When Does Hornacek Get His Contract Extended?

[GMATCallahan]

.

[GMATCallahan]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

[bwgood77]

The issue is not the coach. The issue is that the Suns still have not recovered from the three-year black hole that existed between the Steve Kerr and the Ryan McDonough regimes—and may not recover for years to come.

I was reflecting the other day that if the Suns had traded Steve Nash at the time of the 2011 draft, when those rumors were floating, they could have scored two high draft picks—in both 2011 and 2012 (with the latter year's high pick coming by virtue of a poor record). Instead, Phoenix ended up with Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall while missing the playoffs both years.

Here is something else to consider: in 2011, the Suns drafted Markieff Morris with the thirteenth pick, while Indiana selected Kawhi Leonard with the fifteenth pick as part of a prearranged deal with San Antonio. Imagine if the Suns had drafted Leonard and dealt Nash by the start of the post-lockout 2012 season, perhaps to New York for Iman Shumpert, salary cap filler, and the Knicks' first-round pick in 2015. Then, with an awful rebuilding roster in 2012 (that should not have included Grant Hill), the Suns may have posted one of the league's two or three worst records and possessed a great shot at winning the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. We might, therefore, now be talking about an ability to feature the following lineup:

G Eric Bledsoe
G Brandon Knight
F Kawhi Leonard
F Kristaps Porzingis
C Anthony Davis

... plus Alex Len when the Suns wanted to go big.

Now, we obviously do not know if matters would have shaken out that way, but it could have happened, and one way or another, Phoenix's roster would probably be in better shape—with greater upside—than is currently the case. When you fail to leverage your assets and think ahead, and instead spin your wheels for a couple of years while failing to rebuild, reload, or even make the playoffs, your next phase as a franchise may never realize its potential.

I remain amused by the Suns' rationale for keeping Nash and Hill during the 66-game, lockout-compressed 2012 season: we want them to mentor the young players. Aside from Markieff Morris and possibly Robin Lopez, there were no notable young players! Besides, in Lopez's case, he had already received three years of "mentoring" from Nash and Hill, and Phoenix traded him the following summer, anyway. And as for Morris, we see what all that "mentoring" did for him.

As for the coaching situation, I probably would give Hornacek an extension right now for the purposes of leverage, authority, and continuity, but I can understand why management wants to wait. Luke Walton? He inherited a championship lineup that melds together perfectly. Obviously, he had done a great job, but those results are not going to transfer to other rosters. Steve Nash? He is not a full-time coach, and why would he be better than Hornacek? You cannot pass the ball from the bench. Mike D'Antoni? He is the most important offensive basketball coach of contemporary times, but his innovations and ideas have already been assimilated throughout the NBA. In other words, you do not need D'Antoni in order to embrace his principles, which the Suns—like most teams—have already done. But the bottom line is that Phoenix's troubles stem from personnel, not coaching.

Great post, and while that lineup is improbable, what set us back THE MOST right now is Sarver becoming GM and replacing Amare with who he did when he did set us back the most. The hardest thing for Hornacek AND McD is they are demanded to compete too soon.

And Hornacek was obviously a great coaching hire despite them trying to go young with unproven players who surprised, but if you shuffle players and mess up chemistry every six months, what can you expect, especially in a tough conference?

Hornacek deserves the exact treatment that Brett Brown of the Sixers does, because they know, while rebuilding, you are going to not win as many games as fans hope. Unfortunately Sarver may get rid of another good asset which is what he seems to be very good at.

[Saberestar]

I have the feeling that Hornaceck is gonna be fired if we make a bad record in the next road trip. We are 7W - 9L now and we have 6 games on the road now.....if we have a 1W-5L on that trip he probably is fired. Just my feel about the situation.

[GMATCallahan]

And Hornacek was obviously a great coaching hire despite them trying to go young with unproven players who surprised, but if you shuffle players and mess up chemistry every six months, what can you expect, especially in a tough conference?

...precisely, especially in an era when so many players played way too little college basketball and need years in the NBA to really learn the game and develop fundamentals and skills.

When the Suns declined to re-sign Stoudemire—which I believe constituted the correct decision, personally—they probably should have traded Nash then and entered a full-scale rebuilding project right away. However, I can understand the idea of reshuffling the roster and trying to enjoy continued success around Nash. Moreover, the Suns were able to dump Turkoglu very quickly and acquire Gortat as a result. They did need to surrender Jason Richardson in that deal, but Richardson was approaching the end of his prime and his abilities could be replicated well enough by others.

However, when the Suns failed to reemerge as a playoff team, let alone a championship contender, by the end of the 2011 season, eyes needed to shift toward the future. That necessity proved especially evident after the lockout ended at the close of 2011. Grant Hill had undergone knee surgery, but Phoenix opted to re-sign him at the age of thirty-nine and try to win behind him and Nash, who would soon turn thirty-eight. And trying to win with those aging players in the compressed 66-game schedule, which sometimes featured back-to-back-to-back games, made little sense. Sure enough, Hill broke down again at the end of the season, required another knee surgery, was unavailable for the critical final games, and Phoenix came up short of the playoffs for the third time in four years.

The result was that the Suns trapped themselves in a cycle where they kept making the lottery yet failed to garner prime picks, thus preventing them from enjoying the potential benefits of continually making the lottery. And as a result, the franchise could not fully 'charge' its rebuild, which is why the team remains in this 'half-baked' state—only now with younger players instead of older ones.

[thamadkant]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Saying young players was wrong.
I was meant to say he didnt have use a big rotation most of the time. But my first point about him not focusing on defense stands, saying it on public that he coaches defense is one thing but developing players as defenders, he lacked success.

But you're right about him developing Barbosa. Im also interested if he was the main guy that convinced to get Diaw and make him play multiple positions. Joe Johnson was always going to breakout the moment he get confidence however...

[bwgood77]

I have the feeling that Hornaceck is gonna be fired if we make a bad record in the next road trip. We are 7W - 9L now and we have 6 games on the road now.....if we have a 1W-5L on that trip he probably is fired. Just my feel about the situation.

I kind of fear this, and if you look at the games, that isn't all the improbable. We are banged up, and all but Brooklyn is a pretty tough game. I personally would be pretty satisfied going 2-4 on that trip, and really happy just going 500. The only reason I think he wouldn't be fired in such a scenario is that I can't imagine one of our assistants being interim coach, and I don't think you can pluck someone who isn't coaching to immediately come in, especially if your goal is that they do a better job.

I hope Sarver has learned from his mistakes, and doesn't make snap judgments and get rid of a talented coach. The roster and talent level is far from elite in the league. Their likely best talent has been in the league a year or two, and even their next best talent is still relatively young, but most of all, Hornacek hasn't had much of the same team to work with in two consecutive years which is crucial to building chemistry and success. How he did it in year one is crazy, but messing that up is on McD, not Hornacek.

[BobbieL]

The issue is not the coach. The issue is that the Suns still have not recovered from the three-year black hole that existed between the Steve Kerr and the Ryan McDonough regimes—and may not recover for years to come.

I was reflecting the other day that if the Suns had traded Steve Nash at the time of the 2011 draft, when those rumors were floating, they could have scored two high draft picks—in both 2011 and 2012 (with the latter year's high pick coming by virtue of a poor record). Instead, Phoenix ended up with Markieff Morris and Kendall Marshall while missing the playoffs both years.

Here is something else to consider: in 2011, the Suns drafted Markieff Morris with the thirteenth pick, while Indiana selected Kawhi Leonard with the fifteenth pick as part of a prearranged deal with San Antonio. Imagine if the Suns had drafted Leonard and dealt Nash by the start of the post-lockout 2012 season, perhaps to New York for Iman Shumpert, salary cap filler, and the Knicks' first-round pick in 2015. Then, with an awful rebuilding roster in 2012 (that should not have included Grant Hill), the Suns may have posted one of the league's two or three worst records and possessed a great shot at winning the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. We might, therefore, now be talking about an ability to feature the following lineup:

G Eric Bledsoe
G Brandon Knight
F Kawhi Leonard
F Kristaps Porzingis
C Anthony Davis

... plus Alex Len when the Suns wanted to go big.

Now, we obviously do not know if matters would have shaken out that way, but it could have happened, and one way or another, Phoenix's roster would probably be in better shape—with greater upside—than is currently the case. When you fail to leverage your assets and think ahead, and instead spin your wheels for a couple of years while failing to rebuild, reload, or even make the playoffs, your next phase as a franchise may never realize its potential.

I remain amused by the Suns' rationale for keeping Nash and Hill during the 66-game, lockout-compressed 2012 season: we want them to mentor the young players. Aside from Markieff Morris and possibly Robin Lopez, there were no notable young players! Besides, in Lopez's case, he had already received three years of "mentoring" from Nash and Hill, and Phoenix traded him the following summer, anyway. And as for Morris, we see what all that "mentoring" did for him.

As for the coaching situation, I probably would give Hornacek an extension right now for the purposes of leverage, authority, and continuity, but I can understand why management wants to wait. Luke Walton? He inherited a championship lineup that melds together perfectly. Obviously, he had done a great job, but those results are not going to transfer to other rosters. Steve Nash? He is not a full-time coach, and why would he be better than Hornacek? You cannot pass the ball from the bench. Mike D'Antoni? He is the most important offensive basketball coach of contemporary times, but his innovations and ideas have already been assimilated throughout the NBA. In other words, you do not need D'Antoni in order to embrace his principles, which the Suns—like most teams—have already done. But the bottom line is that Phoenix's troubles stem from personnel, not coaching.

Great post, and while that lineup is improbable, what set us back THE MOST right now is Sarver becoming GM and replacing Amare with who he did when he did set us back the most. The hardest thing for Hornacek AND McD is they are demanded to compete too soon.

And Hornacek was obviously a great coaching hire despite them trying to go young with unproven players who surprised, but if you shuffle players and mess up chemistry every six months, what can you expect, especially in a tough conference?

Hornacek deserves the exact treatment that Brett Brown of the Sixers does, because they know, while rebuilding, you are going to not win as many games as fans hope. Unfortunately Sarver may get rid of another good asset which is what he seems to be very good at.

agree - great post

I won't even go the should have drafted Kawhi over Morris

It was all about that summer let Amare walk (correct) - but then goingall stupid with moves like Childress, Hedo (really, it was He Don't!!!) and Warrick

[Puff]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

[Puff]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Saying young players was wrong.
I was meant to say he didnt have use a big rotation most of the time. But my first point about him not focusing on defense stands, saying it on public that he coaches defense is one thing but developing players as defenders, he lacked success.

But you're right about him developing Barbosa. Im also interested if he was the main guy that convinced to get Diaw and make him play multiple positions. Joe Johnson was always going to breakout the moment he get confidence however...

Sorry but you are wrong on both counts. Those are your opinions not fact. Your are certainly entitled to your opinion but they are just not true.

1. He certainly did not play a big rotation. That is fact but that was driven by the lack of a legitimate bench to back up the first 7.
2. When MDA did make several players part of the rotation, specifically Tim Thomas and Steven Hunter, Sarver would not match the offers they received from other teams. Sarver also forced a trade of another part of MDA's rotation, Kurt Thomas, due financial concerns while costing the franchise future draft picks as well. Those draft picks probably would have yielded players that could have become a part of his rotation.
3. Sarver is the main reason for the short rotation that MDA was forced to play. That is a fact.
4. Even after forced to play a short rotation none of his first 7 were played huge minutes, very similar to what GS is currently doing.
Most of that first 7 that MDA is regularly blamed for running in the ground played very well after he left town 7 years ago. Boris plays a key role in San Antonio and Barbosa in Golden State. Joe Johnson still is playing in Brooklyn. Marion just retired this off season along with Nash. Amare has been damaged goods forever. Bell's only real claim to fame in his career was under MDA.
5. While MDA will never be considered a defensive genius the players that played under him in Phoenix got worse after he left. Gentry is a very likeable coach but he is far worse than MDA on that side of the court.

None of this matters in that I highly doubt that MDA would even pick up the phone if Robert Sarver called him. I also doubt that Sarver would make the call in the first place.

The person that really needs to go for this franchise to right itself is, Robert Sarver.

That is a fact.

[bwgood77]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

Last I checked Warren played as many minutes as anyone last game and Booker was the 4th most in minutes besides Warren, Bledsoe and Knight. He also started Len in his second year, Plumlee in his second year and played Kieff in his third year quite a bit.

Diaw was in his third year when D'Antoni and JJ was in his 4th. Meanwhile, Bledsoe played in his 4th year quite a bit, just like JJ.

Hornacek has played younger guys quite a bit. Sometimes too many even and it showed with lack of leadership.

[bwgood77]

The person that really needs to go for this franchise to right itself is, Robert Sarver.

That is a fact.

Agreed.

[TeamTragic]

Here come the Hornacek apologists with the excuses. Agreed that Sarver is an idiot though he did choose Dragic over Felton. Give him some credit

[GMATCallahan]

I would only consider D'Antoni as an assistant coach.... he still doesnt preach defense and play young players...

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

I could have also mentioned that D'Antoni played—and developed—Wilson Chandler and, to some extent, Timofey Mozgov in New York. His track record with young players is actually terrific. He even played Earl Clark in Los Angeles and actually got a lot more out of Clark than anyone else did (which obviously is not saying much).

[bwgood77]

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

I could have also mentioned that D'Antoni played—and developed—Wilson Chandler and, to some extent, Timofey Mozgov in New York. His track record with young players is actually terrific. He even played Earl Clark in Los Angeles and actually got a lot more out of Clark than anyone else did (which obviously is not saying much).

So many people failed to see D'Antoni was a great coach, and a guy who brought in a new era of basketball...not coaches and experts, serious fans, but many others do...same with Hornacek...not nearly as innovative in bringing a new style of basketball, but I would argue Hornacek was more impressive winning 48 in his first full season than D'Antoni with his first because D'Antoni had a bunch of premier players. Hornacek had Plumlee as his starting center, Tucker, early in his career, Bledsoe for a partial season in his first year starting, Frye, who many here can't stand, and Dragic. Both coaches take WAY too much criticism imo. I don't think D'Antoni does any better with this squad in this west. He had a two time mvp along with two premier forwards and phenomenal SG at the time.

It's a shame people blame these guys when they got the most out of what they had at the time. And poor Hornacek can't build much continuity with a shuffling roster which is why I hope he gets an extension, because he is one of the better coaches in the league. Even other coaches have said it's gotta be tough for him because he is so good, but the players he coaches just are not that smart (though that was last year).

[AtheJ415]

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

I could have also mentioned that D'Antoni played—and developed—Wilson Chandler and, to some extent, Timofey Mozgov in New York. His track record with young players is actually terrific. He even played Earl Clark in Los Angeles and actually got a lot more out of Clark than anyone else did (which obviously is not saying much).

So many people failed to see D'Antoni was a great coach, and a guy who brought in a new era of basketball...not coaches and experts, serious fans, but many others do...same with Hornacek...not nearly as innovative in bringing a new style of basketball, but I would argue Hornacek was more impressive winning 48 in his first full season than D'Antoni with his first because D'Antoni had a bunch of premier players. Hornacek had Plumlee as his starting center, Tucker, early in his career, Bledsoe for a partial season in his first year starting, Frye, who many here can't stand, and Dragic. Both coaches take WAY too much criticism imo. I don't think D'Antoni does any better with this squad in this west. He had a two time mvp along with two premier forwards and phenomenal SG at the time.

It's a shame people blame these guys when they got the most out of what they had at the time. And poor Hornacek can't build much continuity with a shuffling roster which is why I hope he gets an extension, because he is one of the better coaches in the league. Even other coaches have said it's gotta be tough for him because he is so good, but the players he coaches just are not that smart (though that was last year).

Yup. D'Antoni was a tremendous coach who was a few freak injuries, an officiating scandal, or a horrendous suspension decision away from winning a title.

As for Hornacek, I think this road trip will say a lot. If he goes, we better replace him with someone better, and you don't fire him until you know exactly who that is. I think this roster has turned the corner but still has substantial holes. Now is not the time to abandon the plan. If you fire Hornacek, it better be because you believe somebody else can help us reach our long-term goals better, and not because of this season alone. If it's about playing the younger guys, the way to make that happen is to tell Hornacek to adjust the rotation and extend him so he doesn't prioritize wins/losses and instead prioritizes development. Whether Sarver would go for that is a different story.

[bwgood77]

I could have also mentioned that D'Antoni played—and developed—Wilson Chandler and, to some extent, Timofey Mozgov in New York. His track record with young players is actually terrific. He even played Earl Clark in Los Angeles and actually got a lot more out of Clark than anyone else did (which obviously is not saying much).

So many people failed to see D'Antoni was a great coach, and a guy who brought in a new era of basketball...not coaches and experts, serious fans, but many others do...same with Hornacek...not nearly as innovative in bringing a new style of basketball, but I would argue Hornacek was more impressive winning 48 in his first full season than D'Antoni with his first because D'Antoni had a bunch of premier players. Hornacek had Plumlee as his starting center, Tucker, early in his career, Bledsoe for a partial season in his first year starting, Frye, who many here can't stand, and Dragic. Both coaches take WAY too much criticism imo. I don't think D'Antoni does any better with this squad in this west. He had a two time mvp along with two premier forwards and phenomenal SG at the time.

It's a shame people blame these guys when they got the most out of what they had at the time. And poor Hornacek can't build much continuity with a shuffling roster which is why I hope he gets an extension, because he is one of the better coaches in the league. Even other coaches have said it's gotta be tough for him because he is so good, but the players he coaches just are not that smart (though that was last year).

Yup. D'Antoni was a tremendous coach who was a few freak injuries, an officiating scandal, or a horrendous suspension decision away from winning a title.

As for Hornacek, I think this road trip will say a lot. If he goes, we better replace him with someone better, and you don't fire him until you know exactly who that is. I think this roster has turned the corner but still has substantial holes. Now is not the time to abandon the plan. If you fire Hornacek, it better be because you believe somebody else can help us reach our long-term goals better, and not because of this season alone. If it's about playing the younger guys, the way to make that happen is to tell Hornacek to adjust the rotation and extend him so he doesn't prioritize wins/losses and instead prioritizes development. Whether Sarver would go for that is a different story.

Yes, you have the same thoughts as me. If someone is out there that you think can do something better, that is the only explanation to get rid of him. Sarver is such a wildcard I don't know what he will do. I have been a harsher critic on McD who has mad some great moves and some questionable ones, but these guys are learning their ways and are dealing with what Sarver handed to them. I would extend them both, maybe not on long contracts...maybe three years each, but McD can't shuffle the roster too much unless we get somehow can get a big time player. Even if we go 1-5 on this road trip, I wouldn't read too much into that because this team is a work in progress and many of the teams we face are set, and the east is much tougher now.

If Sarver reboots again I fear things will get worse. I can't think of a coach who would be better. Another thing I like about Hornacek, is that he is a shooting mentor which has been key to this team getting better shooting. It's not a freak coincidence that Warren has drastically improved in that respect.

[GMATCallahan]

D'Antoni played, and developed, Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw. Those guys blossomed under him. Amare Stoudemire was a second-year player when D'Antoni became the head coach. And he played a second-year Kendall Marshall with the Lakers. He played Danilo Gallinari with the Knicks; David Lee developed into a big-money free agent under his coaching with the Knicks; and he played an unknown Jeremy Lin in New York, creating "Linsanity"!

What notable "young players" did D'Antoni fail to play? Alando Tucker? D.J. Strawberry? The term "reality check" comes to mind.

I am not advocating the return of D'Antoni, but that claim about young players is absolutely bogus.

Finally a post from someone that has a clue.

At every stop MDA played the best players he had on the roster young or old. Raymond Felton was his starting point guard in New York because he was the best player available.

That is a concept that Hornacek has yet to apply.

Last I checked Warren played as many minutes as anyone last game and Booker was the 4th most in minutes besides Warren, Bledsoe and Knight. He also started Len in his second year, Plumlee in his second year and played Kieff in his third year quite.

Diaw was in his third year when D'Antoni and JJ was in his 4th. Meanwhile, Bledsoe played in his 4th year quite a bit, just like JJ.

Hornacek has played younger guys quite a bit. Sometimes too many even and it showed with lack of leadership.

Johnson was in his third year when D'Antoni took over coach in December 2003, and Johnson blossomed very soon thereafter.

But I want to say that Bledsoe and Knight have both improved substantially under Hornacek. Neither may ever constitute a franchise guard, so to speak, but that result will not be Hornacek's fault. Alex Len and obviously T.J. Warren have also made respectable progress under Hornacek.

The one young player who could stand to play more is Archie Goodwin. Thus far, Hornacek has elected to play Ronnie Price more minutes, obviously for the benefits of Price's experience and superior shooting compared to Goodwin. The question is what the organization is looking for from Hornacek: long-term development, short-term winning, or some juggling act of the two goals.

[Revived]

Hopefully, never.

Ding, ding, ding, ding!!!

[i_am_donald]

I honestly hope not, I liked him the first year (even tho success that season was more due to Dragic if we're being honest), tolerated him the second, but I despise now. I absolutely despise him. How can I tolerate him when Morris/Tucker/Price have more minutes combined than Warren/Len/Goodwin/Booker. That's just moronic.

Just last game is perfect example why I want him gone. You play against the Nets, one of the worse teams in the league right now, and when the game is on the line, your only gameplan is to shoot threes and hope to nail as much of them as possible. I'm sick of that.