Sources: Knicks could be in competition with = Bulls for=20 D'Antoni

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: May 8, 2008, 3:03 = AM ET

Comment=
Email=
Print=20

The New York=20 Knicks are well aware of Mike D'Antoni's strong desire to coach the = Chicago = Bulls, as=20 well as Chicago's strong interest in hiring D'Antoni.=20

D'Antoni

They're simply ignoring all that.=20

NBA coaching sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday that the Knicks = continue to=20 regard D'Antoni as their No. 1 target to replace Isiah Thomas and are = preparing=20 a "staggering" financial offer they hope will prove too steep for = Chicago to=20 compete with, thus convincing D'Antoni to spurn the Bulls.=20

It was widely assumed in coaching circles -- and even by the = Knicks to=20 some degree -- that New York's involvement was pursued by the D'Antoni = camp=20 mostly to get Chicago to increase its offer. But sources close to the = situation=20 were stressing Wednesday night that the rough monetary estimates in = circulation=20 from the Knicks, believed to be $6 million or more annually, are too = substantial=20 not to make them a real threat to the Bulls.=20

Collins Staying In Booth

=20

Doug Collins says he has "no interest" in coaching again.=20

So it appears you can scratch one more name from the list of = potential=20 successors to fill the expected void left in Phoenix by Mike D'Antoni.=20

After calling the Lakers' victory over Utah for TNT on Wednesday = night in=20 Los Angeles, Collins told ESPN.com that he has not heard from the Suns = =85 and=20 that he would rebuff their interest if they do call.=20

"Steve has not talked to me, but I have no desire to do that," = Collins=20 said, referring to Suns president and former TNT colleague Steve Kerr. = "I=20 consider it a compliment when people mention me, but I just love my life = now.=20 The work that has to be done and the headaches you have to put up with = today,=20 I'm not willing to pay that price. It's just too tough.=20

"I get a chance to see my children now and my grandchildren. I've = probably given up the competitive side of myself, but it's such a tough = ride and=20 tough grind unless you have the [clout] of someone like Phil Jackson or = Gregg=20 Popovich or Jerry Sloan."=20

Collins, 56, has coached Chicago, Detroit and Washington and now = lives in=20 the Phoenix area, which only increased the volume on recent rumblings = that he's=20 a natural Suns candidate. But Collins has also turned down two recent = offers to=20 take over the Milwaukee Bucks, first in the summer of 2005 and again = last month=20 before the Bucks hired their new GM-coach tandem of John Hammond and = Scott=20 Skiles.=20

--=20 Marc Stein=20

Yet sources maintain that Chicago remains D'Antoni's preferred=20 destination and the favorite to land him, now nearly one week since it=20 emerged that the Phoenix = Suns coach=20 and the Bulls were a likely match. It's believed that neither the Bulls = nor the=20 Knicks have formally extended a contract proposal, but The Chicago = Tribune=20 reported on its Web site Wednesday night that the Bulls are determined = to "pay=20 D'Antoni only on their teams" and won't engage in a "protracted price = war" with=20 the Knicks.=20

One source told ESPN.com that the Knicks are likely to move = quickly if=20 they can't get D'Antoni by following up with an offer to Mark Jackson or = the=20 recently fired Avery Johnson, with Jackson believed to hold a = considerable edge=20 given his extended status as the front-runner in New York before = D'Antoni became=20 available.

Financial might is clearly the best asset New York can sell as a=20 franchise after two 23-59 records in the past three seasons. New team = president=20 Donnie Walsh has not been shy about admitting that the Knicks have only = just=20 begun work on an extensive makeover that, based on Walsh's vision, would = finally=20 create some salary-cap flexibility for this free-spending franchise = entering the=20 summer of 2010, when 2003 draftees LeB= ron=20 James, Dwy= ane=20 Wade and Chr= is Bosh=20 are scheduled to be free agents.=20

The chance to work with well-regarded Walsh is another plus point = in the=20 Knicks' attempt to beat the Bulls to D'Antoni. Whether that -- along = with the=20 money -- is enough of a lure to persuade D'Antoni to revise his = Chicago-or-bust=20 stance remains to be seen. Don't forget that the Knicks are unlikely to = contend=20 for anything in the near future and would present D'Antoni with an = ill-fitting=20 lack of speed and 3-point shooting on a roster headlined by Suns = cast-off Ste= phon=20 Marbury and plodding big men Edd= y Curry=20 and Zac= h=20 Randolph.=20

Finances, meanwhile, are believed to be the only factor that = could cause=20 the Bulls to pull back (or be trumped) now.=20

ESPN.com reported Tuesday that Bulls general manager John Paxson came = away=20 from two interviews with D'Antoni in Phoenix impressed and seriously = interested=20 in the coach who wants to leave the Suns in part because of a tense = working=20 relationship with Paxson's good friend, Suns president Stev= e Kerr.=20 Sources said that Paxson huddled Tuesday with Bulls owner Jerry = Reinsdorf to=20 discuss the viability of hiring D'Antoni.=20

Concerns that D'Antoni's offensive bent would clash with Paxson's = philosophy -- which is much more conservative and defensively focused, = like that=20 of his pal and Phoenix counterpart Kerr -- appear to have been allayed. = Sources=20 say that Reinsdorf himself has voiced an interest in the Bulls' going = back to a=20 more defined offensive system like they had in their Mich= ael=20 Jordan/Scot= tie=20 Pippen/Phil Jackson heyday. D'Antoni obviously doesn't run Jackson's = famed=20 triangle offense, but Chicago management is said to be intrigued and = excited by=20 the possibility of coupling D'Antoni's creativity with several skilled = young=20 players who've been linked to Phoenix in trades in recent years (Joa= kim=20 Noah, Tyr= us=20 Thomas and Tha= bo=20 Sefolosha) as well a budding star (Luo= l Deng)=20 who was drafted with a pick traded by the Suns to Chicago.=20

The bigger mystery remains how much Chicago is willing to spend on = its next=20 coach, with Reinsdorf already committed to paying Scott Skiles an = estimated $4=20 million next season.=20

When Skiles was dismissed on Christmas Eve 2007, Reinsdorf agreed = to=20 rescind the offset from Skiles' contract and pay him all but $1 million = of the=20 remaining $6 million owed. As a result, Skiles walked away with a = guaranteed $5=20 million send-off that was not erased by the estimated $18 million over = four=20 years he just received from the Milwaukee = Bucks.=20

Chicago, then, would be spending more than $8 million on head = coaches=20 next season if D'Antoni were to receive an annual salary in his current = wage=20 bracket. If the Bulls are asked to respond to the Knicks' generosity by = taking=20 D'Antoni past the $5 million barrier annually, sources say Chicago could = still=20 decide it's more prudent to pursue a more affordable coach with less = experience,=20 such as Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau, who is widely credited with = providing=20 the schemes that helped Kev= in=20 Garnett transform the Celtics' defense this season.=20

The Tribune reported on its Web site Tuesday night that the = Bulls'=20 interest in defense-first Johnson is declining, which could be another=20 indication that the Bulls are focused on landing D'Antoni. The Arizona = Republic=20 reported that the Suns would not seek additional compensation when = D'Antoni's=20 inevitable departure materializes, simply hoping to relieve themselves = of the=20 two seasons left on his Suns deal at $4 million and $4.5 million.=20

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail = him, click=20 here.

Also See

More NBA Headlines

Inside NBA

=20

Chris=20 Paul is all smiles and hugs off the court. Don't be fooled by it. CP3 = has a mean=20 streak. J.A. Adande

=20

Boston's=20 ringleader is ringless. And guiding a title-starved franchise. That = means no=20 sleep for KG. Gene Wojciechowski

=20

King = James=20 went 2-for-18. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce combined for that, too. Game 1 = was a=20 slugfest. Chris Sheridan

=20

Get=20 10 drops of NBA knowledge and the latest highlights and scores from = Tuesday's=20 NBA action. Daily Dime TV

=20

The=20 Hornets are playing with urgency in these playoffs. Why? Tyson Chandler = gives=20 you some insight in his blog. Wednesday Bullets

=20

Mike = Woodson got his=20 underdog Hawks to the brink of beating the top-seeded Celtics. But does = that=20 mean his future is safe? Rumors