Knicks · This is Dolan/Grunwald purging the Walsh era... and you cant win or coach if you dont have support of ownership. Melo's team now (page 1)

when do lame duck coaches have the juice to push players? Its simple psych 101. If my boss had no contract and clearly didnt have the support of senior management I would probably tune him out also if he was asking me to do my job in a way that I wasnt comfortable with.

MDA leaving was the right thing to do. He was a classy guy and I wish him well. He and Walsh were straight shooters and that was desperatly needed after the Isiah mess.

Blame Melo or not, it doesnt matter, because Melo was the one staying and MDA didnt put him in a position to play well and Melo is the best player on this team. A change needed to be made, and I think it showed with the team last night. First time in weeks they had energy and played like they did during Linsanity.

For better or for worse this is Melo's team. He wanted to be the man in NYC and he's got a supporting cast good enough to compete for a title.

Will we have Melobury? Or will this guy lead the Knicks to something more than the first round exits he led Denver too?

I just want the team to win, and Ive been very impressed w/ what Grunwald has done.

Mike DAntoni was a good guy and a good coach, but he didnt have management's backing and you cant hold players accountable when you dont.

The next two months will teach us everything we need to know about Melo and the Knicks. What you see is what you get. Let hope Melo is the star he thinks he is and we have some basketball worth watching.

Yep. IT's all on #7's shoulders. If you are given the keys to the kingdom, you must lead.

This is exactly right. Melo is our best player and we owe it to him to allow him to lead with the team built around him. That is what is happening, and needed to happen. We love Lin, and i think Lin will eventually be a very good PG on this team, but we weren't winning a championship with a Lin-led team. This is Melo's team, for better or for worse. Hopefully for the better.

It is widely thought that Mike D'Antoni wanted nothing to do with the trade 13 months ago that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York, and that Knicks owner James Dolan forced the deal upon D'Antoni and president Donnie Walsh.

In fact, D'Antoni was ambivalent about the blockbuster trade that likely wound up forcing him to resign Wednesday in his fourth year as coach of the Knicks.

He understood that the trade was a necessary move for the Knicks, who dealt a quartet of role players to the Nuggets for Anthony, a four-time All-NBA forward. "You've got to make that deal," D'Antoni told a friend near the end of last season. "If you're a fan of the Knicks then you should be happy with that trade and where the franchise is going. It may not be good for me personally, but it's good for the Knicks."

He was right on both counts. The Knicks now have a talented core of assets in Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Jeremy Lin. But the arrival of Anthony was not good for D'Antoni, whose floor-spacing offense is based on ball-movement and teamwork that has consistently brought out the best in his players, whether it's been Steve Nash, Stoudemire or Lin. Looking back on D'Antoni's last nine years in New York and Phoenix, a strong case can be made that Anthony is the only skilled talent who failed to improve his value while playing more than a half-season for D'Antoni.

The failure of Anthony and D'Antoni to work together leaves Anthony at a crossroad in his career. This is his ninth NBA season, he has won no more than two playoff series, and the Nuggets have gone 42-26 since trading him -- while the Knicks have gone 32-38 overall since acquiring him. Fair or not, Anthony will be the fall guy now that D'Antoni is gone. If the Knicks are unable to win next season, then Anthony will be the leading candidate to be moved, because Stoudemire and Chandler are unlikely to return equal value in a trade.

LOWE: D'Antoni era in New York ends too soon

D'Antoni, on the other hand, promises to be in high demand at the end of this season. He should become an obvious candidate to take over the Wizards, where his offense would surely bring out the best in John Wall, the frustrated point guard who was the No. 1 pick overall in 2010. The absence of a strong point guard in New York was a killer for D'Antoni, who often told friends that he would have accepted the Bulls' offer to become head coach in 2008 if he had known they were going to win the lottery and the rights to Derrick Rose.

At that time, D'Antoni was the hottest coach on the market following four straight years of 54-or-more wins in Phoenix. For the first two years in New York, he was charged with a roster that was being dismantled, as the contracts of Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford and other expensive talents were unloaded in order to create free-agent room for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and/or Chris Bosh. The Knicks struck out on all of their main targets before settling for Stoudemire, who received a max offer from no other team. In the opening months of his first season in New York with D'Antoni, Stoudemire was outplaying his rival free agents to become an early MVP candidate.

New Yorkers may decry his 121-167 record with the Knicks, but when did D'Antoni have a chance to win in New York? There are complaints that the Knicks gave up too much in the trade for Anthony, but that's only because the value of the players sent to Denver had been inflated by D'Antoni. Point guard Raymond Felton looked like an All-Star while playing for D'Antoni, but he has since been moved onto Portland, where he is struggling to keep his starting job. The shooting percentage and production of Wilson Chandler dropped last season after he moved to Denver; the Nuggets have gone 24-19 this year while he's been in China. Timofey Mozgov is averaging 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17.0 minutes this season as a starter for the Nuggets. Danilo Gallinari is the only asset in the Anthony trade who has maintained the level of play he showed in New York for D'Antoni.

AMICK: Top candidates to replace D'Antoni?

D'Antoni endorsed the trade for Anthony because he understood the Knicks were receiving more talent than they were giving up. He also understood that he may have neither the time nor the juice, being a lame-duck coach, to compel Anthony to space the floor and move the ball alongside Stoudemire, Lin and Chandler.

Over the last two seasons (including the playoffs) D'Antoni was 26-37 in games played by Anthony, and 34-31 without him.

Based on his record for maximizing the abilities of everyone from Nash to Boris Diaw to Lin, D'Antoni will coach again. If you want to raise the value of your players, entertain your fans and go deep in the playoffs (as D'Antoni was 5-1 in series against Western teams other than the Spurs, who were winning championships every other year during the Suns' run), then D'Antoni will be at the top of your list.

Reports out of New York insist that the Knicks players want a disciplinarian coach who will hold them accountable. They should ask themselves two questions: Will owner James Dolan empower the next coach with that authority? And if the next coach does have the authority to make changes, then how many of the current players will he view as winners?

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/wr...

I thought this was a fair article... really unbiased. MDA and Melo just werent made for each other and the Knicks were commited to Melo, bottom line. I dont even really have a problem with that.

fishmike wrote:Will owner James Dolan empower the next coach with that authority?

That, right there, is the $1M question. Let's not forget the last disciplinary coach that was here (even though he had an agenda) and the past BS claims of autonomy.

who is waiting for Marbury II to win it next year? He better get this team into the play offs this year. He might never have a stronger supporting cast.

If they wanted to purge the Walsh era then why not do it before the season began? Why use the staff to do the draft, etc?

Wouldn't it be cleaner to just hire the staff you prefer? I forgot, that would be the right thing to do and this is Dolan who figured he could use this staff until something better came along.

I believe it shows that no matter who is in the front office, Dolan will overrule them and destroy the team.

franco12 wrote:who is waiting for Marbury II to win it next year? He better get this team into the play offs this year. He might never have a stronger supporting cast.

Im not giving anyone a free pass. This roster has elite caliber talent and depth.

If the Knicks lose in round 1 to the Heat or Bulls its a failure and they underachieved. We could have done that just fine with Gallo or Crawford and Zach. We traded that whole roster for a stud horse that could compete with the big boys, so lets see it happen.

Im a Knick fan. Amare/Chandler/Melo/Lin is a still very nice core. Baron is coming around and looking better all the time. When his shot starts to fall I expect him to be the starter or play a starter type (Bobby Jackson) role where he plays 30+ minutes and probably finishes games. If its Lin fine, both are quality players. Im fine with Lin learning as a backup and being regarded as the PG of the future here.

The way this team is run is stupid, but the talent is here, and the GM who put this last group together is still here.

Melo got MDA fired, or MDA got himself fired because he couldnt find a way to get Melo to work. It doesnt matter. All that matters is the Knicks competing for a championship and anything else is dissapointment.

This is a final 4 team. Lets see these guys deliver.

I have zero desire to see this group fail. Im still waiting to be won over by Melo. He's got everything he wanted, so show us whatcha got. NY loves a winner.

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:who is waiting for Marbury II to win it next year? He better get this team into the play offs this year. He might never have a stronger supporting cast.

Im not giving anyone a free pass. This roster has elite caliber talent and depth.

If the Knicks lose in round 1 to the Heat or Bulls its a failure and they underachieved. We could have done that just fine with Gallo or Crawford and Zach. We traded that whole roster for a stud horse that could compete with the big boys, so lets see it happen.

Im a Knick fan. Amare/Chandler/Melo/Lin is a still very nice core. Baron is coming around and looking better all the time. When his shot starts to fall I expect him to be the starter or play a starter type (Bobby Jackson) role where he plays 30+ minutes and probably finishes games. If its Lin fine, both are quality players. Im fine with Lin learning as a backup and being regarded as the PG of the future here.

The way this team is run is stupid, but the talent is here, and the GM who put this last group together is still here.

Melo got MDA fired, or MDA got himself fired because he couldnt find a way to get Melo to work. It doesnt matter. All that matters is the Knicks competing for a championship and anything else is dissapointment.

This is a final 4 team. Lets see these guys deliver.

I have zero desire to see this group fail. Im still waiting to be won over by Melo. He's got everything he wanted, so show us whatcha got. NY loves a winner.

Well said......

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:who is waiting for Marbury II to win it next year? He better get this team into the play offs this year. He might never have a stronger supporting cast.

Im not giving anyone a free pass. This roster has elite caliber talent and depth.

If the Knicks lose in round 1 to the Heat or Bulls its a failure and they underachieved. We could have done that just fine with Gallo or Crawford and Zach. We traded that whole roster for a stud horse that could compete with the big boys, so lets see it happen.

Im a Knick fan. Amare/Chandler/Melo/Lin is a still very nice core. Baron is coming around and looking better all the time. When his shot starts to fall I expect him to be the starter or play a starter type (Bobby Jackson) role where he plays 30+ minutes and probably finishes games. If its Lin fine, both are quality players. Im fine with Lin learning as a backup and being regarded as the PG of the future here.

The way this team is run is stupid, but the talent is here, and the GM who put this last group together is still here.

Melo got MDA fired, or MDA got himself fired because he couldnt find a way to get Melo to work. It doesnt matter. All that matters is the Knicks competing for a championship and anything else is dissapointment.

This is a final 4 team. Lets see these guys deliver.

I have zero desire to see this group fail. Im still waiting to be won over by Melo. He's got everything he wanted, so show us whatcha got. NY loves a winner.

+1

OasisBU wrote:If they wanted to purge the Walsh era then why not do it before the season began? Why use the staff to do the draft, etc?

Wouldn't it be cleaner to just hire the staff you prefer? I forgot, that would be the right thing to do and this is Dolan who figured he could use this staff until something better came along.

I believe it shows that no matter who is in the front office, Dolan will overrule them and destroy the team.

Lets be fair... Dolan is an idiot. Did you see his press conference? I cant believe he's sober. He talks like someone who's had about 8 beers, 5 valium, some weed and a couple no doz. I mean the guy is a mumbling idiot.

But destroy the team? The team is Melo, Amare, Chandler, Lin, Baron and some other good pieces. The team is there. The question is will players lead or will they go Marbury? MDA wasnt right here because ownership didnt want him and he failed to make Melo a good fit and when the coach cant get the teams best player playing well thats a failure. Was it his fault? It doesnt matter anymore. Whats done it done.

If you look deep into the darkness of Woodsons beard (no doubt he gets all the "just for men" from clyde!) you will see the answers.

1. Strong finish and respectable playoff appearence he gets extended, unless........

2 Phil Jax wants the gig. Phil gets a 3 year contract and a big fat juice card. Maybe even GM/coach title with Grunwald as team president.
Without a juice card full of pulp, he is happy banging the Buss girl.

3. Woodson fails miserable you go for the Starphuch. I don't know Sloan like most of the guys here seem to do, but he is very intense guy and from what I have read about him I don't see him setting up shop and dealing with the media. Not the harshness but the sheer size of it takes a lot of time.

4. Monte Willams would be a good up and comer, but no starphuch. Not Dolans style.

Nalods prediction is Woodson gets the gig as I do thing/hope the team rallies around him enough to warrant his staying and Dolan loves a good buzz.

I think Dolan balks at the power PhilJax would want. Phil is a big ego and a bit of a dick about it.

Well said, and I cant disagree with your premise here, however, I differ in your stance that if we lose to the Heat or Bulls in the first round, its a disappointment. I agree that we are a final four team, but because of our poor reg season, we will meet a final four opponent in round 1. That brings us back to the regular season.

Hypothetically, if Woodson or a coach who was willing to bend his system or design a system to fit all the pieces here, the regular season should have been more successful, setting us up as a possible final four seed (top 4 in the east). Now, Woodson is left to pick up the pieces and salavage whats left. We are too far behind at this point to get a good seed. If we lost to the Bulls or Heat in the ECF, I dont think nobody would have a problme with that. Unfortunately, we will/might face them in round 1.

I think Melo still has some growing up to do. we're giving a spoiled child keys to a porsche let's see if it crashes.

fishmike wrote:All that matters is the Knicks competing for a championship and anything else is dissapointment.

I wish the key decision makers in the process made this more of a priority.

Uptown wrote:Well said, and I cant disagree with your premise here, however, I differ in your stance that if we lose to the Heat or Bulls in the first round, its a disappointment. I agree that we are a final four team, but because of our poor reg season, we will meet a final four opponent in round 1. That brings us back to the regular season.

Hypothetically, if Woodson or a coach who was willing to bend his system or design a system to fit all the pieces here, the regular season should have been more successful, setting us up as a possible final four seed (top 4 in the east). Now, Woodson is left to pick up the pieces and salavage whats left. We are too far behind at this point to get a good seed. If we lost to the Bulls or Heat in the ECF, I dont think nobody would have a problme with that. Unfortunately, we will/might face them in round 1.

Look at the bright side...if we pull a Giants and beat the Heat or the Bulls in round 1...it would be as if we won the Eastern Conference Championship! LOL! Seriously, is it better if we play more playoff games, only to lose to them anyway. Let us just make the playoffs and then "play the games".

Good post, Fish.

I hate the way this went down and hate Dolan, but what you say is true. The MDA/Melo struggle was tearing the team apart. Total speculation on my part - but I think Amar'e looked RELIEVED last night to not have to be torn between running the MDA offense correctly and trying to play with Melo.

Now they can just play.

The team is built around Melo, now it's time to see him do something. One of the best rosters he's ever had, he's been granted the role of leader and superstar - time to make a run.

crzymdups wrote:Good post, Fish.

I hate the way this went down and hate Dolan, but what you say is true. The MDA/Melo struggle was tearing the team apart. Total speculation on my part - but I think Amar'e looked RELIEVED last night to not have to be torn between running the MDA offense correctly and trying to play with Melo.

Now they can just play.

The team is built around Melo, now it's time to see him do something. One of the best rosters he's ever had, he's been granted the role of leader and superstar - time to make a run.

thats it in a nutshell. The whole team looked relieved to be over this. Chandler, Lin, Amare.... many of the guys paid MDA great praise, but MDA and Melo simply didnt fit. I think publicly they both dealt with it as professionals. MDA even admitted (See the article I posted) that getting Melo was good for the Knicks and bad for him. Melo's style didnt fit into the system, but it doesnt mean Melo is crap or MDAs system is crap. Both have proven success in the league, albeit MDA's results (playoff wins) have been better.

I root for the Knicks. Melo isnt Marbury. What was his message last night? That he's here to win and SHARE the ball. Sure... it turned out to be on his terms, but the star player is more important in this league than the star coach. Phil Jax didnt win shit when MJ retired. Doc Rivers goes from getting run out of Orlando by TMac (talk about overrated stars) to win titles with Boston. We could do this all day.

MDA wasnt escorted out like Chaney was. He talked to his players and knew a) he wasnt in a position to succeed and b) didnt have support of ownership. He's a good guy and will be just fine coaching a team run by John Wall or god forbid CP3

The distractions are gone
The coach is defensive guy
The coach's shortcomings (offense) should be helped by some very good offensive players (Melo/Amare + Lin/Diddy)
The team is healthy

All righty... lets see what we have now.

I don't know if I agree that this is a purging of the Walsh era... clealry Dolan/Grunwald want to modify the roster to their vision. But this wasn't a drastic overhaul (in my opinion anyway) and clearly the way Walsh conducted himself left a lasting impression on people. I thought Dolan handled his press conference with class and dignity and allowed MDA to leave with his head held high. I doubt the same would haave happened pre-Walsh

I think John Wall will drive MDA crazy and he will force the GM to trade him for players that fit his system

Mike D'Antoni asked to meet with officials from the Knicks and with James Dolan on Wednesday morning.

D’Antoni asked Dolan if he would be open to trading Anthony before the trade deadline, according to a person briefed on the meeting. When Dolan refused, D'Antoni offered to resign.

The decision to walk away “was absolutely Mike’s,” according to a D’Antoni associate.

“He basically said he didn’t see how he could coach them to success the way it was right now,” the person said, adding, “He didn’t want to get beat up for the next two months or see Melo get beat up for the next two months.”

The departure of D'Antoni stunned Knicks' players, a majority of whom were loyal to him and believed in his system. Many players were angry that D'Antoni may have been forced out.

“The vast majority of our team wouldn’t be in the situation we are without Mike,” said one player, who asked not to be identified because of the Garden’s charged political atmosphere. He added, “If management gets behind Mike and gives Mike a two-year extension, this doesn’t happen.”

The tension that existed between Anthony and D'Antoni, as well as with Anthony and the rest of team, has undermined the morale of the Knicks.

“He had a certain ideal of a system that we were supposed to implement,” Stoudemire said. “We all didn’t quite buy into it, and he got frustrated. And I think that’s why he took his way out.”

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/219783/Source_DAntoni_Made_Resignation_Decision#ixzz1pCJehlPm