Gallo Talks Lebron; Knicks Lacked Locker Room Leadership

I agree with the notion that the veterans need to lead by example, the coach can’t do everything! David Lee, Al Harrington, Tracy McGrady etc. did a TERRIBLE job, you’d think that they wanted to lead by example… LMAO. Only the young players tried to play defense!

The lack of leadership killed us. But I don’t think our young players have been influenced too much by the veterans – can imagine Al Harrington’s impact on a Michael Beasley for example (and I like Beasley)???

*can you

Yeah I posted about that yesterday. The pretense and pretentiousness behind people like David Lee and Al Chucketts calling themselves leaders is unbelievable. First of all, a leader has to lead by example, on BOTH ends of the floor. So of course that eliminates them from the ridiculous idea that they could be leaders. What a joke..Im glad Bill Walker called them out on that..Obviously I think he didn’t say it until after the season so as not to create controversy during.

I can’t believe Gallo would come out and say that..but its not really a big deal. I would think with the secret service media control at MSG that Gallo would be taught and conditioned to not say something like that. But whatever..Its tough to fault a player for being completely honest and open, unless its Crybaby Hughes crying to the media after the team wins because he didn’t get his minutes.

This article is mostly garbage because the no one expects the coach or any one player to do it all. The coach sets the tone for what is to be tolerated on the team and what is to be emphasized. A good coach gets players buy it and maybe there’s a player or two to help seal this in the locker room.

However, EVERYONE knows this coach cares less about defense or putting a normal lineup on the floor. We brought in a hig paied coach who can’t lead and surely can’t be accountable himself. Now, are we to expect the players to overcome for this lack of leadership in the coahcing position?

This coach sucks and the quicker mgmt gets this, the better off we may be.

I thought Duhon was our “leader”.

Man won’t you stop blaming the coach?

I don’t necessarily disagree with you but this article is about the PLAYERS lack of leadership. It’s tiring man.

I respectfully disagree with Mucha. Keep it coming X!

I’m far from being a Mike D’Antoni fan – even though he’s that bad IMO – and I criticize him on a consistent basis. But the fact that some of us can’t even criticize the players alone is tiring man. Mike D’Antoni should’ve benched Al Harrington and David Lee – he didn’t do it but it doesn’t mean that the veterans shouldn’t be criticized for their lack of leadership. We MUST single out these bums.

Dude, How can you expect players to lead when the coach does not? Do you really think the reason we don’t play defense is because the players don’t lead?

My pt is that accountability starts with the coach period. The coach has to demand this from the players! No one does it alone!

You keep trying to bypass where the bucks stops! To do that, is a hige mistake. If your dad or mom in your household sucks, why do you expect the kids to take the load for what their parents can’t and will not do?

Leadership starts fromt he top! Otherwise why do we need a coach if it’s all on the players?

I’m so tired hearing about how the expiring contracts are being used as excuses for not exercising leadership. It just shows you the character of these guys. Leadership is something you have or not period. You don’t just turn it on because you think of the future. Good riddance…

When you where in school guys do you remember what your class was like when a substitute teacher was there for the day? It was a mad house!! spit balls, half hour bathroom breaks, no class work!! Yea no leadership at the top leads to a mad house.

Leadership has been missing from the locker room, and on the floor, for a long time. But you can’t put it all on the coach, the players have to lead too.

Doc Rivers is a great case in point. He was thrown under the bus by his own players in Orlando, and ended up fired. In Boston he’s respected without question. The biggest difference? Player leadership.

Mike D and Donnie have repeatedly said that character will be a premium in building their roster. I am inclined to believe them based on their resumes.

Player character is also, more ore less, Mike D’s defensive scheme. Players who care, defend. If all the players care, they defend as a unit. There’s are an article on RealGM today about The Suns stating just that.

Totally selective memory. D’antoni yells at his team for defense all the time. D’antoni might not be getting good defensive results but to say he doesn’t demand defense is just plain lying.

Doc Rivers yelled at his 2007 squad about defense too, but he was he held accountable for their 24-win season? No, the Celtics gave him a chance under real players.

Damn it my guy Jerome Randle is moving up draft boards fast as hell!! =(
He opened to many damn eyes in the Portsmouth run!! (he was named MVP there) Damn damn damn!!!

+8

It’s hard to get leadership when every player over 24 on your roster is a lame duck. One of many circumstances stacked against D’antoni. D’antoni far from shined this season, but the number of coaches that could turn this swamp water into wine can be counted on 1 hand.

Yeah, PIT skyrocketed his value, he’s the new draft steal nominee. It doesn’t help that DX has been talking him up for the past 2 weeks.

It’s on the players. They have to give a damn. They’re paid a LOT of money to put forth 100% on both ends of the floor. Mike D can give them a plan, but they have to execute it. I’ve said for a longgggggg time that leadership is probably the biggest thing that was missing from this team the last 2 years. I guess ultimately thats the end result of a slash and burn rebuild. There was no loyalty to the team. Although, as professionals, looking for their next contract, THAT should have been enough. But I guess not..

Since the thread is about young players, leadership and success, I want to comment about Michael Beasley quickly.

The kid is supposedly on the block, which is hard to believe because he’s only 20 years old. I’m not a huge fan, but the skill set is definitely there. Moreover, as a PF in a Mike D offensive scheme he could be really special.

Any thoughts about the Knicks making a move for him? I view it as low risk salary wise, but high reward potential wise.

I think a Chandler for Beasley trade is the most likely scenario, (and a good fit for both teams). If it’s a draft day trade, the Knicks would take on an additional 2.8 million in salary going into free agency.

Fingers crossed somebody upstairs on for the Knicks is on this! Seems somebody in the front office has spoken to him and set up a meeting so I am excited!!

I hear you, I just think at this point Chandler has shown more upside. Add to that the fact if we make a trade for a better player via draft he would most likely be a part of that. If I trade him it would be for a proven guy not a project IMO. But I can understand where your coming from.

+16

But I do have to say that Dantoni just should have benched the players to begin with. I can’t believe that Al Chucketts or Avi Lee were never benched, and he stuck with Duhon for way too long.

At the same time, I have to agree that with a team full of lame duck players who were there more because of their expiring contracts than any fit with this team, it would be tough for any coach to get the most out of them. Which is why he should have benched them to begin with and just went young with Gallo, Chandler, Douglas, and Hill along with whoever else could be found on the cheap with a chance to stick around.

I agree Blackwood. I’d rather have Chandler than Beasley at this point. Dwade is getting tired of making excuses for Beasley and I would not be surprised to see the Heat trade him if Wade sticks around.

Obtaining Beasley at the draft takes a lot of pressure off of the Knicks front office in free agency.

Donnie can then go into free agency with Gallo and Beasley plugged in at the wings. That should make it easier to concentrate on players for the backcourt and the 5 spot.

As far as PF is concerned, I’d rather Beasley for under 5 million than Amare for 15 million, or Lee for 10 million. I’m not sold on Bosh as a 20 million guy at all.

We can also try to get Miami’s first (#18) in a draft trade. That may be high enough to grab James Anderson or Eric Bledsoe. It’s another guaranteed million dollars against the cap but I think its worth it for the right player.

Well Im not sure. Can’t he do the same thing with Gallo and Chandler at the wings? I understand Beasley has more potential probably, but as of right now Wilson is a much better player, who’s versatility allows him to guard 1-4 on the court. Beasley can’t do that. I think I would rather just go in to free agency with Gallo and Chandler locked in as the wings, and focus on getting a 1 and a 5, assuming of course Lebron is off the table.

I have a good friend who is a celtic fan and he told me the way people speak about D’antoni now reminds him of how boston fans spoke of Doc Rivers in 2007, the guy can’t coach, bad leader for the team, etc….and he already had a true all star in Pierce on his team

Then Boston gets Garnett and Ray Allen to play along with Pierce, they win a championship and Doc Rivers is a genius LOL

I’m just sayin’ it’s funny to here that from a guy that followed the Celtics and Doc Rivers when they sucked like we do now

I wonder what people say about D’antoni when he gets a couple of All Stars on his squad…is he better than Rivers if he wins a championship with only two of them lol

D’antoni should have slashed minutes off Lee and Harrington to prove a point, but if he benched his 2 best players (offensively at least) and fan favorites, even more people would be calling for his job.

no thanks, Chandler is a model citizen and a great player…who want’s beasley and his problems.

I hear where your coming from but I cant see that helping us with all Beasley issues as far as drive and dedication which was the issue with him coming out of school is what we need. He is like a not fat EC lol all the talent in the world but none of the drive to use it!

They wont give up there first round picks!! They need them to upgrade there talent on the cheap.

I know its easy for me to say in hindsight, but since we were losing anyway why not just do it with younger guys who would play hard regardless?

But anyway, we started the season off 1-9, I think we were 3-14 also, and the only sustained period of winning was when we benched Nate Robinson. While this is a major leap of logic I guess, I think if Dantoni had done the same thing with David lee and Al Harrington and Chris Duhon, the team would have responded and played better.

While I understand Lee is a fan favorite, Al Chucketts most certainly is not. Half of MSG groans whenever he touches the ball because they know no one else is touching it. He should have definitely been benched, considering he fills the same role as Nate Robinson and has the same flaws, notably more so because he doesn’t even bother trying on defense or on offense when he doesn’t have the ball.

“I wonder what people say about D’antoni when he gets a couple of All Stars on his squad…is he better than Rivers if he wins a championship with only two of them lol”

If D’antoni gets all-stars and does well, he’d probably challenge Doc Rivers and Mike Brown as the most overrated coach in the league. I think D’antoni is a solid coach and I find 7sol intringuing and fun to watch, but he’s nothing special.

Beasley is soft and the knicks should be careful taking players teams don’t want. Beasley however is worth more than Lee since he makes only 5 mil as opposed to 10-13 mil Lee will get. It all depends on who the knicks are giving up for him(Not Chandler, not Gallo,but TD) and who is playing the 5. I personally feel the knicks can do a lot better and should stay away from that dude. I have been reading a lot of stuff on line and I have reasons to believe the knicks will try again to get Rubio this summer. With all the heat Donnie has taken from not getting a pg in the draft and the roster being depleted of pure pg’s Im sure the knicks will have atleast 3 on the roster for next season.

I agree with that point, but you also have to think of the fans. If the Knicks are going to lose anyway, the average fan doesn’t want to shell out money to see the 2 best players on the sidelines in their warm-ups.

The fan favorite comment was more directed at Lee than Al, but when Al was on, the crowd loved him, no doubt.

I still think Mike could be a good coach here once we improve the roster but I still question some of his decisions such as:

1) Not playing the young guys more

2) Late-game play-calling

3) Throwing a guy like Nate in the doghouse while Al Harrington keeps getting playing time and all he does is chuck bad shots up

4) Gallo having a great 3rd quarter only to see him sitting back on the bench getting cold in the 4th

I would also like to see a little bit of fire from the coach when our guys are walking up and down the court…start yelling at guys or if a guy starts dogging it on the court tell him to take a seat on the bench and let someone who wants to hustle get in there…accountability!!! Why in the pros can guys dog it and it’s okay but if you did this on your college team you’d be running laps til you puked!!!

That’s what I always liked about a Bill Parcells…it doesn’t matter how much money a player he makes, he plays hard or gets chewed out!!

http://www.concretejunglehoops.com/

sign white chocolate on the cheap

There is news that Amare is close to an extension with the suns .

The one thing I notice with knicks fans is that they think small and are pessimist when it comes to big plans. Whte Chocolate? Are you serious? Me Im different I think about the future of the knicks and building a good team that will be good over the years with a strong young core.

+1 ds2488….I completely agree…coach was in love with Harrington and Duhon…it took FOREVER for him to finally sit Duhon.

It would of been easier to stomach some of the losses if they were b/c rookie mistakes rather than veterans in there losing those games. I would of rather the year gone fully to progressing the young guys rather than continuously watching guys who won’t be here anyways getting all the minutes.

knick fans “think small” ?
our hopes are pinned on signing the best player on the planet

Dude, I’ve been syaing D’Anonti is a poor coach even when he had great talent in PHX. If you watched the playoff espeically them you would see his team had no clue after critical timeouts and they couldn’t get a stop if their lives depended on it.

That’s because 7SOL may win games in the regular season when teams are not fixed on playing a running team each night especially when they have played the night before or have other games to play the next night or so.

In the playoffs, a team has focus on the team they are playing each game to win the series to move on. That is why 7SOL is a huge bust for winning a ring.

I’ve stated time and time gain that Doc Rivers isn’t the best coaching mind but he does hold his players accountable most of the time. No one is complaining about N* not playing much when he isn’t doing what the coach expects of him for now.

I truly think Skiles will be a superior coach in a few years. The Bucks are depelted but yet they still compete each night. That a coach being a leader of men.

Our coach is a bust period.

YIKES! We won 29 games and you have the nerve to talk about this team like D’Antoni would be benching Kobe or Dwade if he sat ANYONE down on this team for the right reasons!

YIKES! You say the coach doesn’t have the players and YET you say in the same breatch that this coach can’t bench anyone for fear of being yelled at? Reconcilie that will ya!

On one hand D’Antoni is stated to be stuck with Isiah’s players and yet he can’t bench them. With that kind of b.s., you should be the RNC Chairman!

This coach had a empty slate in that this team wasn’t expected to do much so he could mold these players anyway he thought was best for the team overall.

It’s not about yelling on the sidelines to pretend you care. You csre by installing accountability and leadership. The maybe the players will follow your lead.

I didn’t see my Jets Rex Ryan crying about not having players and etc or the team’s recent history stopping him from getting the most oout of his players. Rex Rynan is a leader of men and we have whimp in our coach period.

the problem starts with management then u start picking off the rest of the employees..
danni boy has no leadership skills an the knicks don’t have anytype of guys that would get up on teammates.

so it’s a bad combination..

GOODLUCK donnie
danni boy was your first mistake
then u followed up with duhon what a great g.m.lmao.

any1 could of cleared cap..

yo X i’m a b-ball guy i know who’s the problem an who’s not.

your on point..

go JETS
if they stay healthy they winning it next year..

goodluck knicks..

I’m not sure if you noticed, but Doc gave nat 6 seconds in th playoffs so far….6 seconds!

maybe nate puts himself in the doghouse, right?

don’t worry man…i’m not worried about you…i’m sure that even if D’antoni brings a championship to ny, you will still say that he sucks lol

I’d LOVE to see Beasley and Gallinari at the 3 & 4.

No excuses but I think Spoelestra and Dwyane Wade don’t really know how to communicate with Michael Beasley – I think this guy needs a pat on the shoulder. On the other hand Gallinari needs to get his butt kicked when he’s not playing well but that’s another story.

If the Knicks can’t sign Wade, James, Bosh etc. I would consider trading for Michael Beasley because he CAN be special. I think Chandler’s more consistent and obviously more coachable but Beasley’s talent is crazy.

lol Yeah you keep wiating for that to happen which couldn’t happen in PHX with a two time MVP.

Some of us really watch the game and sees what is occuring on the floor. The man can’t even bring us to the playoffs and you expect beyond miracles from him.

Yep, Did you see we got some older stars like LT and Jason Taylor to go along with the youth movement. The CB chosen in the 1st round was a great pick to go along with our other 2 CBs.

We should be a team to be reckoned with. Rex Ryan has attitude and the team will follow his lead!

lol…i didn’t say i expected a championship, but it’s not impossible either…Jerry Sloan doesn’t have one either you know?

But let me ask you this, if D’antoni wins a championship, even if he has amazing talent, would you admit that you were wrong and say that D’antoni is a good coach?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2010-04-24-3402550036_x.htm

lol dude, The Jazz under sloane got to the Finals twice in back to back years against the MJ bulls. The Jazz took the bulls to game 6 both times and it could have gone to game 7 easily.

D’Antoni NEVER took his team to the finals ONCE and he had a two-time MVP. There was NO MJ either.

Dude, D’Antoni isn’t win a ring with ANY team running the 7SOL! Yes, I will admit I was wrong if he does but the question you should ask yourself, “Why am I expecting the things to change from this coach when he has had the best talent and still couldn’t get to the FINALS with a two-time MVP?”

wish the knicks had SCOTT SKILES as coach…

but the knicks got a 1 trick pony as coach….

poor knicks..

too small.plus i didnt see him in nba draft .com in 2 rounds.i wouldnt worry about him being gone by the time the Knicks pick,although i dont think the Knicks will pick him anyway

Odom, Artest and Fisher are sooooo overrated…

Mostly to x-man.
Have u ever played organized basketball for a team and in a league before? I mean, did u play for your high school or ur local night center team? Dont answer because it is obvious that the answer is no! But you are not alone, you are typical of most people that write on these blogs. I would not care if one was Phil Jackson, Red Holtzman, or Arnold ‘Red’ Auerbach, no one would have won with the motley crew called the 09/10 knicks. You could not be more wrong in your post. All teams absolutely DO need veteran leadership and locker room presence. All teams DO need a leader on the floor who is not the formal coach. Ive played with several people both on my team and against that made it to the pros and on all of my teams there were at least two people whose voice was heard loud and clear both on the floor and in the locker room. These people were the ones who wielded peer pressure and willed victory and Ive played with or against Greg (Jocko) Jackson (who was a knick), Jimmy McMillan, Lloyd Free, Fly Williams, Dean Meminger, and Mel Davis, and against school yard legends such as The Helicopter, Earl Manigault, Joe Hammond (who was the best ive ever seen-EVER). In fact, my first team was coached by Sonny Dove so I know what I am talking about. You think Michael wasnt the locker room leader? You think Willis wasnt? This post has nothing to do with whether I believe Dantoni is a good or bad coach but everything to do with your misinformed writing. A coach with no team or team leader cannot be successful, its that simple son.

Dude! Where have you been? lol I’ve played organized b-ball at a very high level. I also road the pine when I din’t play ANY defense because my coach wouldn’t accept players who didn’t put out a good effort on defense.

It was imbred in me because I had coaches that made it mandatory to get PT. That’s my pt. Don’t ever tell me that a pro b-ball player can’t play defense or put out max effort on defense. That’s total bulls-h-i-t!

You seem to miss the main pt which is that a coach or one player doesn’t have to do it all. However, there is a reason why the coach is the coach. The coach allocates the PT and decided who is and isn’t in the game. That one of his/her biggest factors to use to rein in players who need to play to make get that big contract and etc.

On this team where there are no real superstars, it is mindboggling for any of you to think that this coach can’t demand accountability on the floor during games. What player on this team has the rings to overthrow this coach? This should tell you that this coach is a dog! A sorry one at that.

I sure don’t see Scott Skiles crying about anything when his team competes each game even though it has been depleted of several key players. Skiles is a good promising coach. We have a phony…a DanPhony to be exact!

As for MJ being the team leader. Yes but MJ didn’t win a d-a-m-n thing until he got with Phil Jackson and he got help as well. As Bill Parcell proved, you have to have key players that can lead in the lockeroom but as a coach, you have to lead as well. Players know who’s full of crap and I can tell you that with certainty.

lmao! I agree! We got a 1 trick Danphony!

Many of us told ya that the Thunder is a team to be reckoned with. They have a young talented team that very sound and can push the ball against an aging LA team. Once the Thunder gets a real center and Westbrook improves his shot, they will be the team to beat for years.

You hate the coach. I think everybody understands that. Now can’t you single out the veterans when they are the topic of discussion?

I don’t necessarily disagree with you man, but I think it’s overly repetitive.

I said “The Thunder might upset the Lakers”, I was actually the first member to say it lol.

Veterans? Didn’t you folks say we don’t have the players? So why does this coach keep playing the veterans when they aren’t the answer and don’t provide the leadership you are pointing out?

It’s so sad that you can’t see that no matter how you look at things, this coach sucks period! It’s not like he gave up on these veterans and decide to play the youth so get them ready for 2010-11 when we may have help! Imagine that? lol

So this coach plays bad veterans when we know we ain’t going anywhere and yet we are to blame the veterans!

Repetitive? We not making the playoffs and not developing our players, now that’s repetitive. lol

Expecting this coach to win a ring when he has no clue…now that’s repetitive.

Expecting this coach to communicate effectively with his players when it never happens, now that’s repetitive.

Expecting LBJ or a real superstar to come here by saying everyone luvs this coach, now that’s repetitive.

I only saying that our coach sucks and should be fired. It’s that’s repetitive, I’m guilty as charged. At least I’m accountable. lol you sure hold me too this! Why not our coach for being dumba-s-s?

Keep preaching X: I’m with you.

Antoni says he played the vets in order to make a playoff push – was he watching the same games we were? Al Harrington holding onto the ball on a 3-on-1 break ? Duhon’s 4 pt, 2 ast, 4 TO gems? What’s crazy is that it wouldn’t have been mutually exclusive to both get the young guys some reps AND make a playoff team – our team could have actually been BETTER (well, they at least couldn’t have been much worse) if Douglas and Hill had gotten more minutes.

He said he couldn’t play Darko and Hill because of the backlog at forward, even though we played with no center. Send Al to the bench where he belongs, send Lee to PF where he belongs, and get some shot blocking in the middle. Instead of sitting and watching Duhon stink up the joint for consecutive months, let Douglas get some reps.

have you been watching Nelson killing it in the playoffs! Have you watched Nash plays zero defense yet he was MVP twice! I understand he is short but you need more vision then that, other then being short what flaw basketball wise does he have? He is twice the player IMO that jameer nelson is! He has unlimited range on the jumper, lightning quick release, explosive first step, top notch handle court vision & passing. These are the things said about this player. The worst in fact only thing negative that can be said is he is short,shit I will take short if all those other things come with it.

This whole discussion is somewhat silly. You are all correct.

D’Antoni did a terrible job this season. You can’t really defend him. His late game management, stubborn refusal to bench certain veterans, and mind games with other players all did not work out. This was not a 50 win team to start the season, but you can’t give him a pass on our record the past two years. The team wasn’t even competitive most nights. Unacceptable.

I also find it funny that the same guys claiming I am too negative about this team and the roster being blown up are giving D’Antoni a pass because the “roster sucks”. Can’t have it both ways. I agree that the players on this team needed to step up and hold each other accountable for the lack of defense, lack of hard fouls, and lack of feeding the hot player the ball during stretches of games. But again, that is part of the reason this thing needs to be blown up. No one should be untouchable.

For example, most here and in the media thought Gallo was going to be a leader on this team this year, but I don’t see anyone calling him out for our record. D. Lee supporters have nothing to say about his lack of oncourt leadership. I even see some people calling for Team Captain Morgan, Chris Duhon, to be resigned. Really?

Who’s giving Mike D’Antoni a pass?

nash never got to the finals either, with or without dantoni, does that make him a bad point guard? He’s always had a lot of talent around him too

oh..and sloan has been coaching a lot longer than dantoni…2 finals appearances is pretty good for all those years, i guess…he had a couple of hall of famers that helped out too…and don’t discount how good duncan is with the spurs either, it’s not like there hasn’t been amazing talent winning the finals the last few years lol

“1) Not playing the young guys more”

Did gallo and chandler not start almost every game they were healthy?

Did ToneyD not start about 1/5 of the games during his rookie season?

seriously, if the jazz were in the east they wouldnt have made the 2 finals.

The spurs were beasts during the time PHX was great. They had a great shot at beating them one year, and their stars got suspended in what is considered by many one of the most unjust league decisions ever.

Was Pat Riley and Jeff VanGundy bad coaches when they were on the knicks?

@gbaked

Too much Al Harrington and Chris Duhon instead of more Jordan Hill and Toney D.

1/5 of the season, we were basically out of it by February so that 1/5 needs to be a bigger fraction.

Even Gallo should of got more minutes..as one of the points I made, Gallo would be on a hot streak and then would be benched for another 10 minutes the very next quarter..i understand he needs rest but c’mon now.