 Monday, May 12, 2008
Was Mike D'Antoni the Best Choice for the Knicks New Coach?
The Knicks signed Mike D'Antoni to a four year, $24 million contract over the weekend. I know Steve and many other Knicks fans wanted former Knick and Saint John's star Mark Jackson. I understand that but the Knicks went with an experienced AND successful coach. D'Antoni is good enough to adjust his up-tempo style to the personnel that he has now. Expect a mix of up tempo and half court. This will make the Knicks a more watchable team over the next couple of seasons until Lebron James and/or Dwayne Wade becomes available.
That said, I think D'Antoni should have been given another year in Phoenix as should have Avery Johnson in Dallas. Shaq wasn't 100% fit when he came to the desert in the middle of the season. If D'Antoni didn't succeed after next season, then he should have been reevaluated and replaced if necessary. For that matter, D'Antoni's style would have worked better in Chicago as would Avery Johnson's style in Phoenix. That's water under the bridge and time to move on.
The Knicks will need to be creative in getting out of Salary Cap H*ll. They will then be able to go after Lebron James or Dwayne Wade. Expect the latter as Lebron is close to Jay Z. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lebron in a Brooklyn Nets jersey. Plus, the Nets hold the option in 2010-2011 for Vince Carter so expect his salary to be used to acquire Lebron. Dwayne Wade would be a great consolation prize for the Knicks.
Factors to Watch:
(1) Stephon Marbury is entering his contract year. (Thank God!) Mike D'Antoni has coached him in Phoenix before he got traded for Steve Nash. Stephon knows this is his last chance to stay with Knicks or audition for another team. The Knicks would be smart NOT to re-sign Stephon unless he were to win a championship next season.
(2) Who will the Knicks draft? Let's hope the ping-pong balls (with a possible assist from David Stern) go the Knicks way. Expect D'Antoni to draft and sign top level international players as he had in Phoenix and other stops in his career.
(3) Will D'Antoni have the confidence and support of Walsh and the Dolans? Will they cave into the players at the first sign of trouble? If they do, D'Antoni will hang in the wind and Knicks fans will continue to suffer. Walsh must back D'Antoni and get rid of any players who don't get with the program.
(4) Will the ghost of Isiah (in person or spirit) continue to haunt the Knicks? Will he hold secret meetings with players to plant dissention in their heads? Isiah is devious as a fox so the players must be on guard for this trap as everything Isiah touches turns to junk.
Bottom Line: Anyone is better than Isiah so D'Antoni was a good choice. If you think the Yankees rebuilding process on the fly is painful, the Knicks are going to be a total renovation down to final brick, pun intended per NYC Building Code regulations.
D'Antoni is good enough to get the Knicks from 23 to about 35+ wins in 2008-2009 with the current "talent" and some help from the draft. 35+ wins is enough to contend for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Heck, Steve, myself, and all of our 23 month old to 16 year old nieces, nephews, and Godchildren could contend as Team SteveAndTheTank.com in the Eastern Conference. The challenge in D'Antoni's second through fourth seasons is to get the Knicks to get above .500 and go deep into the playoffs. Contending for a championship is a mathematical possibility but not likely for another four years or more. I have a better chance of winning the Lottery, touch wood. 
Posted by a cautiously optimistic Tank in NY.
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