In any event, Thorn and Vandeweghe together should be seen as a strong team, which is evidenced by the gem of a trade they made to dump Kidd on Dallas and an unsuspecting Mark Cuban.
In February, days after the Kidd-Harris trade, the Daily News beat writer claimed that Kiki Vandeweghe, despite his agreement with New Jersey, met with Steve Mills at the Apollo Theatre and was a prime candidate to replace Isiah for the New York Knicks’ Presidency. He wrote "The Knicks have had preliminary discussions with Kiki Vandeweghe about replacing Isiah Thomas in the front office, but possibly allowing Thomas to continue as head coach, a person with knowledge of the talks told the Daily News."
So often the Daily News' beat person’s "person with knowledge" seems to be without "actual knowledge." Some think the person is not actually a person, but a person’s imagination. According to the beat writer, the knowledgeable person claimed "that Vandeweghe would be willing to accept the job of rebuilding the Knicks even if it meant having to retain Thomas. It is unlikely that Jerry Colangelo or Jerry West, two other high-profile candidates mentioned to take over the Knicks' front office, would allow Dolan to decide whether or not Thomas remains as head coach."
The very next day following the Daily News report, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Vandeweghe rumor was "totally false," although Berman's own "league source" said Vandeweghe would be interested in the job. "‘I'm focused on what I'm doing here and that [talking to Knicks] would not be appropriate," Vandeweghe said. "I never spoke to anybody at the Knicks about their job. [The report] has no basis in fact.’"
(Don’t you love that "mentioned to take over" without attribution. Makes you wonder whether it was mentioned by the writer’s "person with knowledge" or in the office by the writer’s co-worker. Or perhaps a writer may say to his wife "Honey, will you mention a few things to me so that I can write about them tomorrow. Yes dear, please mention Jerry West and Jerry Colangelo to me. Say it hard, baby.")
All praises to journalistic standards wherever they exist.
ALL-NBA TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The All-NBA Teams were announced and Kobe Bryant was the only unanimous selection of the 125 sportswriters and broadcasters. Chris Paul's selection was only three votes short of unanimity. He continues to be recognized for his breakout season. No Knicks made it this year.
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