Dantoni turned down Thibodeau??

[BVPN]

This is from an article in a NY newspaper about how the Knicks may force D'antoni to hire a defensive assistant:

According to several sources, the front office will encourage D'Antoni to revamp his coaching staff to hire a defensive coach. In the past, D'Antoni has been reluctant to seek outside help, most famously refusing Steve Kerr's request four years ago to hire Tom Thibodeau in Phoenix. Thibodeau landed in Boston in 2007, and helped the Celtics win the title three seasons ago. He now is head coach of the top-seeded Bulls.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... z1Kuh6SIpz

Is this true?? We had a chance to bring in Thibodeau and didn't due to this dumbass's pigheadedness?? I have never heard this before but if true it infuriates me beyond belief!

[rsavaj]

That was one of the big points of contention between Kerr and D'Antoni.

[KLEON]

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Nice going D'Antoni, that's why you'll be jobless a year from now

[JohnVancouver]

Yes, a big part of why he left. Most of us were thinking it was foolishly stubborn. He walked away from $8+ mil over it.

[DirtyDez]

Wow.

[SUN]

And this is why the Knicks are going to be internally dysfunctional for quite a long time if they don't settle the coaching issue quickly.

[BurningHeart]

Kerr should have gone and hired Thibodeau instead of Terry **** Porter then.

[STEV13]

Kerr should have gone and hired Thibodeau instead of Terry **** Porter then.

[rsavaj]

Kerr should have gone and hired Thibodeau instead of Terry **** Porter then.

+1

[SUN]

Kerr should have gone and hired Thibodeau instead of Terry **** Porter then.

+1

[Miklo]

I've lost lots of respect for DA as a coach. I think he can run an exciting system given explosive players but can't coach a playoff team.

And BH nailed it we could have gotten Thibs at any time.

[DirtyDez]

Or D'Antoni could've stopped acting like stubborn 6 year old and let Thibbs on his staff. Best of both worlds.

[RunDogGun]

And yet another reason I dislike D'Antoni. Side note, Janning did well in the DLeague final game. 18 pts, 10 rbds, 4 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks. I guess it was good we didn't trade him along with a first, or the many would want some heads on platters.

[SUN]

And yet another reason I dislike D'Antoni. Side note, Janning did well in the DLeague final game. 18 pts, 10 rbds, 4 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks. I guess it was good we didn't trade him along with a first, or the many would want some heads on platters.

Ten rebounds? Isn't he an undersized SG?

[RunDogGun]

He is 6'4", but if the bigs do their job and boxout their man, it is easy for a guard to get boards. Not saying that happened.

[SUN]

He's a white dude, I doubt the vertical is present. The two blocks are also really strange.

[BurningHeart]

I've lost lots of respect for DA as a coach. I think he can run an exciting system given explosive players but can't coach a playoff team.

And BH nailed it we could have gotten Thibs at any time.

I haven't lost much respect for him at all. What can you do with this past series when your roster (that was made MUCH closer to what you need for your own system to flourish) was gutted for a ball-dominant dude that doesn't really fit next to your big man? And then what can you do when your big man and point guard get hurt and you have trash around the guy traded for?

I still maintain that the only series D'Antoni was TRULY outclassed coaching-wise was the first round in 2008.

[YFZblu]

Yeah, it's not really D'antoni's fault we don't have Thibs right now.

The Suns preferred to hire a puppet of a coach in Terry Porter, who was willing to do whatever Steve Kerr/Robert Sarver asked...Which was improve the defense, develop the young guys, and give Amar'e/Shaq more isolation touches--Even at the expense of team performance.

Of course, the most laughable thing about the entire Terry Porter/Shaq debacle is that the Suns were expecting an improved defense, but then traded all of our defenders away...

[YFZblu]

He's a white dude, I doubt the vertical is present. The two blocks are also really strange.

Not that strange---Statistical aberrations occur in the d-league. Marcus Banks recorded one of the great single-game D-league scoring outings, and he couldn't even start on the 15-win Miami Heat a few years back.

Steve Nash once had two blocks in a game. 2008 against Detroit :p I was going to pull the box score for you, but I'm at work and my employer's network is having DNS issues right now...

[Miklo]

I've lost lots of respect for DA as a coach. I think he can run an exciting system given explosive players but can't coach a playoff team.

And BH nailed it we could have gotten Thibs at any time.

I haven't lost much respect for him at all. What can you do with this past series when your roster (that was made MUCH closer to what you need for your own system to flourish) was gutted for a ball-dominant dude that doesn't really fit next to your big man? And then what can you do when your big man and point guard get hurt and you have trash around the guy traded for?

I still maintain that the only series D'Antoni was TRULY outclassed coaching-wise was the first round in 2008.

I dunno, first I should clarify - I think he can coach a playoff team, but I just don't see him as a particularly talented coach. He's kind of a novelty in my eyes - he essentially re-introduced a system to the NBA with us so he made a name for himself through that. Since then though, he's proven that he cannot adapt his coaching style to an organization or to a roster. He has to have EXACTLY the right team and FO - this is somewhat true for any coach but IMO, super true for him.

So yeah, he can get a team to the playoffs and coach them through the playoffs somewhat. But I don't put him in the first tier of NBA coaches and in my book, he will always be outcoached at some point if his team hypothetically is to go all the way.

NOW, if we're talking other things like exciting basketball, I see DA in a much better light. It's just my perception of his raw skill level as a coach, where I think he's lacking.