THIS was all they asked of D'Antoni?? What a baby!

[dreamcastrocks]

good article.

 

[Covert Rain]

Good article. D'Antoni didn't leave just because he was being asked to emphasize defense more. That was only part of it. He also felt like Suns management no longer supported him. However, I think Mike's ego about his system is still the biggest factor.

D'Antoni is stubborn and inflexible when it comes to his bench rotation and system. He was out coached in big games. I have always said he was a good coach. Just not good enough. I don't care if he is better then 97% of the coaches in the NBA. If he has to coach in a world where he will never get past the other 3% and win a title then what's the point?

A title is the goal. Not a winning record in the regular season. Not creating a great brand of basketball to watch. Not having "some" success in the playoffs.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Good article. D'Antoni didn't leave just because he was being asked to emphasize defense more. That was only part of it. He also felt like Suns management no longer supported him. However, I think Mike's ego about his system is still the biggest factor.

D'Antoni is stubborn and inflexible when it comes to his bench rotation and system. He was out coached in big games. I have always said he was a good coach. Just not good enough. I don't care if he is better then 97% of the coaches in the NBA. If he has to coach in a world where he will never get past the other 3% and win a title then what's the point?

A title is the goal. Not a winning record in the regular season. Not creating a great brand of basketball to watch. Not having "some" success in the playoffs.

In the East, he might not have to do that. Those 3% of the coaches, all reside in the West, and they might kill each other before Mike gets to them. Besides, by the time Coach D can turn the Knicks around, most of those 3% coaches may be retired anyway.

 

[Mulli]

Not a good article. He lost me when he said Phil Jackson has yet to beat him. Please.

 

[DeAnna]

Not a good article. He lost me when he said Phil Jackson has yet to beat him. Please.

Those are the facts.

 

[nashman]

Phil Jackson hasn't beat him in a playoff series like it or not. Good article, and how bad is it gonna suck if NY gets better faster than us and our new coach, whomever it may be.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Phil Jackson hasn't beat him in a playoff series like it or not. Good article, and how bad is it gonna suck if NY gets better faster than us and our new coach, whomever it may be.

They'd have to get rid of Curry/Randolph, but I could see something working there. I think he can get that team to 500 ball.

 

[nashman]

They have money DCR and are NOT afraid to use it, Dantoni will get that team up and running quickly! Dantoni had serious issues with the front office here and it could have been micromanagement as well as he just knew their plan wasn't to get a championship but to be financially sound team. Dantoni wants to win and in NY I beleive they are gonna let him get some players and they will be a team in the east that will win some games, lets not forget the Suns were a terrible team when he came here, people can say what they want but he was very successful here.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

They have money DCR and are NOT afraid to use it, Dantoni will get that team up and running quickly! Dantoni had serious issues with the front office here and it could have been micromanagement as well as he just knew their plan wasn't to get a championship but to be financially sound team. Dantoni wants to win and in NY I beleive they are gonna let him get some players and they will be a team in the east that will win some games, lets not forget the Suns were a terrible team when he came here, people can say what they want but he was very successful here.

I never said they didn't have money. I know they have a ton of it. More than any other team in the league.

They just have players (like Curry and Randolph) that can't run. They have other players that could flourish at it though. (Marbury, Crawford, Lee)

 

[cly2tw]

I never said they didn't have money. I know they have a ton of it. More than any other team in the league.

They just have players (like Curry and Randolph) that can't run. They have other players that could flourish at it though. (Marbury, Crawford, Lee)

Actually, having tons of money was the curse for NY ever since Leyden became in charge followed by Thomas. They freely gave away unmovable huge contracts that suffocated their room for meaningful trades.

 

[nashman]

Watch and see if they don't QUICKLY get some players for Dantoni, the difference between here and there is they want to win and will spend to do it, luxury tax be damned! The Knicks will be in the playoffs in the within the next 2 seasons.

 

[Suns_fan69]

I think this about sums up the situation that went down: http://www.slamdumb.com/c15.php

 

[nashman]

^ yeah sure! People need to quit assuming you know what Kerr asked Dantoni, and their was clearly a rift between Dantoni and this ownership/GM that came in after Dantoni. Problem is I trusted previous ownership/GM a hell of alot more than the current one, and apparently so did Dantoni. He made himself some money and probally feels as he got off the ship before it sinks, oh and its sinking unless some moves are made. Is the current GM/Owner capable of some good moves...they have yet to prove it!

 

[Maligzar]

Jeezus! It wasn't like they asked for him to slow the Suns down! I think he just wanted to bail after he saw how San Antonio beat us again in the playoffs. What's the solution for Mike to get past the Spurs? Eureka! Go to the Eastern Conference!

All of you here will regret the words you write here when Mike turns the Knicks around. Just like he did the Suns. Don't forget who wanted to bring Steve Nash here in the first place.

Baby? ARe you kidding me? The Front Office stripped his team, sold his draft picks, and basically is telling him he doesn't know what he's doing. This is a former coach of the year, a guy who was heralded for bringing exciting basketball back into the NBA. Entire teams adjusted their style because the Suns proved that it could work.

Michael Jordan can't run a basketball team but Steve Kerr is suppose to be able to? You have got to be kidding me.

Mike, best of luck to you man. You were smart to leave, and I'm glad you're going to go someplace where they will support your offensive system.

The Suns are done. We'll have 2 disappointing seasons, Amare will leave in free agency, and then we'll have to rebuild. That's only if Kerr doesn't trade Amare for draft picks and cash.

 

[Maligzar]

Watch and see if they don't QUICKLY get some players for Dantoni, the difference between here and there is they want to win and will spend to do it, luxury tax be damned! The Knicks will be in the playoffs in the within the next 2 seasons.

The Knicks make the playoffs in 2009. No doubt at all.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't care if he is better then 97% of the coaches in the NBA. If he has to coach in a world where he will never get past the other 3% and win a title then what's the point?

A title is the goal. Not a winning record in the regular season. Not creating a great brand of basketball to watch. Not having "some" success in the playoffs.

Winning a title should be the goal of every NBA team. D'Antoni just hasn't been able to get the Suns to the finals in the past four years. However, will you be happy if the Suns don't even sniff being a Championship caliber team for the next several years (or possibly more) and perhaps the Suns slip into mediocrity?

I'm not saying it will happen but if a title is the only standard, be prepared that the Suns could go another 40 years without winning a title and look terrible while doing it. At least for the past four years with D'Antoni the Suns always had the hope of a title.

Maybe many Suns fans will soon fondly look back to the D'Antoni coaching days where he was near 96.7 percent better than than the other coaches in the NBA. Perhaps many will think if the Suns had only kept D'Antoni they might have eventually won a Championship or at least enjoyed smelling the flowers along the way. I'm thinking the odds of winning a Championship under D'Antoni's leadership were much better than a new coach coming on board.

Keep an eye on the Knicks over the next few years. I'm thinking the proof will be in the pudding and I would not bet against D'Antoni. Also BC did not do bad for himself when he departed the Suns. I've seen no reason why I should take sanctuary in Sarver and Kerr.

 

[nowagimp]

His main argument seems to be that we won playing the D'Antoni style. Um, in the regular season, yes, we did. But we never had a title to show for it. And think about it, these last 4 years of this style, what kind of team has won every year? Teams that play good defense. That is a statistical fact, even the Miami Heat beat the offensive Dallas Mavericks.

You seem to forget that after shaq came, theu suns were no longer a running team. With Hill, shaq, the suns became older, they've been getting old for a few years. The spurs had more fastbreak points than the suns in their playoff, the OLD spurs. I do think that there is no reason to keep DA, if you're gonna have a half court team, and DA knows that. That would be like paying JVG to coach the warriors, wrong coach for that team. The SSOL system was effectively dismantled with the acquisition of shaq, might as well get rid of the DA and Nash, remnants of the SSOL past. Perhaps keep Nash until the becomes an expiring contract, but he might be worth something to a team trying to contend in the next year or two. This suns team is effectivley blown up, it will be 2-3 years before they can retool.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

All of you here will regret the words you write here when Mike turns the Knicks around. Just like he did the Suns. Don't forget who wanted to bring Steve Nash here in the first place.

Baby? ARe you kidding me? The Front Office stripped his team, sold his draft picks, and basically is telling him he doesn't know what he's doing. This is a former coach of the year, a guy who was heralded for bringing exciting basketball back into the NBA. Entire teams adjusted their style because the Suns proved that it could work.

Michael Jordan can't run a basketball team but Steve Kerr is suppose to be able to? You have got to be kidding me.

Mike, best of luck to you man. You were smart to leave, and I'm glad you're going to go someplace where they will support your offensive system.

The Suns are done. We'll have 2 disappointing seasons, Amare will leave in free agency, and then we'll have to rebuild. That's only if Kerr doesn't trade Amare for draft picks and cash.

Sounds so bad when you put it that way...

 

[nashman]

Originally Posted by Maligzar
All of you here will regret the words you write here when Mike turns the Knicks around. Just like he did the Suns. Don't forget who wanted to bring Steve Nash here in the first place.

Baby? ARe you kidding me? The Front Office stripped his team, sold his draft picks, and basically is telling him he doesn't know what he's doing. This is a former coach of the year, a guy who was heralded for bringing exciting basketball back into the NBA. Entire teams adjusted their style because the Suns proved that it could work.

Michael Jordan can't run a basketball team but Steve Kerr is suppose to be able to? You have got to be kidding me.

Mike, best of luck to you man. You were smart to leave, and I'm glad you're going to go someplace where they will support your offensive system.

The Suns are done. We'll have 2 disappointing seasons, Amare will leave in free agency, and then we'll have to rebuild. That's only if Kerr doesn't trade Amare for draft picks and cash.


I agree 100%, always said be careful what you wish for and look what we got! We may be screwed for years to come, wanna blame someone blame the front office and their penny pinching ways!

 

[Covert Rain]

Winning a title should be the goal of every NBA team. D'Antoni just hasn't been able to get the Suns to the finals in the past four years. However, will you be happy if the Suns don't even sniff being a Championship caliber team for the next several years (or possibly more) and perhaps the Suns slip into mediocrity?

I'm not saying it will happen but if a title is the only standard, be prepared that the Suns could go another 40 years without winning a title and look terrible while doing it. At least for the past four years with D'Antoni the Suns always had the hope of a title.

Maybe many Suns fans will soon fondly look back to the D'Antoni coaching days where he was near 96.7 percent better than than the other coaches in the NBA. Perhaps many will think if the Suns had only kept D'Antoni they might have eventually won a Championship or at least enjoyed smelling the flowers along the way. I'm thinking the odds of winning a Championship under D'Antoni's leadership were much better than a new coach coming on board.

Keep an eye on the Knicks over the next few years. I'm thinking the proof will be in the pudding and I would not bet against D'Antoni. Also BC did not do bad for himself when he departed the Suns. I've seen no reason why I should take sanctuary in Sarver and Kerr.

There is no guarantee no matter what kind of move you make. If it's a coach or players or a GM you just never know. However, the worst thing you can do is stand pat just because things are good. Teams that do that never win anything.

We were not going to win a title with Marion. We were not going to win a title with D'Antoni. I would rather we try something then to do nothing at all because we are comfortable with being good.

I have already stated that Mike is a good coach who did good things for this franchise. He put us back on the map after the Barkley era was long gone. For that I appreciate what Mike has done. However, it's time to move on.

 

[joeshmo]

The Front Office stripped his team, sold his draft picks,

D sold his own draft picks while he was GM as well. He takes just as much blame for that.

 

[nashman]

Yeah because he had a choice of whether to sell his picks or not, thats an OWNER call to save money. You think he didn't want to keep guys like JJ, KT, TT, draft picks, come on man its all about money which Dantoni did not EVER control.

 

[nowagimp]

D sold his own draft picks while he was GM as well. He takes just as much blame for that.

Kerr sold 2 #1's to get rid of JR, KT last year. Kind of like a 4 point play.

 

[Mainstreet]

D sold his own draft picks while he was GM as well. He takes just as much blame for that.

D'Antoni was a GM in name only for a year. Griffin was calling the shots while D'Antoni was doing coaching duties for the Suns and I believe the U.S. National team. It was Griffin who brought Banks on board. I remember reading that D'Antoni relied on Griffin's judgment about Banks being the backup PG the Suns needed. I'm not saying that excuses Mike because he had the title of GM and approved it, but it shows how out of touch D'Antoni was as a GM. Mike was just slapped with the GM duties for a year until Kerr was ready. In regard to selling draft picks that comes from the owner and a poor FO/ scouting staff not doing their homework and IMO, being dollar foolish.

 

[Maligzar]

There is no guarantee no matter what kind of move you make. If it's a coach or players or a GM you just never know. However, the worst thing you can do is stand pat just because things are good. Teams that do that never win anything.

We were not going to win a title with Marion. We were not going to win a title with D'Antoni. I would rather we try something then to do nothing at all because we are comfortable with being good.

I have already stated that Mike is a good coach who did good things for this franchise. He put us back on the map after the Barkley era was long gone. For that I appreciate what Mike has done. However, it's time to move on.

You make these statements while ignoring history.

If Joe Johnson doesn't break his face in 04/05 we have more than a legit shot at the title. He was by far our best offensive weapon at the time.

If Amare and Boris exercise some self control we beat the Spurs and more than likely coast to a championship last year.

If we don't dump KT and JJ; think about what could have happened!! With Marion, without Marion.... with JJ there to replace Hill when he goes down and KT there in the lane maybethe Shaq trade doesn't happen, or maybe we make it and actually have a legit backup center playing for us instead of against us.

The fact of the matter is the system works if your front office supports it. You cannot, expect to win a championship while systematically dismantling your team to avoid salary cap hits. This has nothing to do with our coach, and everything to do with a fron office more interested in making money than winning titles.

D sold his own draft picks while he was GM as well. He takes just as much blame for that.

Think about this for a moment. You're the coach of a basketball team and win coach of the year missing a title shot because of a major injury to your best offensive performer at the time. Eliminated from the playoffs, the following year you lose your franchise player but still manage to make a good run at it and fall short. Your boss promtoes you to GM.

Do you think he was promoted to GM so he could save teh Suns money?

Or was he promoted to GM so he could have more imput on player personnel decisions?

Come on. What possible interest would ANY coach have in doing the boneheaded moves that we watched our FO do for the last 3 years, and even though some of us (like me) tried to deny it; the obvious fact was that they were selling picks in order to make sure the #1 concern; their bottem line, was safe.

Sarver and Kerr want to win a title, but that's their #2 goal. #1 is making money. That my friends, is the difference.