Is Mike D'Antoni The Head Coach Or An Interim Coach?

[arthurracoon]

Is Mike D'Antoni The Head Coach Or An Interim Coach?

I have heard many conflicting reports and am confused.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

He is an interim coach. However in D'Antoni's case the Cs are letting him run out his current coaching contract with is through next season.

He is a head coach on an assistant coach pay scale

 

[arthurracoon]

thanks

 

[fordronken]

Originally posted by thegrahamcrackr
He is an interim coach. However in D'Antoni's case the Cs are letting him run out his current coaching contract with is through next season.

He is a head coach on an assistant coach pay scale

That's nice of them.

 

[JerkFace]

"He is a head coach on an assistant coach pay scale"

actually i think he was an assistant coach on a head coach pay salary.

 

[BC867]

Mike D'Antoni was not only the leading candidate to replace Frank. He was probably the only candidate.

A former Guard, serving as Assistant Coach. With the benefit of some NBA Heading Coaching experience and a bunch more in Italy.

And probably a good rapport with Mark Iavaroni and the willingness to utilize his skills to its fullest.

I hope that Mike is allowed to bring in some fresh ideas. I'm rooting for him to be a good one!

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by BC867
Mike D'Antoni was not only the leading candidate to replace Frank. He was probably the only candidate.

A former Guard, serving as Assistant Coach. With the benefit of some NBA Heading Coaching experience and a bunch more in Italy.

And probably a good rapport with Mark Iavaroni and the willingness to utilize his skills to its fullest.

I hope that Mike is allowed to bring in some fresh ideas. I'm rooting for him to be a good one!

BC, considering they went with the guard instead of the big man I'm a bit surprised by your positive outlook. Thanks. I for one haven't been feeling to positive about the direction of this team. I do think he will be allowed to do basically what ever he wants with the team as long as they win games in anything but a slow, grind it out fashion. I hope he can pull it off.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/dantoni_feature_031210.html

I love some of what he's saying.

And I know everyone hasn't really put much stock in his experience, but really, he sounds like he has a very solid background. His experience in Denver was barely that--during the strike year, and fired because Issel wanted to coach again. Coach of the Year twice in Italy as well.

Maybe he won't work out, but at least he sounds a little promising.

 

[schutd]

I agree, Chap. Theres nothing concrete in there, but I needed the reminding of his Nuggets situation ( I asked Nugs Fan for some help there), and having read that, I worry A LOT less about how poorly he did there as a reflection on his overall qualifications.

Man I hope he works out. ANd he sounds to me that he knows the reins are short on this position, and he'll be yanked quickly if things dont turn around.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Interesting read I found on a google search of D'Antoni when he was named as coach of the Nuggets....


http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1208/n41_v222/21209827/p1/article.jhtml

 

[JCSunsfan]

I would suspect that D'Antoni has been auditioning for this job for a while. FJ just held on to it longer than most expected.

DAntoni has had more pro coaching experience with the zone as a factor than anyone else we could have chosen. The zone is changing everything in the league, especially this year. Coaches that were good under the old rules might struggle tremendously to win under the new rules.

More importantly, he's been very successful at it.

I am reasonably optimistic about D'Antoni. While I don't usually get in on the "fire the coach" talk, I've never been a fan of Frank's. He just doesn't seem very, well. . . bright.

I'm much more positive about D'Antoni. We'll see.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Interesting note.

At the press conference today, DAntoni said that Zarko is going to be a very big part of the Suns future success.

 

[BC867]

Originally posted by JCSunsfan
At the press conference today, DAntoni said that Zarko is going to be a very big part of the Suns future success.

It was also reported that Jerry and Bryan were disappointed that Frank didn't use Zarco more, after he came back from the hernia.

Hey, the Colangelos and I are in agreement. How 'bout that?

I just hope they don't use him at Center, or even Power Forward.

 

[Dr. Dumas]

I do agree about playing Zarko more from a personal view. The part that I dislike, is where it sounds like Mike D is saying/doing all of the things that the C's want him to say/do.
I'm tired of the C's getting involved with telling coaches how their team should be played. Why even hire a coach!
Here's hoping that the new coach works out, and gets to bring some of his own ideas to the table.

 

[BC867]

Originally posted by Dr. Dumas
The part that I dislike, is where it sounds like Mike D is saying/doing all of the things that the C's want him to say/do.

I'm tired of the C's getting involved with telling coaches how their team should be played. Why even hire a coach!

Here's hoping that the new coach works out, and gets to bring some of his own ideas to the table.

If you've rooted for the Suns for over thirty years, Dr. Dumas, you realize that that's the way it is.

What frustrates me is the philosophy which has identified the Suns throughout their history (except for the four Barkley years) . . .

Wait to see how the other team sets up, then try to react. And man, if they go small, management just about has an orgasm, 'cause then we can go small, too. And always wind up shooting from the perimeter.

And when you play people out of position, move smaller and lighter guys to the power positions -- from Joel Kramer and Dennis Johnson to Dan Majerle and Shawn Marion.

There have been various phrases over the years to describe the Suns -- "finesse"; "50-and-fade"; small-ball. That is the way it is.

Luckily, Jerry didn't name himself Head Coach this time, as he's done twice before.

P.S.: Mike D' just announced during pre-game that he's starting Jahidi. Maybe there is hope.

 

[George O'Brien]

Why Small Ball

The Colangelos like a certain of basketball: wide open, fast breaking, high scoring, etc. They don't like slow, grind it out defensive basketball with nonscoring defensive specialists.

There are tiny number of power guys that are a great offensively. Most power guys specialize playing defense and rebounding. What is worse, most power guys are slow and it takes them a while to get down court and into position. This means that an offense designed around a strong low post player is usually a slow down offense.

Obviously there are exceptions, but it is hard to find guys with the right skills unless you get to draft in the top three a lot. Usually, the Suns draft in the mid teens or low 20s, which means the great big man prospects are gone. The guys that are left are either too light, too short, or too slow -- and none have proven offensive skills.

Since everybody wants the same tall, athletic, players like Duncan and Garnett - they are impossible to get and even harder to pay for.

The Suns only hope is to find a hidden treasure in the draft, like Amare who was projected to go much lower than he did. The other option is to steal an under appreciated backup player like what the Pacers did when the got Jermaine O'Neal for Dale Davis. I have no idea how to do that.