It is time for a Colangelo/D'Antoni Reunion in Toronto

[smushmush]

I don't think it would need an overhaul, but a couple more pieces. Raps are pretty good on the break and have some players that would be really nice in a D'Antoni system. Calderon would be nice and Barbosa already knows it.

Not that it's a great comparison but I think this Raps team would be in way better shape than the Knicks teams of the last two years.

And while a lot of the bigs in the Suns years have a lot more versatility, think of all the offensive rebounds that Reggie, Ed, and Amir would be scooping.

I'm gonna stop, I'm getting excited for something that isn't even happening.

Making out like bandits by using Kyrie Irving with our pick if we win the lottery (and we draft Derrick Williams (or Derrick Williams if we don't get the #1 pick and Kemba Walker instead of Derrick Williams here) who can shoot the 3 and handle the ball and Enes Kanter or Valaciunas with 2 more first round picks from trades of Bargs, Bayless, Wright, Dorsey, and some future first round picks in the 2011 NBA draft) can allow that kind of exciting system but I am not a fan of horrific defensive teams as a real basketball fan who wants to see basketball played the right way.

[smushmush]

As a lifelong Oakland Raider fan I can't begin to tell you how annoying a meddling owner can be

Al Davis right? lmao. Al Davis and Doanld Sterling are cut from the same cloth - meddlesome, white old fucks billionaires who have no business owning a sports team .

[mcHAPPY]

Stan Van Gundy likes D'Antoni

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/spo...e-dantoni.html

“As a coach, you don’t worry about that stuff too much because it goes with the business and we all will face a lot of criticism at times. That’s the way it goes. The rest of us all know that Mike’s a hell of a coach. In that profession, we all know how good Mike is. Anytime things aren’t going well, I don’t care what team it is, the first target is going to be the coach. Mike knows that, we all know that, when things are going bad. I’m sure Mike’s not too worried about it. He’s a great coach.

[Apollo]

Yeah, Dolan is the problem in NYC. He forced a trade in which he overpayed for a player who doesn't play defense and needs the offensive to flow through him for him to be effective. That's a problem when you have a guy in the paint if who can give you 30 a night and expects the ball a lot. I think Melo and Stoudemire mix like Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh. It's a nice thought on paper but in practice you can't seem to make the oil blend with the water.

[mcHAPPY]

Yeah, Dolan is the problem in NYC. He forced a trade in which he overpayed for a player who doesn't play defense and needs the offensive to flow through him for him to be effective. That's a problem when you have a guy in the paint if who can give you 30 a night and expects the ball a lot. I think Melo and Stoudemire mix like Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Bosh. It's a nice thought on paper but in practice you can't seem to make the oil blend with the water.

To be determined if it will work eventually. However, when you have a coach that relies on heavily on ball movement and pick and rolls, there skill sets definitely mesh like JO and CB.

[mcHAPPY]

Chisolm weights in

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=360022

Chisholm is not up for D'Antoni and thinks we'd be better off sticking with Triano.

I couldn't disagree more. Regardless of whether or not D'Antoni is hired, JT should not be back in my opinion. Worst in the league on D, in the bottom tier on O. No thank you, sorry Jay. A change is needed as the players aren't smelling what he is cooking outside of improvement in players that may have more to do with either assistant coaches or more playing time.

As for the Chisholm aritcle:

While D'Antoni did a masterful job guiding the Suns from 2003-08, he's had trouble replicating that success in New York. Obviously his rosters have been severely lacking when compared to his rosters in Phoenix, but it isn't as though the Raptors have a collection of players that could rival Steve Nash and Co. at the height of their effectiveness, either. D'Antoni's preferred style of play requires a very specific group of shooters and playmakers to be run properly, and it doesn't appear on the surface that Toronto's club has that personnel.

To which I say: the roster in NY has never been assembled to be successful in his sytem. It was assembled to get LBJ. This year the roster was the closest thing to a successful D'Antoni roster until Dolan had a temper tantrum and sent the team away for Melo. Imagine if he'd sniffed around Utah. Also the Raptors do not have a roster that would fit his system - YET. If a D'Antoni and BC reunion was a possibility, that roster could be assembled within a year i.e. 2 drafts and one trade deadline, maybe less depending on what current Raptors value is.

But it goes deeper than that. D'Antoni has been running the show in New York for nearly three seasons now, and in each of those seasons he's been unable to sustain any level of success despite his hefty paycheque and once-glowing reputation. His Knicks averaged just 30.5 wins per season in his first two years, and despite a massive influx of talent this season, he's only projected to win 40 games (the club is currently 36-38). Triano, by comparison, averaged 32.5 wins per season in his first two years, and while his projected sub 25-win season this year will hurt that average, it goes to show that it isn't like D'Antoni has been dramaticall more effective over the last two years.

They were well above .500 until the trade rumors went rampant. They were 28-26 on the day of the trade. Bottom line, the roster has never suited his style and the roster has always been about shedding talent and money whenever possible in an attempt to lure free agents - that never came. Amar'e and Felton were hardly the first choices.

It could be argued that D'Antoni didn't have the same talent to work with that Triano did during that span, but considering that last year the Knicks had David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Galliari, Nate Robinson and Al Harrington (who averaged 18-and-6), it wasn't like he was bereft of talent, either. The point being that if D'Antoni isn't able to elevate the standard of play beyond the talent of his roster, why would now be an appropriate time to bring him into the Raptors rebuilding process? The Raptors are not talented today and they will be only marginally more talented tomorrow, so would D'Antoni really be able to transform the club into something more than Triano has or could if he's allowed to continue past this year?

D'Antoni's system needs a great PG - or at the very least a good one. Who did Walsh get for him the last two years? Chris Duhon. Seriously. No joke. As the Raps are now, I agree wtih Tim. D'Antoni would not have anymore success. However given an offseason I'm sure BC could get the roster more D'Antonified.

Remember that D'Antoni's hiring was sold as a transformative moment for the Knicks in 2008, a move that would hasten their own rebuilding in a post-Isiah Madison Square Garden. After all, he was a coach that not only had tremendous success leading the Suns, but he was also a coach whose run-and-gun style of play was supposed to be the envy of every major star in the NBA. It was his offensive style, remember, the one that made Nash a two-time MVP, that was supposed to lure LeBron James to New York City when he became a free agent in July of 2010.

Hard to believe a TOR writer is going to give D'Antoni sh!t for the superfriends making private arrangements and commitments to join up with one another.

That's not what happened, though. Instead, he proved unable to elevate the Knicks' play on the court, unable to substantially improve the team's record and as a result he was unable to seduce any of the marquee free agents from the 2010 free agent class to join him in Manhattan. As a coach tasked with guiding a rebuilding squad, he simply didn't perform up to the expectations set at his feet when he spurned the Chicago Bulls to sign with the Knicks three years ago. That being the case, why should signing him to help rebuild the Raptors play out any differently than it has played out in New York? What does D'Antoni bring that's so needed in Toronto it's worth putting up with his faults for?

I'm starting to wonder if D'Antoni nailed Chisholm's significant other. The roster was never comprised to be successful with D'Antoni - or anyone. It was all about LBJ - and that plan backfired. Why would it be different in TOR? Because the GM and him are brothers from another mother.

Keep in mind, this club desperately needs to develop its youth, but D'Antoni has a very shaky record with allowing youth to develop on the court (Jordan Hill and Anthony Randolph are two recent examples). Can anyone safely say, for instance, that D'Antoni would have gifted James Johnson with an immediate starting spot upon his arrival, especially considering his shaky jump shot and over-eager play? Johnson's been a (moderate) revelation late in the season for Toronto, a rare bright spot in 2011, but that has as much to do with Triano's patience with him on the court as it has to do with Johnson's ability to play mistake-free basketball. After watching several Knicks get frozen out of playing time over the last three years, it's hard to predict what kind of fate Johnson (or Ed Davis or Amir Johnson) would have had to contend with had D'Antoni been running the show when they arrived in Toronto. It's not that he would have stifled their development for certain, it's that having to wonder if he would have is reason enough to at least wonder about D'Antoni's suitability for the job in Toronto.

If Shawn Marion can have success with D'Antoni, James Johnson can. Marion is no doubt a better player when he was with PHX. The point is both have questionable jump shots. He shot 15-46 (32%) in CHI which is what Marion did percentage wise in PHX. D'Antoni took over PHX with Amar'e in his 2nd year, Barbosa a rookie, Joe Johnson a 3rd year. James Jones came in his 3rd year, Diaw in his 3rd year. The bottom line is if the players fit in the coaches system and perform well, they play. It doesn't matter who they are. Why hasn't Julian played for JT? What about Alabi? How come ED sat for a stretch when Reggie came back? Why was DD benched last season?

There is also the fact that the Raptors desperately need some defensive discipline, but D'Antoni has never had a club finish in the top half of the league in terms of defensive efficiency in his career. Most accounts insist, in fact, that he's indifferent at best to preaching the benefits of defence, preferring instead to emphasize his infamous offensive system as the key to winning in the NBA. While Triano hasn't exactly managed to squeeze much defence out of his troops during his time as head coach, either, would giving D'Antoni triple what Triano earns annually really ensure any better results on the defensive end?

Sadly Tim is another who doesn't look at the numbers critically. Yes OPP PPG is high but when you shoot in under 7 seconds they get more possessions. What about defensive rating? Like points per 100 possessions. Now we compare apples to apples and see they are 17th, 16th, 13th, and 16th for defensive rating in his 4 years in PHX. So you get an average defensive team with the best offensive game in basketball - I like those odds. Triano's D has been getting worse and worse since he got here to the point where the team is now 29th in opp ppg and 30th in defensive rating.

[TRX]

...

D'Antoni isn't known for defense but he is known for being tough on his players. It's his way or the highway and thats exactly what Andrea Bargnani needs. It might offer the fastest route to Bargnani becoming a consistently good player or him leaving town. I like either scenario.

The thing with D'Antoni, though, is players seem to get in his doghouse for prolonged stretches for seemingly no reason. Maybe the organization is just excellent at keeping these reasons in house, but with all the things that get leaked to the media daily, I find this kind of hard to believe. It's still possible, though.

...
Sadly Tim is another who doesn't look at the numbers critically. Yes OPP PPG is high but when you shoot in under 7 seconds they get more possessions. What about defensive rating? Like points per 100 possessions. Now we compare apples to apples and see they are 17th, 16th, 13th, and 16th for defensive rating in his 4 years in PHX. So you get an average defensive team with the best offensive game in basketball - I like those odds. Triano's D has been getting worse and worse since he got here to the point where the team is now 29th in opp ppg and 30th in defensive rating.

Yeah, I've read many times that while Gentry got a ton of credit for the team's supposed massive improvement in defence last year, the Suns were near the bottom third of the league in opponent PPP; D'Antoni's reputation does him a disservice in this regard.

[bloodyhandedgod]

Matt, you destroyed his article. Well done.

[JoePanini]

Matt, you should be on ESPN doing debates and articles with Broussard and co.

[Apollo]

The thing with D'Antoni, though, is players seem to get in his doghouse for prolonged stretches for seemingly no reason. Maybe the organization is just excellent at keeping these reasons in house, but with all the things that get leaked to the media daily, I find this kind of hard to believe. It's still possible, though.

Personally I think there's reason he just chooses not to broadcast it all over the place.

[grindhouse]

This whole thing is about moving triano, he is that bad!!!

[mcHAPPY]

Matt, you destroyed his article. Well done.

Thanks. It is actually a good article and well thought out. The problem, in my opinion, is Chisholm decided from the beginning that D'Antoni should not be here and wrote from that perspective. I would have preferred an objective view that looked at the situations and then made a decision or came to a conclusion. But that is why his articles are more like editorials than 'news'.

[Maleko]

Thanks. It is actually a good article and well thought out. The problem, in my opinion, is Chisholm decided from the beginning that D'Antoni should not be here and wrote from that perspective. I would have preferred an objective view that looked at the situations and then made a decision or came to a conclusion. But that is why his articles are more like editorials than 'news'.

Funny, I like Tim Chisholm, but thinking about it I like the articles that speak the same language. He DOES write more like an editorialist and definitely has an opinion. He does well to back up that opinion but like a poor scientist his bias leads his investigations.

[Apollo]

D'Antoni's Agent At Knicks Practice

A day after clinching a playoff berth, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni made it clear that he wants to remain in New York.

"I love what I do. I like my guys so it's all good," D'Antoni said after practice on Monday. "Again, I'm not focused on that per se [but] hypothetically ... I'd love to."

Knicks Blog

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D'Antoni is under contract through next season. His agent, Warren LeGarie, was at practice on Monday and was seen chatting with team president and general manager Donnie Walsh.

D'Antoni told reporters on Monday not to read anything into the fact that his agent was at practice.

He also said that he was not worried about his future.

"You do the best you can do. And it usually works out some way," the coach said. "I'm 60 years old, so it's not like I have to live and die by it. If I was 40 I'd be a little bit more worried. I'm at an age now where, thank God, I can live for today and try to get this team right."

Walsh hired D'Antoni after taking over for Isiah Thomas. Walsh has a team option for next season that has yet to be picked up by MSG chairman James Dolan. The deadline to do so is April 30. Dolan said at Carmelo Anthony's introductory press conference that he and Walsh would discuss the GM's contract situation after the NBA's Feb. 24 trade deadline.

Walsh and D'Antoni's future are believed to be closely tied to one another.

D'Antoni signed a four-year, $24 million contract prior to the 2008-09 season.

Source: ESPN.com

[Multipaul]

Source: ESPN.com

Where there's smoke there's fire.

Do you think JVG could end up coaching in NY again?