With the Knicks facing Minnesota's resurgent Darko Milicic tonight, Mike D'Antoni said some of the fault for Milicic's struggles last season could be his. "His fault, my fault, I couldn't find the buttons," D'Antoni said. "It's not the first or last player I didn't get the most out of.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/an...
Obviously there are two sides but at least the coach came out and said that he played a role in Darko not being a part of things after the seventh game of the season.
Mike is being gracious. When a coach says he couldn't find the "buttons" meaning the right buttons to push to encourage a player to give more effort. Darko couldn't get it going and then sulked. Then he just shut it down and nothing the coach or staff said worked to get him to give more effort. He was convinced he wasn't going to get a chance. This was his own fault tho, cuz that's not the proper attitude. We have the evidence of other players who didn't do that, but instead kept going hard and eventually earned a big role on the team. I can't stand people that give up when things don't go their way. Good riddance!!! I want players that fight to get better and have a passion for the game. Give me 12 of those guys and we'll be set. Why do I want some guy that wants to take his ball and go home if things don't go exactly his way?
No matter how this story gets parsed the big issue is that Darko shut it down and stopped trying. A pro doesn't do that. He's still getting paid to go hard. I don't care if he never starts!!! He got paid to play and practice hard! He stopped doing that and had to go.
nixluva wrote:Mike is being gracious. When a coach says he couldn't find the "buttons" meaning the right buttons to push to encourage a player to give more effort. Darko couldn't get it going and then sulked. Then he just shut it down and nothing the coach or staff said worked to get him to give more effort. He was convinced he wasn't going to get a chance. This was his own fault tho, cuz that's not the proper attitude. We have the evidence of other players who didn't do that, but instead kept going hard and eventually earned a big role on the team. I can't stand people that give up when things don't go their way. Good riddance!!! I want players that fight to get better and have a passion for the game. Give me 12 of those guys and we'll be set. Why do I want some guy that wants to take his ball and go home if things don't go exactly his way?No matter how this story gets parsed the big issue is that Darko shut it down and stopped trying. A pro doesn't do that. He's still getting paid to go hard. I don't care if he never starts!!! He got paid to play and practice hard! He stopped doing that and had to go.
Papabear Says
Please Mike never gave him a chance. We all know that. Look at it this way at most Mike D will be given half of next season and then he will be gone. He gambles too much. You are a Mike D supporter. The one thing that a good coach should be able to do is to encourage a player to play. Darko never was given a chance the same way Randolph and Hill was not given a chance. I can't wait until we get a defensive coach in here because we are going nowhere with Mike D.
OMG, this is like "Birthers" going after Obama.
Nalod wrote:OMG, this is like "Birthers" going after Obama.
When you argue over who coined a term on a sports forum can you really post this response to a topic related to the team?
Papabear wrote:nixluva wrote:Mike is being gracious. When a coach says he couldn't find the "buttons" meaning the right buttons to push to encourage a player to give more effort. Darko couldn't get it going and then sulked. Then he just shut it down and nothing the coach or staff said worked to get him to give more effort. He was convinced he wasn't going to get a chance. This was his own fault tho, cuz that's not the proper attitude. We have the evidence of other players who didn't do that, but instead kept going hard and eventually earned a big role on the team. I can't stand people that give up when things don't go their way. Good riddance!!! I want players that fight to get better and have a passion for the game. Give me 12 of those guys and we'll be set. Why do I want some guy that wants to take his ball and go home if things don't go exactly his way?No matter how this story gets parsed the big issue is that Darko shut it down and stopped trying. A pro doesn't do that. He's still getting paid to go hard. I don't care if he never starts!!! He got paid to play and practice hard! He stopped doing that and had to go.
Papabear Says
Please Mike never gave him a chance. We all know that. Look at it this way at most Mike D will be given half of next season and then he will be gone. He gambles too much. You are a Mike D supporter. The one thing that a good coach should be able to do is to encourage a player to play. Darko never was given a chance the same way Randolph and Hill was not given a chance. I can't wait until we get a defensive coach in here because we are going nowhere with Mike D.
This isn't Little League where you have to let everyone on the team get in the game whether they can play or not. This guy was a paid professional!!! That means just like you and I on a job we get paid to work. Other players have worked hard to get a shot and then made the most of it. Mike has been very consistent in that. There's nothing wrong with a coach wanting to see effort and desire from his players. If you watched Darko when he was here he clearly wasn't giving 100% and reports were that he wasn't giving it in practice either. Darko finally grew up and acted like a pro. Good for him. He could've done that earlier in his career and maybe he would've had a lot more success.
nixluva wrote:Papabear wrote:nixluva wrote:Mike is being gracious. When a coach says he couldn't find the "buttons" meaning the right buttons to push to encourage a player to give more effort. Darko couldn't get it going and then sulked. Then he just shut it down and nothing the coach or staff said worked to get him to give more effort. He was convinced he wasn't going to get a chance. This was his own fault tho, cuz that's not the proper attitude. We have the evidence of other players who didn't do that, but instead kept going hard and eventually earned a big role on the team. I can't stand people that give up when things don't go their way. Good riddance!!! I want players that fight to get better and have a passion for the game. Give me 12 of those guys and we'll be set. Why do I want some guy that wants to take his ball and go home if things don't go exactly his way?No matter how this story gets parsed the big issue is that Darko shut it down and stopped trying. A pro doesn't do that. He's still getting paid to go hard. I don't care if he never starts!!! He got paid to play and practice hard! He stopped doing that and had to go.
Papabear Says
Please Mike never gave him a chance. We all know that. Look at it this way at most Mike D will be given half of next season and then he will be gone. He gambles too much. You are a Mike D supporter. The one thing that a good coach should be able to do is to encourage a player to play. Darko never was given a chance the same way Randolph and Hill was not given a chance. I can't wait until we get a defensive coach in here because we are going nowhere with Mike D.
This isn't Little League where you have to let everyone on the team get in the game whether they can play or not. This guy was a paid professional!!! That means just like you and I on a job we get paid to work. Other players have worked hard to get a shot and then made the most of it. Mike has been very consistent in that. There's nothing wrong with a coach wanting to see effort and desire from his players. If you watched Darko when he was here he clearly wasn't giving 100% and reports were that he wasn't giving it in practice either. Darko finally grew up and acted like a pro. Good for him. He could've done that earlier in his career and maybe he would've had a lot more success.
Its interesting that he seemed to grow up on February 21, 2010 when he had 8pts, 8rebs and a block in his first action since game 7 of the season that year.
CrushAlot wrote:Nalod wrote:OMG, this is like "Birthers" going after Obama.
When you argue over who coined a term on a sports forum can you really post this response to a topic related to the team?
Both very good points, the board gets what the board wants.
nixluva wrote:Papabear wrote:nixluva wrote:Mike is being gracious. When a coach says he couldn't find the "buttons" meaning the right buttons to push to encourage a player to give more effort. Darko couldn't get it going and then sulked. Then he just shut it down and nothing the coach or staff said worked to get him to give more effort. He was convinced he wasn't going to get a chance. This was his own fault tho, cuz that's not the proper attitude. We have the evidence of other players who didn't do that, but instead kept going hard and eventually earned a big role on the team. I can't stand people that give up when things don't go their way. Good riddance!!! I want players that fight to get better and have a passion for the game. Give me 12 of those guys and we'll be set. Why do I want some guy that wants to take his ball and go home if things don't go exactly his way?No matter how this story gets parsed the big issue is that Darko shut it down and stopped trying. A pro doesn't do that. He's still getting paid to go hard. I don't care if he never starts!!! He got paid to play and practice hard! He stopped doing that and had to go.
Papabear Says
Please Mike never gave him a chance. We all know that. Look at it this way at most Mike D will be given half of next season and then he will be gone. He gambles too much. You are a Mike D supporter. The one thing that a good coach should be able to do is to encourage a player to play. Darko never was given a chance the same way Randolph and Hill was not given a chance. I can't wait until we get a defensive coach in here because we are going nowhere with Mike D.
This isn't Little League where you have to let everyone on the team get in the game whether they can play or not. This guy was a paid professional!!! That means just like you and I on a job we get paid to work. Other players have worked hard to get a shot and then made the most of it. Mike has been very consistent in that. There's nothing wrong with a coach wanting to see effort and desire from his players. If you watched Darko when he was here he clearly wasn't giving 100% and reports were that he wasn't giving it in practice either. Darko finally grew up and acted like a pro. Good for him. He could've done that earlier in his career and maybe he would've had a lot more success.
Papabear Says
Nixluva get real!! I Know This isn't the little league because the kids who play little league are learning the game. Face it you have a lot of kids and or acting like kids in the NBA. It takes a very talented coach to bring them all together. Mike D is not the one. Darko had talent. We all new that. It wasn't about the coach!! It was about the coach finding a way to get to all of his players playing as a team. Mike D think it's all about him and its not. It's about the team and how to make and bring out the best in the players. Mike can't do that. He dosen't even know when to call a time out. Mike D is your boy and you boy ain't bringing us nothing. He won't even try to get a defensive coach in here. Thats part why he left his last team.
One would think that this crap would have been squashed the day Darko admitted that he was basically a jackass when he was here.
Allanfan20 wrote:One would think that this crap would have been squashed the day Darko admitted that he was basically a jackass when he was here.
Darko didn't say he was a jackass when he was here. He said he got discouraged and stopped working hard in practice because he wasn't playing. He didn't play again after the seventh game of the season and was talking about returning to Europe he was so discouraged. This is what he said and it was to Moz.
“I tell (Mozgov) to do the opposite like I did,” Milicic said. “I don’t know how it will be for him, if he plays a lot. When I didn’t play, I stepped aside. You need to work a lot and I didn’t do it. If he doesn’t play, practice hard.”
CrushAlot wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:One would think that this crap would have been squashed the day Darko admitted that he was basically a jackass when he was here.
Darko didn't say he was a jackass when he was here. He said he got discouraged and stopped working hard in practice because he wasn't playing. He didn't play again after the seventh game of the season and was talking about returning to Europe he was so discouraged. This is what he said and it was to Moz.
“I tell (Mozgov) to do the opposite like I did,” Milicic said. “I don’t know how it will be for him, if he plays a lot. When I didn’t play, I stepped aside. You need to work a lot and I didn’t do it. If he doesn’t play, practice hard.”
the same thing seems to have happened with anthony randolph, once was he caged in the "Mike D'Antoni Practice your Corner 3s or Hit the Road" Dog House.
BigSm00th wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Allanfan20 wrote:One would think that this crap would have been squashed the day Darko admitted that he was basically a jackass when he was here.
Darko didn't say he was a jackass when he was here. He said he got discouraged and stopped working hard in practice because he wasn't playing. He didn't play again after the seventh game of the season and was talking about returning to Europe he was so discouraged. This is what he said and it was to Moz.
“I tell (Mozgov) to do the opposite like I did,” Milicic said. “I don’t know how it will be for him, if he plays a lot. When I didn’t play, I stepped aside. You need to work a lot and I didn’t do it. If he doesn’t play, practice hard.”
the same thing seems to have happened with anthony randolph, once was he caged in the "Mike D'Antoni Practice your Corner 3s or Hit the Road" Dog House.
This is garbage cuz Mike clearly stated that AR should be a stat sheet filler by hustling and energy plays. He wasn't looking for him to score!!! This is the kind of false representation of what Mike actually tries to do verses the biased crap that so many keep spreading.
I'm more with Nixluva on this one... NBA players shouldn't need to be coddled in order for them to perform.
Lets see if Jerome Jordan is here how he handles him. I say Mike will run him into his dog house and eventually become trade fodder.
Its interesting that the last three guys Walsh has brought in that were at least 6'10" and under 25 needed to be coddled and didn't work out here.
You guys are defending young players who don't want to put in effort into practicing and getting better. Great.

Have fun with that team.
CrushAlot wrote:Its interesting that the last three guys Walsh has brought in that were at least 6'10" and under 25 needed to be coddled and didn't work out here.
In fairness, Anthony Randolph was a head case in Golden State, we all know that Darko basically can't play, and I'm not sure who the third guy you're referring to is. If it's Mozgov you're talking about, he wasn't very good either and Mike actually played him because he practiced hard.
In defense of Mike, he's gotten a lot out of some young guys, too.
The odd thing is that these people haven't beenrooting for Minny to win...Or may be it's not odd?
Darko and Anthony Randolph - GOOD RIDDANCE
loweyecue wrote:The odd thing is that these people haven't beenrooting for Minny to win...Or may be it's not odd?
Darko and Anthony Randolph - GOOD RIDDANCE
For what its worth Millic is one year older than Rautins. Randolph is three years younger. Both are playing and both were lottery picks, both are tall and both are playing and putting up very good numbers.
Vmart wrote:Lets see if Jerome Jordan is here how he handles him. I say Mike will run him into his dog house and eventually become trade fodder.
I hope not b/c if we go PG with our pick, JJ4 will be the only true center on the roster. We need this kid to work his way into the rotation and play 12-18 minutes a game.