There has been a current of pushback against Jack McCallum's SI blockbluster today, with Steve Kerr offering up statements like "There's no truth to that" when asked about Mike D'Antoni's impending departure. Kerr (and local beat writers) want to make it seem like McCallum's story is errant, like it's a Peter Vescey invention.But isn't the identity of McCallum's source plainly obvious? Everyone's read Seven Seconds or Less (McCallum's seminal work on the D'Antoni Suns). Everyone remembers how D'Antoni was portrayed. The level of access afforded to McCallum by the coaching staff and management (at the time, led by Bryan Colangelo) was unmatched. The Suns made McCallum an assistant coach for the preseason, for goodness sake! D'Antoni liked McCallum, McCallum liked D'Antoni. If you've read the book, you understand that.
McCallum publishes a story about the old regime (D'Antoni) wanting out of Phoenix because of disputes with the new regime (Kerr) hours after the Suns are eliminated. You don't need to be Woodward and Bernstein to figure out D'Antoni (or someone very close to him, like say his assistant coach brother) is the guy in McCallum's ear. Kerr can deny all he wants, but I would drop dead of shock* if McCallum somehow screwed this one up.
* I can't actually promise I will drop dead. That might be messy. Sorry.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-30-2008 @ 6:22PM
the cooker said...
Anyone that has heard Kerr or read his quotes this season knows that D'Antoni would not be kept even if the Suns won the title. Kerr's ego is too big and he wants a coach that he hired. It is really funny to hear Kerr complain about defense and taking 3 pointers. Anybody that ever watched Kerr play in the NBA knows that he never saw a 3 point shot that he did not like and he probably never played a full minute of defense in his life.
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