The Knicks Fix

I am a very happy Knicks fan. For the first time in a few years. It feels real good.

If we get Rose, I'm not saying a word, but, "let the conspiracy rumors commence".

And, again, Alan, congrats on not being Murdoched!!

I'M EXCITED!

a new era has begun!

RUN AND GUN BABY!

damn we still need a point guard....but hey maybe we get lucky in the draft.

Derrick rose?

If this is true, the future is especially confusing. At least two of our big men have to go: Curry and James, perhaps Randolph. I think Robindon, Lee, Crawford and Chandler can adapt. What about Marbury? Will we hire a defensive specialist as an assistant? This sounds to me like bigger personnel changes than expected are coming. The question is can we move so many people with our high salaries? I

I like D'antoni. He style was fun to watch in Phoenix. Now we all know that run and gun style won't happen in NY with all the big men that we have, unless he plays small ball. If I were President Walsh, I'd try to take away Thiebdou away from the Celtics, so that he can teach this guys how to play defense and teach Eddy Curry how to jump for a rebound.

Next position up for grabs: GM. Who will it be?

It would be phenominal if we could sign Thibedou as the lead assistant and give him crazy money, but, chances are that he gets a head coaching job after the playoffs the same way that Bill Belichick did after winning with Parcells.
If that fantasy doesn't become a reality, I hope that we start to make some appropriate trades, as well as the right draft pick.

Isn't this just another flashy move? D'antoni coaches no defense and couldn't win with his system even when he had great players on his roster. So how would he win with this group? They're going to run and gun, take bad shots all over the place, and allow disciplined teams to tear them apart on the other side.

What this also gives us is D'Antoni's contacts on the European side of the game. The Knicks will finally have a clue as to what's happening with players in Europe and be able to recruit talent there.

I'm sure D'Antoni is smart enough to not try to make pigs fly. He will construct a system that will work for whatever players he has.

Welcome to the Cablevision family Alan. Mr. Dolan would like to see you when you have a chance. Something about your coverage of his team.

My first post ever! So...it looks like D'Antoni is coming to NYC. Good. I feel strangely like I felt when I heard Larry Brown was coming to town. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a fine move. I hope Mike has a plan as to what he wants to do with the roster, I think this is the important issue. What do you think of this straight up trade--Stephon Marbury and Zach Randolph for Allen Iverson and Kenyon Martin (almost identical money although there are trade restrictions involved)..would this make sense for the Knicks and Nuggets?

also.....do you think we could work the D'Antoni / Colangelo mutual respect to land TJ Ford?

Welcome aboard, TCK.

I'm not feelin' that trade. NYK needs to rebuild the way that Philly and Portland did. No more big names, no more big salary guys, draft well, make top priority be chemistry and cap flexibility. Clean up the mess, then build one step at a time.

Alan, are you going to subject us to rid'iculous puns for the entire d'amn season?

: )

We certainly could have done worse, His euro teams were more post up and Balman, Lee, and Crawford will thrive, It also gives Nate a raison d'etre.

Good Move

We certainly could have done worse, His euro teams were more post up and Balman, Lee, and Crawford will thrive, It also gives Nate a raison d'etre.

Good Move

I totally agree with your rebuilding strategy flybanjo. Definitely no more names with big contracts that would be adding money and years on the books....however....the trade I proposed does neither. It's basically an exchange of big parts for big parts which might be worth it considering Iverson and Martin's ability to work in a D'Antoni system better than Marbury and (especially) Randolph. I'm not totally sold on this trade either but I want to get talk going on how we're going to tinker with the roster to be competitive now but also set up for the future. Still no?

Alan - I'm sorry to be a distraction when interesting things are happening. But would you please confirm that the post under my name at 08:17 in the last thread did not come from me? Thank you.

?But according to a source close to Walsh, the Knicks president isn't trying to fit D'Antoni necessarily with the Knicks' roster in their first year. For instance, Marbury, Curry and Randolph could all be gone after the 2008-09 season. Walsh is trying to get under the salary cap after 2010, so Randolph and Curry are on the block and Marbury's contract expires after the season.?

Donnie Walsh will need Blackwater and hostages to get all of Zeke's overpaid lard off the Knicks' roster for at least three seasons. We're stuck with Loser Marbury next season, Lazy Eddy, Break A Backboard Crawford, and Fat Zach for just about ever, and the JJs for another two and three seasons, respectively. We have no first rounder next season, and it will take a bit of David Stern's PR (see the refs escorted Lakers to the foul line and Jazz to the bench in the first two games in La La Land) for this year's pick to amount to squat.

D'Antoni's a damn fool for taking the job and two years from now, D'Antoni will regret it.

Zeke, Dolan, and the children screwed up the franchise for at least the length of D'Antoni's deal, maybe longer.

Not even The Queen, she of 17 fumbles and 34 bricks in 42 attempts in two losses to the Celts, can erase Zeke's blunders.

The second-rate hockey writer's going to sleep, um well, work (?), for Jimmy Dolan.

Expect the public relations spin to continue straight from MSG HQ to the pages of Newsday.

Berman kisses Marbury's butt.

The second-rate hockey writer will become Dolan's proctologist.

I have lots of reservations, but we’ve got an “A” coach, which is a much-needed upgrade from a “D” (and that’s generous) coach. Forget about whether his “style” fits. You need a team first, and we ain’t got one. Part of me is glad it’s settled. He’s a terrific coach. I wish him great success. Now we can go about the much more difficult process of building a team.

And yet, I can’t shake those reservations. First, if Walsh really is looking for a GM, doesn’t that hire usually come first? Wouldn’t you expect a GM in place before a new coach? Second, we’ve gone the route of “blue-chip,” retread coaches. It wasn’t completely their faults, but Wilkins and Brown certainly didn’t work out. I was looking forward to new blood, new ideas, new enthusiasm.

And yet, maybe D’Antoni will surprise all of us. Maybe, aside from the money, he’s out to prove he’s not just a better version of Paul Westhead. He can’t come in here and try to recreate the Suns. He won’t even win 23 games if he tries that. It’ll be interesting to see how he tackles the biggest challenge of his career.

Has the cart been put in front of the horse? Shouldn't a GM be hired first, and then the coach, or does D'Antoni have universal appeal?
The way it's been described, D'Antoni played uptempo because it fit his personnel. That said, what style of ball will the Knicks play next year?
Time to clean house.

I'm with you on that Trane.

Now it's time to look towards Tuesday, May 20th.
Rabbit's feet, horseshoes, rosary beads, whatever works.
Maybe the horseshoe DeBusschere used is available.

A really great move. D'Antoni is an experienced, winning coach, who also realizes that basketball is entertainment. Players enjoy playing for him, he has been to the Western Conference Finals, and has won a European championship.

The combination of Walsh/D'Antoni is NBA all-class, and very respected throughout the league.

The renovation of the Knicks begins!

Why do the Knicks always have to get the biggest name. What has this ever accomplished. These players need to be held accountable and learn to play defense. Is D'antoni going to provide that? Why couldn't the Knicks wait to interview Thibodeau, an assistant coach who has had tremendous defensive success wherever he has gone. Oh that's right, he' not flashy enough. So we end up with another big name, while another team we'll get a solid defensive coach. This organization never learns. The three ring circus continues....

I just wrote this post up at HoopsBlogger.

"I remember finding out about you! Mike D’Antoni

Well it’s official. The Knicks have landed Mike D’Antoni as there coach. I grew up on the Knicks, watched and hurt through the 90’s as Jordan destroyed us year after year and could hardly watch in the 00’s as Isiah led the team to be one of the sloppiest looking bad news bear bunch of misfits ever assembled. But now like the NBA’s Keven Garnett commercial New York Knicks fans can rejoice. I predict that Knicks fans will talk about this day for a long time to come...."

I am very excited

Bad fit---stunningly bad. 4 more losing years ahead. Defense wins championships not run and gun.

Laughable move just to sell more tickets. Knicks will give up 115 PPG and never rebuild under the Walsh regime. Let's just fat forward to the point where Dolan sells the franchise.

This is a bad move. The Knicks are one of the worst defensive teams and you hire an offensive mind coach. There was alot of conflict on that Suns team also

D'Antoni played uptempo because it fit his personnel.

Give me a break. Don't you think Walsh discussed improving the defense, or do you think you thought of that first?

"Bad fit---stunningly bad. 4 more losing years ahead. Defense wins championships not run and gun."

Bob in D.C., aka Frank Isola

"Why do the Knicks always have to get the biggest name. What has this ever accomplished."

Not one damn thing.

Never has. Never will. Just keep the back page headline writers happy and offer employment to second-rate hockey writers.

That's all.