First he was out. Then Steve Kerr wanted him to stick around. Now it looks like he's on his way out again.
According to a report by KTAR in Phoenix, the Suns have granted head coach Mike D'Antoni permission to speak to other teams about their vacant head coaching positions, including the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.
And so the drama begins anew.
ESPN reported on Friday that Chicago was the most likely destination for D'Antoni if the lunch planned for that day between owner Robert Sarver, General Manager Kerr and D'Antoni did not yield an acceptable resolution. It would appear that it did not.
What this means for former MVP Steve Nash, former MVP Shaquille O'Neal, and MVP hopeful Amare Stoudemire will of course be of heavy debate this summer, particularly considering the offensive fireworks D'Antoni's system provided Nash and Stoudemire. Avery Johnson is allegedly a leading candidate for the Suns' gig if D'Antoni does move on.
Chicago is a tremendous choice for D'Antoni if he takes it, who can implement his run and gun style into a team of young, athletic players who already have solid defensive instincts in place. With Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni, he has a bevy of interior players that can get up and down the court, a serviceable point guard in Kirk Hinrich, scorers in Larry Hughes (well, kind of) and Ben Gordon (just go with me here), as well as a high draft pick, D'Antoni has the elements to build a winner from the wreckage.
The end of one era and the beginning of a new one in both Phoenix and ... somewhere else, yet to be decided.
I guess the phrase is ... "Don't let the depressingly unrealized potential hit you on the way out."
(HT: Bright Side of the Sun)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-05-2008 @ 4:07AM
anny said...
Goddamn it, could this season have ended any worse! Ugh, I HATE Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver.
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5-05-2008 @ 11:43AM
g said...
wow...the little Hitler on the short list for Suns...now I really can't support them....too bad for Nash and Amare...they're already saddled with an aging, injury prone "I'm the big ego" O neil...now they get the marvelous gift of Avery, oops it's the finals, I blew it, oops it's the warriors I blew it, oops its Kidd, I blew it...
I hope it doesn't happen and Avery goes to the Knicks...let the east eat him up...ooops, in the lame east he'll probably thrive...
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5-05-2008 @ 1:33PM
Kelsey said...
What I detest most about D’Antoni is his pure arrogance to not letting his older players rest throughout the season by USING his bench. Keeping the bench and the older players with fresh legs will bring them further into the playoffs. Grant wasn’t ever RESTED enough so he could get over his groin injury. Grant was key to beating the Sterns.
D’Antoni has great offensive plays but he needs to teach defense too. I couldn’t believe what he was saying to the team during half-time. The team that had no luster no will no energy. Just keep on doing what they’ve been doing with more rebounds. He won’t talk defense he won’t tell the team to wake up or go home. He’s too stubborn to do that. He’s too stubborn to change. If he can’t see that then he has to go.
If we got Pat Riley or some other drill sergeant this team may wake up. Right now they're being allowed to fall asleep on the court. I even think Pat would use the bench throughout the year too! He's also coached championship teams to victory more than once.
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5-08-2008 @ 3:10AM
Thomas said...
why doesn't d'antoni ever use us his bench?
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