Carmelo: NBA Stars still love D’Antoni

Thing that still worries me is that Donnie and Mike D had trouble recruiting Grant Hill and/or Jason Kidd this past offseason. In those cases – it was about the money. Any potential unrestricted FA other than our own will have to take a paycut to come here – plus with the history of losing for the last decade and fans that will jump on them if they do not deliver the wins and/or championships.

“Offensive players love him. I can tell you that…”

That’s the part that scares me.

Winners play defense, LeBron has learned that. Remember 2+ years ago he wasn’t chasing players down for those incredible momentum changing blocks. Now it seems like he has one almost every game. _’antoni doesn’t demand that kind of hustle.

so if lebron comes here he’ll stop playing defense bc the coach doesn’t demand it??

hes the most innovative coach in the league right now, and his system should speak for itself. the fact that our pathetic team even has a single win with the players on the squad (the Nets are have much more talent and are still winless even with harris back for the last 3 games ) is a testament to that.

the knicks as they stand now are a bunch of role players. but with a legit star, or two, there is definitely enough talent from our young core to compete for a championship.

dantoni shouldnt be judged until he inherits a respectable NBA caliber roster

I think fans are more worried about the other 14 guys on the roster not playing defense – or having defense drilled into their minds by the coaching staff.

I think the idea that he’s not getting the most out of this team is fair…he can’t make them play with energy. and if they don’t and he sits them it makes it harder.

Hill and douglas will play.

As far as the system, let’s face it, it’s a star league. Every night you’re playing against the best.

The players just need to play offensively like they did last night against the average teams.

easier said than done.

No. I just think players that really know the game and what it takes to win understand defense is a necessity not a nuisance the way _’antoni seems to view it.

Those players may be less enamored with joining a coach that plays that way. They want a coach that is going to hold players accountable. Trust me players around the league are noticing how the lane looks like open like Wal-Mart on Black Friday and _’antoni’s lack of priority on it.

They gave up 128 points in regulation.

It seemed as if the Nuggets were not taking the Knicks seriously on the defensive end as if they knew they could turn it on and pull it out in the end, I guess they were right. The Knicks have to take advantage of those games, but they won’t be able to if they play defense the way they did.

Every close game the Knicks will get edged out because they can’t stop anyone and they have no go to guy.

“I think the idea that he’s not getting the most out of this team is fair…”

Isn’t that a GOOD coach’s job? Definitely a GREAT coach’s job? No?

Hey what do I know.

I think D’Antoni has lost this locker room.

He can not convince these players to come out and compete on a nightly basis even when their future in the league depends on it.

Players are not OPENLY questioning the coach at this point but from looking at MDA on the side lines they are clearly not listening to what he is saying.

of course the coach “demands” defense. Every coach demands defense. The beauty of the system is pushing the ball after missed shots or turnovers… (so the system works when you play good defense, and doesn’t work when you don’t. Every player is expected to give everything they have on defense, and if you don’t have talented individual defenders, the system doesn’t work. Why do you think Marion was such an amazing asset to the suns?

with Galo and Al and Curry and duhon and david Lee on the floor, and with spending large portions of every game with 3 small forwards in your front court, what you have is a terrible defensive teams.

The suns were in the top half in defense every year, and i suspect if their big man was more defense-oriented, and if their pointguard wasn’t so easily exploited on that end, they would have been much better.

yes, maybe D’antoni is sacrificing possible good defense by sitting darko and hill, but i guess he thinks the benefit from the offense of Lee and Al outweighs the defensive benefits of hill and darko (don’t talk about jeffries, we know he’s only playing so we can trade him). On this point, you can feel free to disagree and your arguement would be a fine one, but to say that dantoni doesnt require defense from his players is plain stupid.

You guys just have to accept that our players suck… I think D’Antoni has and i don’t blame him. My only quarrel is that Hill is getting DNP’s, but im sure that will change at some point during the season…. it better.

Yes, i still believe in him. I’m not going to judge him based on the teams performace with a bunch of outcasts and balhogs,… possibly the worst nba roster in years.

The _’antoni joke is stupid and over-used. It satisfies me that a large majority of people said they still believe in him, because from reading these comments you would think everyone hates him… I guess that just means that most of the people who decide to comment just do it cuz they want to complain.

And by the way, tommy’s positive-ness isn’t evidence of some alterior motive. he is experiencing symptoms of a disease called ‘fanhood.’ real diehard fans, tend to suffer from these symptoms. Do i think our team sucks right now? yes. Does D’Antoni, aboslutely not.

Biggie is exactly on point. The coach has lost the locker room. It seems as if this was inevidable. A bunch of guys who know they won’t be around next year, working for contracts, disheartened from losing every night. Not to mention some of them are crazy to begin with… Could you imagine being on a team like that in the toughest media in the world? Everyone knows this season was ‘thrown.” could you imagine having to coach that?

I feel bad for D’Antoni right now because there was no way to avoid this.

That’s why im dying for the rookies to play. because they are our future and they play very hard, every minute they are out there, and they are un selfish and actually care about this team.

defense is all effort and scheme.

These players exhibit NO effort on the defensive end and the schemes designed by the coach are non existent.

Duhon use to be known as an above average on ball defender in Chicago, Al Harrington showed a lot of effort on the defensive end at times last year, Larry Hughes was a top defensive player for many years, Darko inexplicably sits on the bench, Lee has not shown much defensive effort since his rookie season but played for a defensive coach in college

so far the poll, as it normally does, speaks for itself.

i have doubts about defense as this team improves, and they did play good defense in the preseason.

i’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

letf roget the preseason as a barometer.

they played the Nets three times, a Celtics team without its big three and the Israeli league team. Most players sleep through the preseason games unless they have something to prove.

fair enough, but again if the stars haven’t wavered on D’T….

Im actually surprised that almost 10% of the respondents so far consider D’Antoni an Epic Fail.

Ive been just as hard a grader on him as anyone and im still in the jury is till out camp.

I mean at this point we are married to him through the Donnie era whether we like it or not. To can him now would forfeit the whole 2010 plan and set us back five years.

Why cant Dolan just sell the team so we can really air the garden out. The stench has infected Donnie and MDA in less than 2 years.

If the rookies “play very hard, every minute they are out there, and they are un selfish and actually care about this team.”, then wouldn’t playing the rookies even 25 mins apiece and 2nd year players be a way of “avoiding it”?

Exactly. That’s why I don’t feel sorry for him, at least if he were playing a bunch of inexperienced rookies he’d have a built in excuse for the team looking so terrible.

i guess at an arms length most are saying nice things publicly.

Who really cares what Melo says to Allan Hahn for printing in the MSG owned daily.

Let me grab Melo in a Brooklyn barber shop and ask him whether he thinks MDA can win a chip playing this way or if players just like to throw up 40 points and average triple doubles playing in a system where they dont focus on the little things to win..

blah blah blah.. coach plays D.. blah blah blah..

I don’t consider him an epic fail, this is exactly what I felt would happen if he came here.

I voted “Absolutely Not” because I NEVER believed in him, so that’s not really a fair question to ask me. lol

Well said. Perfect analogy Big.

Big- when we grab a beer i’ll tell you what he said during the Olympics…the players were mic’d…and there was PLENTY of dialogue that I can’t report.

trust me when I tell you you’d be interested.

send me an email.

who did you want to hire??

A High School coach could have had the epiphanies he’s had on signing day that it took him a year to.

Epiphany 1: The need to emphasize defense on a team that is limited offensively.

Epiphany 2: A game plan that fits the player you have in order to put them in the best position to contribute and get wins as a team.

So really any coach might have been an upgrade over him in that regard. Mike might be a great coach with players who coach themselves or discipline themselves, but he just isn’t the coach you want when you’re trying to get water from a rock and get the most out of a player.

I’d have been happy with Avery Johnson or Tom Thibodeau. Or even if they gave a good coach who was below the radar a shot. Every coach starts from somewhere, sometimes an organization can get lucky and find a gem like Phil Jackson. But once again the Knicks go after the big name, I understand it was done as a lure to big name free agents, but so far it seems to be backfiring.

Since you have inside information that none of us is privy to as you stated above maybe it really doesn’t matter how the team looks this year. In that case isn’t that more reason to play the rooks 20+ mins?

It just kind of bothers me that the Knicks always fail to build from within. The last player they drafted that was in the ROY conversation was Mark Jackson and we all know what happened there. Make savvy draft picks for potential stars and take advantage of being in the lottery when you can. Instead we have to hold out a bag of money on a stick and hope a star who cares about winning more than the money (sounds backwards right?) bites and signs.

avery johnson? having dirk makes an otherwise average coach looks good. isn’t that the argument the haters use for d’antoni with nash?

thibodeau? no head coaching experience. let’s throw him to the wolves at msg. not a good move.

same goes with mark jackson and patric ewing. the lovefest with these former players with no head coaching experience would have ended after the first five game losing streak.

the knicks’ problem is the clusterfuck within the locker room where you have players who know they’re on borrowed time and play like it and the players who are there to stay who are getting frozen out. you can’t win that way and a coach can drill teamwork all he wants but if the vets don’t enforce it on the court…

None of the coaches mentioned, ESPECIALLY PHIL JACKSON for crying out loud lol a gem, does a thing for this group.

Who exactly would be the point in the triangle?

It’s why phil never went to a bad team. He knows as much as anyone that system needs certain pieces. Come on haS. that’s an easy one.

Bottom line is that you want this coach to coach your team like successful knick coaches in the past because they were scrappy and flat wanted it. There is ZERO reason to believe that this system can’t create championship caliber play based on players who want it.

the game has changed. Yes, defense wins but what I can recall the suns schemed well enough defensively to beat Kobe Bryant 2 times during the playoffs.

mark jackson couldn’t guard you.

Dirk never rebounded or played defense the way he did once he played under Avery he knows what it takes to win and how to go about it. He has a ring to prove it. At least he went to the Finals.

The coach is responsible for at the end of the day for his locker room. If he made players accountable and divided minutes in direct correlation to effort on the floor on BOTH ends and playing the right way, instead of basing it on who’s “hitting shots” then the team would be playing better.

There are enough players on this team who care/will be here beyond this year to have 5 players out there who will lay it on the line. They could go 3-79 for all I care as long as they played that way.

Toney Douglas, Marcus Landry, Larry Hughes (he’s been the consummate professional) Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries (he sucks but he gives effort and sacrifices his body on defense), if you don’t hold players accountable by rationing out the playing time they’ll just go out try and hit a few shots in a row and get hot then the coach won’t take him out because he’s hot and “hitting shots” it’s a mockery of coaching.

Maybe D’Antoni acutally believes he has a chance to turn this around and start winning some games… maybe that’s why he is still playing the vets and not the rookies; because he thinks that gives us the best chance to win (aside from JJ).

That’s the only reason i can think of, and even that reason is wrong. This team cannot win games. PLAY THE ROOKIES.

The hole, playing vets out of respect-thing, is nonsense.

avery johnson will get his chance when the cavs fire mike brown in their last desperate move to win…

IF he accepts.

why is it nonsense?

When you rebuild, you did it with your youth. Any other team in the league, especially in the small towns… when they ‘rebuild,’ they accept that they are going to lose for some time and they just play their youth and try to develop them. But since this is NY, and losing is unacceptable (even though we lose more than any team), we still try to do everything we can do to win the most games. This is starting to get to me. Just accept that we are at the bottom of the league, and START BUILDING.

I don’t know if i can handle another DNP from hill.

There is a difference between a plan and a dream. What Donnie has is a dream not a plan. His so called plan is contingent on so many factors that could go wrong it’s not realistic. It’s doomed for failure unless like I said in another post there is some double secret agreement for some trades and other things to go our way like the Celtics did. Stern knows having a great team in new York is good for the NBA and that guy only cares about money. Stern closes down offices here and fires people then opens others in China.

So anything is possible. Who thought an NBA ref would be jailed for what he did. We all know NBA refs are the worst. And Stern is a crook too as far as I am concerned. Now they are even pulling out of New York state were they make the jerseys for the NBA and sending it to Thailand, is Stern saying anything…NO. He doesn’t care, all Stern cares about is making money. So, anything is possible in the NBA.

I feel D’ant will be gone in 2-3 years and back to Europe like Milicic is. Also we won’t get the players Donnie wanted.

Again it will takes years before we are competitive again and both D’ant and Donnie will be gone.

Honestly I am sick of this team. At least nobody is calling for Dolan’s head anymore, that will happen next year when we don’t sign anybody……LMAO.

oh that was speculation by the way…or the nets.

They beat a one man team. His scheme to put his best defender in Raja Bell on him was genius, is that what you want me to say?

I’m not saying that any of those coaches “does a thing for this group” in the way of wins and losses, but they’d hold the players accountable and if they didn’t give 100% effort they wouldn’t play. My point about Phil was that he was hardly heralded as a genius before being hired by the Bulls. Period. I didn’t bring him up in relation to his coaching/style or philosophy, just the mere fact that the Knicks always go out to try and hire or lure the big name as if the fans are dumb as rocks and if they roll out a big name as if we’re all going to have a spontaneous orgasm because “NOW we have credibility”. Isaiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson, Antonio McDyess, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis all sound nice, but they didn’t turn out so great did they?

it is pointless to judge mike and or the system right now. the bottom line the talent on this team is sub-par; it doesnt matter what system you have this team still wont win 30 plus games. the coach isnt to blame here folks….. give him so more players and then see what he does. take kobe and gasol off the lakers, see how many games they win bc of the “legenedary” phil jackson.

big daddy, if you are Danny Ferry and the cavs don’t win a title, WHAT DO YOU DO SPECIFICALLY to improve them dramatically?

agreed. it is ridiculous that hill is not playing at all, disgusting if you ask me.

take lebron off the cavs and there in a worse situation then we are. they might as well tank and hope they win the lottery and get another “lebron” obviousally they wont get someone as good but a top guy.

tommy, i understand playing vets out of respect if there name is PATRICK EWING, but there is NO vet on this team that deserves respect. it is ridiculous to give guys like chris duhon respect, who is chris duhon and what the hell has he done for the city of new york and the knickerbockers NOTHING! quit the respect talk come on it is absolutely absurd

The Knicks will have a clean slate this coming summer, but Kidd and Hill probably wanted a better chance to win this season, and based on their respective teams records, it’s probably safe to say that they chose wisely!

Pat Riley worked out. And I’d say LJ did too.

you can talk about it because it’s a month into the season…won’t be like this all year i would think.

believe it or not the vets give the team the best chance to actually win…

A true professional will hold himself accountable.
That is the difference.
It is a shame when a coach has to also serve as a babysitter.

and boy am I still pissed that the Knicks traded Bill Cartwright and Trent tucker…

those deals didn’t work out and they were ONE OF OURS!!!!

to win what? were not making the playoffs, so what exactly are we winning? our record means nothing in the summer of 2010, but the development of guys like Jordan Hill, Douglas, Gallo, and Chandler does. I just don’t see how anyone can think that chris duhon deserves respect. maybe if he respected his own body and worked out hard over the summer, worked on his game, and did not regress from last year, id have some respect for the guy, but how can you respect someone whose been more of a detriment than an actual benefit to this team. respect spree, respect ewing, respect starks, respect duhon…. who the hell is he, hell no.

Big,

With all due respect, freshman and sophmores aside, could you name a coach who could get more out of these clueless self-serving players?

I wanted NY to pick up Chase Id take him over Douglas

duhon is the easy target. yes i get that.

^ what he said. This is the NBA…not JV.

Toney Douglas came into the league with defensive instincts, those are as important as effort and scheme.

He’s long, he’s quick, good anticpation, sees the ball. All the things that every guard we had over the last 6 years did not do.

i believe there is going to be a wealth of talent in the second round this year…

i know they were miced..

and they all knew who was miced..

i get it.. they all love the yuk-ster Italian from West Viginia.. He’s everybody’s buddy and a players coach..

Im with him but he’s made some awful long term strategic and in game decisions and this recent nonsense about wanting to play guys so they can get a new contract has gotten under my craw..

apoligize for being all piss and vinegar on a holiday weekend..

The tryptophan high is wearing off, the giants suck, im a mets fan and there is no basketball to watch.

See I bought into the D’Antoni idea when he was interviewing but now Im like very unimpressed for all the reasons you perfectly outlined.

I would LOVE to see a young coach come in here.. like Byron Scott did but not Byron Scott. Thibideau has roots here and would have been a good pick — even Marc Jackson — who cares if he hasnt worked before. Take a chance here.

Doesnt Donnie know anyone but the same old sewing circle? What -Ever. Im in for the ride and an orange and blue fan first so screw Donnie who went to Indiana to make it and has made some lazy decisions so far and F@#$ Dolan for ruining my franchise. I put all this on his desk anyway..

As for D’Antoni Im still saying “the Jury is Out” cause if Lebron comes here because of something Tommy heard on a mic then ill put a friggin statue of him on Broadway. But Im getting pretty tired of sitting on a fence post.

Hopefully Donnie has a “feel for” some of the talent in the second round. Since he didn’t have a feel for all of a lottery worthy talent this year I wouldn’t bet my life on them being able to get a steal with their 2 second round picks.

Nash couldn’t guard you.

Pat worked definitely, but HE actually earned his money. He did have ONE star, albeit one who needed others to get him the ball, to go along with a supermarket bag boy and they went to the Finals.

come on now with this True professional nonsense.

What is this the Marine Corps? These are professional athletes who have lives and want to win (sure) but they make buckets of cash and spend it just as fast.

they want to be global icons and make billions. Al Harrington wants to make another 10 million next year.. Lee wants 12 mil and was forced to take 7.. Nate wants a max contract according to some people.

lets call it like we see it.. Duhon is out on this town ripping it up. He is a fixture in the club scene. Lee is a party boy too. Nate is a family guy but he has his posse and lieks video games more than game tape.. .. And Q Rich was the ring leader..

Lebron has his crew.. he’s not in the gym all the time and needs a coach to kick him in the ass erry once in a while.. No one is that “professional” that they dont need a coach and completely hold themselves accountable.. this is not the boy scouts.

If MDA really thinks these guys (and not just knicks but all players) are heading home to get some sleep after the game then he needs to back to West Viginia and coach at some military school. Cause that aint NYC and it aint the real world.

if Walsh is going to publicly dismiss the whole season and say all the players are meaningless than a coach who was under the same constraints could go it.

But like HaS said.. any coach who could adapt a system to the players at hand from day one would have done better.

thats all speculation though.. I said Im on the fence .. but the players have tuned him out and the rooks are being frozen out.

Obvioudsly Mike D doesn’t want to lose and have his regular season record take a hit. So whether its out of respect for the vets or a desire to win games nobody knows. But by not playing the young guys more and giving them more responsibilty, you set them back a year in development. Its bad enough players taken after Hill are doin well or excellent while he does the Jerome James impersonation of riding the pine. I just hope because that’s all we have left that we get Lebron because anything less would make this plan of patience ridiculous. I wonder if Lebron wasn’t in play woulld Knick fans tolerate what’s goin on?

Toney Douglas does play good D.. When he gets on the court.

he gets at it.. great effort. he could mail it in if he wanted to but doesnt.

and dont forget how Riley changed his philosophies when he came to NYC..

lets hope Donnie will take the time to get a “feel for their game”

Je said it was out of Respect for the Vets.. Couldnt have made it clearer..

he could have said it was to give us the best chance to win games and no one would have blinked.

Thank you.

Nuff said.

Remember Anthony Bonner? lol. He was far from a star, but you couldn’t miss him out there. He would be all over the place for 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins or whatever.

Maybe Marcus Landry is a poor man’s Starks or at worst a Bonner type.

I mean c’mon dude if you don’t have the players beat the bushes to at least get players who will jump in front of a bullet to protect the paint.

There is a plan that seem logical. IT is all about saving money for 2010&2011. The price to pay to achieve this is having a team like the one we have. A team that not only is weak and ill structured, but also very difficult to coach because of exp contrats. Personally I’d prefer to watch the youngsters having playing time but if they do this they renounce to the possibility of trading JJ or curry or some others. For sure errors are no more accepted from now on. i think to last draft when they did not take a pg. Btw i don’t think that the cavaliers without lebron are better than us.

i think he did just fine with Toney douglas so he’s already proven that…any other way of looking at it is inaccurate and sloppy.

you obviously missed my point, then made it for me…thanks.

haS

first you tell me that getting the flashy name bc we’re NY is not a good plan then I give you Riley and you say “nuff said?”

huh?

then you say you want to see home growners like mark jackson….but wait, Riley TRADED jax bc he didn’t fit HIS system.

you confuse me…

The cavs without Lebron would be an average to below average team. IMO if the Knicks get via a trade or fa signing a secondary player like a Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson I truly believe Lebron would come. I feel he won’t sign until he see a peice he has been waiting for to play alongside him and compliment his skills. He demands the ball so an average pg is needed. If he had a Rudy or Joe Johnson players who can finish and play solid defense as well as bring the ball up the court themselves then we would have a lethal team for years to come. But the young guys who may fill out the starting line up or the bench have to be ready for the grind of the nba and the only way is to throw them to the wolves and take their medicine.

If the cavs do not win the title then they are screwed.

If Lebron doesn’t leave he will have to sit through some down years as they rebuild.

That’s why Lebron is leaving. But the Cavs have to figure out a way to secure something and not let him just walk.

The Cavs should do what every team dreads and that is to let their star walk and rebuild. If I remember correctly Riley left because he wanted to trade Ewing and rebuild but was rejected. Just like the Miami Dolphins. Jimmy Johnson wanted to trade Dan Marino and rebuild they said no, so he left. He was right of course.

So the bottom line is that the cavs have to rebuild with young players and hope Lebron doesn’t mind a few losing seasons. I though them adding Shaq was a bad idea. Honestly they needed a player like David Lee more than a Shaq and another like Eddie House. They got neither and it’s showing. They’re a slow team and are hoping Powe comes back from injury and becomes the player we all saw in the playoffs. Other wise they are in trouble. They have really very little young talent.

Unless they can make a sign and trade for a young player to pair with LeBron I think he’s leaving. But you never know what’s in the works behind closed doors. We will have to wait until 2010. ZI and Shaq’s money comes off the books but they still are close to the max even then. They would have to get rid of West’s contract and some other players just to sign a half way descent free agent.

If I was Lebron I would see if the NBA OK’s the new owner of the Nets and that stadium is going to be built. Then sign with them. They actually have a roster filled with young talent waiting for a guy like him to pull them together. He’ll be in NYC but in Brooklyn.

Cleveland has a population of less than 500,000 people. Plus they are actually losing people. Brooklyn has a population of 2.5 million, you do the math.

The Nets have some young talent in Lopez, Harris, Yi, Lee, T Williams, Roberts and 2 #1 draft picks. One just might be the first pick of the draft. So add 2 more young talented players to that list. So they have players and assets to trade and make the roster the way LeBron wants to. Not to mention the cap space to maybe sign another big time free agent along with LeBron.

Could you imagine LeBron and Bosh or Boozer or Joe Johnson even going to the Nets…..add Lopez and the others and give me a team that can match up with them. How about that!!!

“Offensive players love him. I can tell you that…”

Yes, and when you have a starting five of all-stars and a bench of all-stars, a la the olympics, the system works and evrybody is happy.

Meanwhile, the Knicks don’t even have a couple of consistent shooters, let alone all-stars.

I guess you didn’t get my initial point then.

Ignorance is bliss I guess.

your initial point was that you wanted a coach who teaches and preaches Defense.

but you also clamored for the knicks of yesteryear and mentioned mark jackson…who was actually jettisoned out of here BY pat riley (a big name, you know the guys you don’t like) because he couldn’t guard you.

how’d I do?

Pat Riley was the exception, but he only proves my point about _’antoni’s ineptness. A good coach, let alone a “genius” or “most innovative” coach in the league (some have said the world), can and will adjust to the team he has instead of beating his head against a wall to turn lead into gold. It shouldn’t take a coach a year to figure out what his players shortcomings are, he should have an idea of what he’s inheriting before he even signs his contract (that’s what game tape is for).

As far as Pat trading Mark, he’s a better coach than he is a GM. Period.

just don’t see Newark for a few years being all that attractive. MSG is an easier sell for teammates who can help him win.

if lebron wants the Nets, he’ll stay in Cleveland and head there in a few years.

But he wants MULTIPLE rings…and he won’t get one in Cleveland in the meantime if it’s not this year. Seriously what do they do?

with the right few players he can immediately challenge for one here.

no,he just wont come here because his coach doesnt demand defense

plus tommy doesnt want to lose access to the team by telling it as it is.if he came on here every day saying the knicks stink,and donnie walsh has made some mistakes,and d’anoni couldnt coach his way out of a paper bag…how quick do you think they would want to talk to him?they let him into the practice gym cause they think hes harmless

these rookies are not our future.CASH,and free agents are our future,guys like douglass and hill,they will be part of some trivia quiz in 3 years

i dont think hes an epic fail,i just think hes wrong for this rebuilding thing

those deals didnt work out?we got chaarles oakley

thibodeau woulda been my pick

no team is worse than ours,if lebron broke his leg,we would still lose to the cavs

I never even mentioned Pat Riley, you did. He is/was a big name so it is fair to point him out.

But he is also an example of what a coach should do as far as fitting a game plan/system to the personnel you have.

As far as Mark, he is a HOF point guard and he was a highly promising player and ROY when he was here. Trading him was a mistake. Period. A franchise Center and a ROY point guard are the stuff dreams are made of when building team.

LJ, as much as I loved the guy, was grossly overpaid the whole time he was here.

The mismanagement of the team seems similar to the Jets playcalling. I watch these mopes every sunday- they run all over every team yet sporadically have Sanchez throw the ball 40 yards and 2nd and 3 for no apparent reason. He then throws to the wrong colored jerseys.

Dantoni has mediocre / bad offensive players pretending to be an offensive juggernaut. You can’t have shootouts and win when your arguably the least talented team in the league. The only way this team could play semi-successfully is through dedication to D and passing the ball/ playing as a team on O. They do none of these things. At some point it becomes the coaches responsibility to get these guys to play like they give a damn.

tommy,could the knicks do anything bad enough where you would just come out and say that they suck? you are like the high school kid whos still sticking up for his girlfriend even though he just caught her doing the football team.lol

jeez ,you guys are thinking the rooks are good ,just because they are on the bench and the guys who arent playing are your only hope.Hill and douglass really arent that good.what are you gonna say when d’antoni puts them in,and they just show that they suck?

LOL Tommy you’re the best.

“…any other way of looking at it is inaccurate and sloppy.”

I agree Toney Douglas was a nice find, he’ll probably be a less athletic replacement for Nate without less passing ability (but more willing).

Its also pretty “innacurate and sloppy” to counter a reader’s point about a perceived lottery pick failure with a reference to a non-lottery pick that no one mentioned. You also said any other way to look at it is somehow incorrect.
Or in other words, none of us should dare question our dear leader GM’s decisions. Yikes.

Edit:

with less passing ability.

why wont it be like this all season?

Anywhere LeBron goes immediately becomes more attractive. Not to mention “teammates who can help him win” are probably already in place along with a possible top pick in the draft next year.

I don’t think he’s going to NJ either though, it just would make more sense from a basketball decision standpoint. However, you know more than all of us, Tommy. So, if you’re sure LeBron is signing here, I’m rolling with you.

I also assume Tommy knows a thing or two about making polls. And this one is like the definition of a misleading poll question.

You have Yes, jury still out, and Absolutely Not.

Tommy how about the word No?

Theres no use in making a poll if you are actively trying to have the respondents vote in one direction. Especially if your going far enough to alter the phrasing.

JVG was a no-name hire the NYK made…

stop being annoying, tommy did not mean anything by the way that he made the poll.

Dolan’s reputation is what we need to worry about in 2010, not D, Walsh, fans or media.

Like I said Cleveland is screwed either way the team is meant to win NOW. Unless they get a deal to sign and trade or trade for a young veteran star to add they will stink and Lebron will leave.

You forget one thing about the Nets. Both the New York Jets and New York Giants play in New Jersey. Were, nowhere’s land a small town in NJ.

It won’t matter if LeBron plays in Newark it will be the same as playing in New York.

Build it and he will come……..Brooklyn.

If I were LeBron or any other big free agent the last place I would go would be the Knicks. If it were baseball and it’s the Yankee different story, I would go. Even the Mets, Giants, maybe the Jets but never the Knicks as long as Dolan is there.

The Knicks have nothing, nothing!!!!! Not enough cap space not enough young talent, no #1 pick, nothing, no players, no assets to trade, nothing, why would anybody come here? To hang out and learn to play the game from Clyde?

I’m sure players at one time liked playing for Don Nelson too. Give me a break! Mike D’Antoni is simply not a good coach. This system of playing no D, chucking 30 threes a game and playing soft stinks. If we don’t land LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, I really hope D’Antoni quits. You don’t win in this city with that type of coach with his personality and system. We need a strict disciplinarian who preaches defense and toughness.

wasn’t Dolan a Navy man too in his younger days?

dumbo Dolan is willing to spend the money but he keeps hiring the wrong people. he needs more Navy training. lol

I’m with ya man. I need Gallo scoring 40, Toney with 10 assists or Hill with 10 rebounds to cure what ails me.

And yet, Jackson’s team would beat the other team most of the time. I agree with you most of the time, but I am still pissed off about that Jackson for Charles Smith trade. I still think it cost them a championship. Guys talked about Jackson’s lack of defensive ability for his whole career but the guy made every team he played on better.

Although it may be apparent to us that we are not making the playoffs, the players may feel differently, and for D’antoni to ‘concede’ at this point and accept the notion of letting the kids lose a bunch of games as they figure it out would be a morale killer for the vets, I think.

So I can understand D’antoni not wanting to give up on them – he doesn’t want them to give up on him.

We’ll see what happens as we get past the trade deadline and closer and closer to playoff impossibility.

I’m not a big Duhon fan, and think he’s worthless if he can’t hit a few shots. But he does that pick and roll with Lee very well, and the Nuggets couldn’t really stop it. And the guy does NOT turn the ball over. So although he may not be the ultimate answer at the point, I think D’antoni wants to keep his morale and confidence up.

It’s a delicate balance and I’m not thrilled with the job D’antoni is doing with it but I also don’t see what goes on in practice and in the locker room. So I’ll suspend judgement for now.

Bulls won 55 games and went to the Eastern Conference Finals without Jordan. Lakers went to the playoffs with basically just Kobe and a bunch of role players.

While I see Karl’s point about it being unfair to the coach, D and D are sticking to the plan. They’re handcuffed by too many square players that won’t fit in the round hole.

Next year, we get seriously upgraded, and then maybe Melo, Durant, CP3 the year after…So getting Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, or Stackhouse would have been good… IN THE 90′s! :p

I guess we could have brought in A.I., but then we would have had to hire Pat Croce as his handler…

Seriously though, a good player-coach is hard to come by, and we seem to be lacking one.

Anyway,sometimes it’s good to watch bad basketball just to see who has enough heart to play through it and who will stick around. It’s time to see who’s who.

Besides, there will be more good young players to be drafted.

Let’s take a look at 2 of your statements, Tommy.

1. “Hopefully doubters can look at Anthony’s comments and feel okay about the fact that this season hasn’t impacted D’Antoni’s league-wide perception. Although, it just sounds as if many fans have soured on their coach.”

In my opinion, Melo was just being respectful and not kicking a “coach” when he’s down. He said “I still love D’Antoni” and all that means is I respect him, not I will love to come to the NY Knicks and play for him. As Realist said: we can look at Kidd and Hill as the precursor to next summer.

2. “…plus the team can add 2 more 2nd rounders in what should be a loaded draft. Second rounders from this year’s draft have had some impact, most notably Chase Budinger, DeJuan Blair, Marcus Thornton and Jodie Meeks.”

The Knicks scouting and old man Walsh will probably screw any draft pick they have. If you look at the Knicks history of picking in the draft, it’s been consistently horrendous (Re: Sweetney, Weiss, Jordan Hill…etc). So don’t think all of a sudden they will come up with a stud in next year’s draft.

“With all due respect, freshman and sophmores aside, could you name a coach who could get more out of these clueless self-serving players?”

1. Phil Jackson
2. Greg Popovich
3. George Karl
4. Doc Rivers
5.Jerry Sloan

Neither one of these coaches would allow any nonense from these players such as not being prepared or dancing in the layup line. And if you don’t bring energy every game, you sit. Watch how fast these Knicks would shape up. D’Antoni is a “players coach” and they rarely win championships. And in N.Y., they rarely win.

That Bulls team still had Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Toni Kukoc, Bill Cartwright and BJ Armstrong, not exactly bereft of talent. Pippen was always considered the 2nd best player in the league playing with Jordan and was considered the best while Jordan was away (until Hakeem won his chip).

You jus made the point against Phil Jackson with your comment…Kobe is considered the best in the game. Look at what the most talented player in the league can do for a coach and a team. When has Phil ever coached a team without having the arguable best or most dominant player on his roster? Phil is a front runner no doubt.

Look at Mike Brown’s win record and accomplishments with Cleveland. Does anybody really consider him an elite coach? Lebron is in a Ewing like situation..a superstar surrounded by past their prime or not very talented players. So do we feel that Mike Brown is the one getting the most out of those other 14 players with his coaching skill? Pleeaasse….the NBA is all about talent. Coaching can take that talent to the next level. Red Holzman could coach this Knicks team and not get better results.

D’Antoni’s coaching style is exciting and fun for the players, but when they are losing it looks like poor coaching. This is not the only time we have seen this type of coaching but I dont recall seeing any team win a Championship with this system. We also are waitng see if this system works without a Steve Nash.

When has Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich proved they could coach and motivate less talented teams? Pop will quit coaching when Duncan retires and Phil has always only coached teams with elite talent. Phil always had Jordan and Pippen, and left after Jordan left. Shaq and Kobe…and now Kobe and Gasol. I could have won 10 championships also. Lemme see, ok Jordan you’re gonna play alot….umm pass the ball to Shaq down low…I’d be a genius too.

I’d argue that Phil and Pop would have been worse at coaching these teams and with their ego’s would have forced Isiah Thomas like trades that would cripple the team further to satitate their own egos.

Doc and Sloan are the only ones to prove they can get more than the sum of their parts..Rivers in Orlando and Sloan when Matt Harpring was their best player. Still those team had competitors and defensive players like Ben Wallace and Darrell Armstrong. The Knicks don’t have that.

thats the big question, there doesn’t seem to be anyone even close to steve nash available for this team and im not sure there is a plan to get one. We have had a black hole at point and have passed up on very good young pgs in the lottery the last two years.

They have the #1 market in the world and the the most financial resources and the most financial stability. Even if the Nets move to Brooklyn they still won’t have Knick money. Yeah, the Nets have some Russian billionaire, but how stable is the Russian economy? How many rich Russians have found themselve broke recently?

Let’s be realistic and look at what we have next year not what we might have.

Right now we have a team next year that consists of Gallo, Hill, Douglas, Chandler, Curry and Jefferies. Jefferies stinks, he cannot play and Curry hasn’t been healthy in years.

We have enough cap for one max out contract and another big contract but not max, maybe.

That’s 6 players we already have and 2 in free agency, we need to fill a roster with at least 4 more players. We have no #1 and a few #2 picks.

LeBron isn’t coming here, Wade no, Bosh, we already have PF/C type players so unless we trade one forget Bosh or Boozer why would they come here? We have NO PG. There are no really good young PG’s in free agency. If we had a #1 this year maybe we could draft someone or if Donnie was smart he would have gotten somebody in the draft instead of a PF/C who doesn’t see any minutes.

I just do not see how we can put together a team that will compete. I do not know how Donnie is going to put together a team that is not a mismatched bunch similar to what we have had for years now.

One thing I don’t understand about playing Jefferies is that everybody in the NBA now knows he cannot play. So he’s untradeable unless someone does us a favor. Why play him over Hill when you can give Jordan minutes and let him learn on the job with 15-20 minutes a game. It doesn’t make sense if he’s going to be a big part of our future.

I think NBA stars are intelligent enough to understand that a coach can’t win with Chris Duhon and Jared Jeffries.

Melo’s statement is politically correct though, I don’t think it is particularly interesting/significant.

LOL damn, Weis? C’mon man Hill isn’t that bad is he? Geez I hope not. If he can be a taller and less pleasantly plump Sweetney I’d be happy. Sweetney was able to board and get to the line at will it seemed.

However, the Knicks should have had the cojones to take a risk in the draft for a potential star. You don’t get better by looking for “nice complementary players” in the lottery when your team sucks.

Hill will have 10 rebounds in a game before the end of the season.

Gallinari with 40 or Douglas with 10 assists? That’s tough. I doubt either of those happens.

Douglas couldn’t even average 3 (2.9 was the highest) assists in 5 years of college,

Galilinari can barely get off 10 good shots in a game. Slow, one-dimensional (so far), weak (back injury) and soft (passive) doesn’t translate to 40 points in this league.

He has the best chance under _’antoni though, with more possessions and not having to worry about being pulled out of the game because of his inability to stop anyone.

People underestimate how difficult it is to get up the volume of shots that Kobe, LeBron, Wade and Carmelo (people have to start mentioning this guy in that company) are able to on a nightly basis.

You might be on to something there. Hey I’m not mad at Tommy though, he has a job we probably would all kill for, so if he has to bite his tongue or err on the side of positivity, it is what it is.

You’re doing a great job btw Tommy.

He was an in-house promotion, but that proves my point.

Everyone is saying well “who would you have hired?” as if _’antoni invented coaching and no one else would have been capable.

LOL Tommy does ten to skew his polls, but I seriously doubt he does it intentionally.

It should be just “No.” Or it should say “Unequivocally Yes.”

The “#1 market in the world” hasn’t translated to a championship in 36 years and counting. So what does that really mean?

Larry Hughes is better than Darrell Armstrong. There are some players on this team that are more than capable of playing good defense. _’antoni is just incapable of bringing that out of a team. Period.

no he does by accident?does it on purpose? or just does it?

I’m sure it’s more subconscious than anything.

I like JVG for his short stint