Olympic Experience Having a Huge Impact for the Knicks
As we think back to all the speculation surrounding who Donnie Walsh would hire as head coach, few people in NY understood the fascination with Mike D’Antoni.
“He can’t coach defense,” was one of the sentiments heard. 
“He has Steve Nash and Stoudemire.”
“What has he won?”
In actuality, what we’ve come to learn is that players LOVE playing for him, and judging by what we are hearing from China, the coach’s reputation is having a tremendous impact on the future of the Knicks organization.
You’ve heard the quotes from Kobe, which gives credence to the fact that from a system standpoint, the D’Antoni hire just made the Knicks a more valuable place to play.
But consider this. We understand D’Antoni to be a very respected man, which is to say that he’s not in China to talk about 2010 with players like Lebron, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade or Carmelo Anthony. He’s there to win for his country. But you can sure as heck bet the ability to showcase his coaching talent and personality, was a major factor in the decision for Walsh to pass over Mark Jackson, and bring D’Antoni to NY.
Players are smart also and they understand “tampering”, but between the lines during practice or during some down time, there has to be some jovial forward thinking as to what it would be like to play in a fun and productive offensive system under the lights of the greatest stage on earth.
We’ve heard Deron Williams absolutely loves D’Antoni, which is a shame since he just re-upped for 4 years in Utah. Williams is a heady player, so if he sees it, you can bet for sure that the other players on Team USA trust and respect D’Antoni as well.
Or how about Chris Paul?
We’re hearing in practice every time D’Antoni speaks he’s glued to him and feels without the style of play D’Antoni basically invented in Phoenix, Paul would not the player he is today.
That in itself is worth the hire, as there will be several job openings once 2010 comes around and maybe the players are submitting their resumes, albeit subconsciously, this summer. If it’s not Paul or Williams it will be someone else. A point guard with talent that D’Antoni can push to the next level who just may be surrounded by one of the Big Three free agents.
Remember, the Knicks do have some leverage, and D’Antoni, who’s teams are always the most fit in the NBA, will make sure that coming to NY is an honor, not a pre-retirement home.
We’re also hearing that D’Antoni isn’t taking any crap from players who feel the need to take plays off. The other day he got in a certain superstar’s ear feeling that he was dogging it.
You listening Eddy Curry?
It sounds as if Team USA is convinced by D’Antoni the tactician, and the man, which means in 2010 one or two of the chosen ones should have D’Antoni as the head coach as well.
It’s the same impact Donnie Walsh hoped the coach would have when he waited to hire him.
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theghostofwillisreed
