Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M

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Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#1 » by RealGM Wiretap » Sat Jun 1, 2019 1:26 am

The agent for Mike D'Antoni contends that the offer his client received from the Houston Rockets was considerably smaller than the $5 million that was depicted by Tilman Fertitta.


The final season of his current contract pays $4.5 million.


Warren LeGarie said that the Rockets’ offer would not be worth $5 million in the 20-21 season if the Rockets failed to make the playoffs or D’Antoni was fired during the season.


“I’d like clear up some inaccuracies that were stated about the offer made to Mike,” LeGarie said. “The reported $5 million is really $2.5 million because it comes with contingencies. One, it’s only $5 million if he makes the playoffs and two, if he is coaching the team at the end of the year.


“If they decide to fire Mike in the proverbial change of direction he gets $2.5 million. If there is an injury or a change in the roster construction, of which Mike has no control, he nonetheless would become a victim of it.”


LeGarie also said the $1 million bonus for each round of the playoffs the Rockets reached in that season would begin with the second round.


“We’re not here to criticize the offer,” LeGarie said. “We’re here to choose whether or not to accept it. We chose based on the current market for coaches of his stature as well as what he has done for the Rockets, the offer did not make sense for him, though I’m sure it makes sense for the Rockets. We don’t consider the offer insulting. It’s still real money. But it is our right not to take it.”

Via Jonathan Feigen/Houston Chronicle

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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#2 » by IWishIWasHarden » Sat Jun 1, 2019 1:56 am

Sorry, but that does not make it a 2.5 million dollar offer. The Rockets obviously had more than a 50% chance of making the playoffs. The owner has said they will not be rebuilding.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#3 » by BallerTalk » Sat Jun 1, 2019 2:48 am

Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#4 » by Pickled Prunes » Sat Jun 1, 2019 6:14 am

BallerTalk wrote:Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.

They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#5 » by Vegeta10176 » Sat Jun 1, 2019 7:08 am

Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.

They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?



I dunno Kobe is a 5 time champion but hey just throw him in there he bought into a system that won championships.. As for Dwight and Melo.. Well Dwight went to the NBA finals something D Antoni has never done.. And both Melo and Dwight will be in the HOF before him.. Now I think coaches are over paid anyway but they are taking billionaires money to make millionaires so meh..
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#6 » by hyberx » Sat Jun 1, 2019 7:25 am

Only paying for the offense?
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#7 » by BigTex » Sat Jun 1, 2019 8:12 am

Got to have sone guarantees if he’s fired mid season. Because that is like<y to happen since the Rockets are a team on the decline. CP3’s production is already falling off and that fall off is likely to accelerate. Ownership has shown they are penny wise and pound foolish. Leave while the leaving is good.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#8 » by BigHustle » Sat Jun 1, 2019 5:50 pm

I can see why he’s insulted. So maxes out at $5m? If he’s taking incentives than you should be able to get to high end. $13m if they win finals. $8m if they win conference.

So if they don’t make the playoffs because harden gets a busted knee he should be paid like a first year coach on a bottom-dwelling team?

Stupid to give an incentive-laden contract without high upside.

Another poster was right, with salary cap on players, coaches and FO is a way to improve odds of success. Houston ownership either wants to move on from MDA or they need to recalibrate.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#9 » by ozwizard8 » Sat Jun 1, 2019 6:11 pm

BigHustle wrote:I can see why he’s insulted. So maxes out at $5m? If he’s taking incentives than you should be able to get to high end. $13m if they win finals. $8m if they win conference.

So if they don’t make the playoffs because harden gets a busted knee he should be paid like a first year coach on a bottom-dwelling team?

Stupid to give an incentive-laden contract without high upside.

Another poster was right, with salary cap on players, coaches and FO is a way to improve odds of success. Houston ownership either wants to move on from MDA or they need to recalibrate.

Even worse coaches getting like guarenteed $4-5m per year deals with multiple year guarentee in case they got fired.
I dont remember the details but I guess Fisher-Phil Jackson had 5 year contract with $5m per year.
So when they get fired they still collect $5m (3 years $15m)
But if you get fired in this contract you'd only get $2.5m (3 years $7.5m)

Its still great money. I'm at early stage of my career so I'd work for contract with incentives. But I wouldn't work with certain base salary at age of 50-60.
Experience wise, D'Antoni is one of best out there. At this point he doesn't need to sign on incentives.
I'm pretty sure there'd be teams giving him $25m/5 year deal type of deals. Budenhoser-Bucks signing should have an impact on view of the money you spend on coaches. If Knicks didnt have any history with D'Antoni I think they'd gladly give $5m guarantee with maybe incentives goes up to $10m.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#10 » by cheese318 » Sat Jun 1, 2019 10:00 pm

ozwizard8 wrote:
BigHustle wrote:I can see why he’s insulted. So maxes out at $5m? If he’s taking incentives than you should be able to get to high end. $13m if they win finals. $8m if they win conference.

So if they don’t make the playoffs because harden gets a busted knee he should be paid like a first year coach on a bottom-dwelling team?

Stupid to give an incentive-laden contract without high upside.

Another poster was right, with salary cap on players, coaches and FO is a way to improve odds of success. Houston ownership either wants to move on from MDA or they need to recalibrate.

Even worse coaches getting like guarenteed $4-5m per year deals with multiple year guarentee in case they got fired.
I dont remember the details but I guess Fisher-Phil Jackson had 5 year contract with $5m per year.
So when they get fired they still collect $5m (3 years $15m)
But if you get fired in this contract you'd only get $2.5m (3 years $7.5m)

Its still great money. I'm at early stage of my career so I'd work for contract with incentives. But I wouldn't work with certain base salary at age of 50-60.
Experience wise, D'Antoni is one of best out there. At this point he doesn't need to sign on incentives.
I'm pretty sure there'd be teams giving him $25m/5 year deal type of deals. Budenhoser-Bucks suigning should have an impact on view of the money you spend on coaches. If Knicks didnt have any history with D'Antoni I think they'd gladly give $5m guarantee with maybe incentives goes up to $10m.


NYK are quite alright with Fizdale. I want to see what he can do with a real roster and playoff aspirations before I right him off as a coach because I always liked what he did in MEM before he got lambasted by Gasol. He has passion which is something you see. But I wanted to see him on the highest stage and hopefully his summer they put the pieces around him to show his talents on the court. If they don’t work they can make a change but MDA would be far from high on my list. I like someone who considers defense as apart of the game and not just offense like MDA
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#11 » by Pickled Prunes » Mon Jun 3, 2019 12:22 am

Vegeta10176 wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.

They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?



I dunno Kobe is a 5 time champion but hey just throw him in there he bought into a system that won championships.. As for Dwight and Melo.. Well Dwight went to the NBA finals something D Antoni has never done.. And both Melo and Dwight will be in the HOF before him.. Now I think coaches are over paid anyway but they are taking billionaires money to make millionaires so meh..


Yeah, but Kobe failed in between Phil's stints while he was in his prime. And yes, it is notable that Kobe bought into the triangle when so many after him did not... including Melo again. But Kobe bought into the triangle because Jordan did. His greatness is not in question, but he clearly didn't buy into Mike D's system. The statement I made is true... D'Antoni is a highly successful coach when players buy in. The converse is also true but to a greater extent. No coach is successful when the players don't buy in.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#12 » by ozwizard8 » Mon Jun 3, 2019 4:18 am

cheese318 wrote:
ozwizard8 wrote:
BigHustle wrote:I can see why he’s insulted. So maxes out at $5m? If he’s taking incentives than you should be able to get to high end. $13m if they win finals. $8m if they win conference.

So if they don’t make the playoffs because harden gets a busted knee he should be paid like a first year coach on a bottom-dwelling team?

Stupid to give an incentive-laden contract without high upside.

Another poster was right, with salary cap on players, coaches and FO is a way to improve odds of success. Houston ownership either wants to move on from MDA or they need to recalibrate.

Even worse coaches getting like guarenteed $4-5m per year deals with multiple year guarentee in case they got fired.
I dont remember the details but I guess Fisher-Phil Jackson had 5 year contract with $5m per year.
So when they get fired they still collect $5m (3 years $15m)
But if you get fired in this contract you'd only get $2.5m (3 years $7.5m)

Its still great money. I'm at early stage of my career so I'd work for contract with incentives. But I wouldn't work with certain base salary at age of 50-60.
Experience wise, D'Antoni is one of best out there. At this point he doesn't need to sign on incentives.
I'm pretty sure there'd be teams giving him $25m/5 year deal type of deals. Budenhoser-Bucks suigning should have an impact on view of the money you spend on coaches. If Knicks didnt have any history with D'Antoni I think they'd gladly give $5m guarantee with maybe incentives goes up to $10m.


NYK are quite alright with Fizdale. I want to see what he can do with a real roster and playoff aspirations before I right him off as a coach because I always liked what he did in MEM before he got lambasted by Gasol. He has passion which is something you see. But I wanted to see him on the highest stage and hopefully his summer they put the pieces around him to show his talents on the court. If they don’t work they can make a change but MDA would be far from high on my list. I like someone who considers defense as apart of the game and not just offense like MDA

Houston doing fine on D.

Fizdale didnt show anything to be considered as a NBA coach.
Just a buddy of Lebron, he has connections and stuff. He literally screwed up his first coaching job big time.
Somehow he got Knicks job. But still all he does is talking.

"passion" is not sth definitive for good/great coaches.
I dont care how Carlisle/B.Stevens/Pop looks. I dont care how much hype they have in press conferences. I care how they coach their team.
Fizdale is just talking. Nothing to show. No system, no player development.

I'm not suggesting D'Antoni to NY or vice versa. D'Antoni is an elite coach.
There'd be a lot of teams asking for him as they get job vacancy.
If not the contenders teams like PHX, MIN, NOP, ATL type of rebuilding teams can consider him too. I dont know his relations with PHX ownership but he'd be the guy turn the ship around and give those young players a purpose.
D'Antoni was doing fine job with young players at NY. After Melo trade and Chandler signing his system sabotaged. Melo-Amare-Chandler. Thibs would like that frontcourt. Not D'Antoni. He had Tony Douglas and guys at that caliber as point guard.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#13 » by BallerTalk » Tue Jun 4, 2019 9:20 pm

Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.


They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?


Firstly, you are severely misinformed if you think Rockets fans wanted to pay Ariza $15M. Most of that chatter came from outside.
Informed fans knew it was a serious overpay.

Secondly, I'm not sure I would call a pay raise "low balling". D'Antoni would earn more than his current contract just by making the playoffs. That's a reasonable bar given the make up of the team. Then he would earn additional bonuses for advancing in the post season.

The injury argument is a bit of a red herring considering even if they lose CP3 for a notable amount of time (as they have the last 2 seasons) history suggests having Harden alone virtually guarantees them a 50 win season and a playoff spot.
Granted if they lost Harden for a significant stretch thing would be decidedly more challenging but history suggests that would be unlikely as well since Harden has shown to be one of the most durable superstars in the league.

Again, I understand both sides of the negotiations. It's fair that D'Antoni wants guaranteed money but it's also not unreasonable that the Rockets want incentives in place as the proverbial carrot.

Also, it's easy to say D'Antoni is a virtual lock for the HOF now, but that certainly wasn't the case three years ago when his legacy was in shambles after NY and LA. Like I said, the Rockets were openly mocked by many fans and media members alike when the decided on D'Antoni. His time with the Rockets has done wonders to resurrect his career.
He's a phenomenal forward-thinking coach but he has also benefited greatly from have a superstar like Harden who has bought in completely and from have an aggressive GM like Morey who is just as committed to exercising their joint vision.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#14 » by Pickled Prunes » Tue Jun 4, 2019 10:59 pm

BallerTalk wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:Sounds reasonable to me.
If a team featuring Jame Harden and Chris Paul fails to make the playoffs it's had to make the case that coach deserves $5 million.
Likewise the bonuses should start at the second round otherwise it's a bonus for just making the playoffs. The team has higher aspirations than that.

Essentially the team has offered D'Antoni a raise but wants to structure the contract in a way that assures he continues to earn it by incentivizing specific accomplishments.
Sounds fair enough, but I also understand D'Antoni wanting to secure as much guaranteed money as he can in the fickle field of NBA coaching.

I did find it interesting that the agent mentioned what D'Antoni has "done for the Rockets" when the reality is D'Antoni's career was on the scap heap before Houston hired him, after two unceremonious exits in high profile location (New York & LA).
His legacy was all but lost.
In fact, the Rockets were widely mocked by many for hiring D'Antoni when it initially happened.

So, as much as D'Antoni and his agent may feel they have done for the Rockets (and they have been very successful during his tenure), the Rockets have been just as beneficially to him, if not more so. Thanks to his resurrection in Houston D'Antoni is again viewed as a potential Hall Of Fame coach.
That was NOT the case after his disappointing turns with the Knicks and Lakers.


They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?


Firstly, you are severely misinformed if you think Rockets fans wanted to pay Ariza $15M. Most of that chatter came from outside.
Informed fans knew it was a serious overpay.

Secondly, I'm not sure I would call a pay raise "low balling". D'Antoni would earn more than his current contract just by making the playoffs. That's a reasonable bar given the make up of the team. Then he would earn additional bonuses for advancing in the post season.

The injury argument is a bit of a red herring considering even if they lose CP3 for a notable amount of time (as they have the last 2 seasons) history suggests having Harden alone virtually guarantees them a 50 win season and a playoff spot.
Granted if they lost Harden for a significant stretch thing would be decidedly more challenging but history suggests that would be unlikely as well since Harden has shown to be one of the most durable superstars in the league.

Again, I understand both sides of the negotiations. It's fair that D'Antoni wants guaranteed money but it's also not unreasonable that the Rockets want incentives in place as the proverbial carrot.

Also, it's easy to say D'Antoni is a virtual lock for the HOF now, but that certainly wasn't the case three years ago when his legacy was in shambles after NY and LA. Like I said, the Rockets were openly mocked by many fans and media members alike when the decided on D'Antoni. His time with the Rockets has done wonders to resurrect his career.
He's a phenomenal forward-thinking coach but he has also benefited greatly from have a superstar like Harden who has bought in completely and from have an aggressive GM like Morey who is just as committed to exercising their joint vision.

D'Antoni deserves to get paid like a HOF coach. He came in on a discount because of a few bumpy years, but he has now prooven to be as advertised. He and the Rockets have exceeded expectations since his arrival and if he leaves HOU will slowly regress to the mean. That roster is weak. Harden and CP3 are HOF players but CP3 is getting old. Gordon is a good player and everyone else, including Capella, are journeyman level players benefiting from the attention and play making that Harden and CP3 create. The roster is a victim of a new owner cutting costs and cost cutting will be the only reason D'Antoni walks. It certainly won't be for basketball reasons.

And on his legacy... nobody that knows basketball questioned his legacy or the impact he's had on the game, and it's not just in the NBA. The guy across the street from me is a college coach. When he was in college his coaches ran "11 seconds or less." D'Antoni had universal respect from his peers long before this Rockets stint and was HOF bound, even if the Rockets stint went poorly. He changed the game, and that is something very few coaches have done. It doesn't really matter that most folk in here don't understand his contribution. The folks in here aren't HOF voters. :D

But to be informed about this issue you should look up coaches salaries. $5M after bonuses would put him in the bottom half of the league. He's a two-time coach of the year; he deserves more respect. If HOU won't give it to him somebody else will.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#15 » by BallerTalk » Wed Jun 5, 2019 3:27 am

Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
They are structuring the contact in such a way that the ownership gets a pay cut if one of the two players you mentioned misses the playoffs due to injury... or if the front office tries (once again) to fill out the roster with G-League call-ups and mid-season buyouts... or if they just feel he's underachieving with whatever roster is left after their salary cuts. It's ludicrous to me that fans wanted HOU to float Ariza a $15M check that would have cost them $30M after tax... but they support low balling their HOF coach when it has no cap repercussions. HOU fans deserve a few seasons with Tyronne Lue! I believe Vinny Del Negro is available as well!

And to be clear... D'Antoni will be in the HOF. Very few coaches change the game the way he has. He has success when players buy in. Kobe, Dwight and Melo did not... and where are those guys now?


Firstly, you are severely misinformed if you think Rockets fans wanted to pay Ariza $15M. Most of that chatter came from outside.
Informed fans knew it was a serious overpay.

Secondly, I'm not sure I would call a pay raise "low balling". D'Antoni would earn more than his current contract just by making the playoffs. That's a reasonable bar given the make up of the team. Then he would earn additional bonuses for advancing in the post season.

The injury argument is a bit of a red herring considering even if they lose CP3 for a notable amount of time (as they have the last 2 seasons) history suggests having Harden alone virtually guarantees them a 50 win season and a playoff spot.
Granted if they lost Harden for a significant stretch thing would be decidedly more challenging but history suggests that would be unlikely as well since Harden has shown to be one of the most durable superstars in the league.

Again, I understand both sides of the negotiations. It's fair that D'Antoni wants guaranteed money but it's also not unreasonable that the Rockets want incentives in place as the proverbial carrot.

Also, it's easy to say D'Antoni is a virtual lock for the HOF now, but that certainly wasn't the case three years ago when his legacy was in shambles after NY and LA. Like I said, the Rockets were openly mocked by many fans and media members alike when the decided on D'Antoni. His time with the Rockets has done wonders to resurrect his career.
He's a phenomenal forward-thinking coach but he has also benefited greatly from have a superstar like Harden who has bought in completely and from have an aggressive GM like Morey who is just as committed to exercising their joint vision.

D'Antoni deserves to get paid like a HOF coach. He came in on a discount because of a few bumpy years, but he has now prooven to be as advertised. He and the Rockets have exceeded expectations since his arrival and if he leaves HOU will slowly regress to the mean. That roster is weak. Harden and CP3 are HOF players but CP3 is getting old. Gordon is a good player and everyone else, including Capella, are journeyman level players benefiting from the attention and play making that Harden and CP3 create. The roster is a victim of a new owner cutting costs and cost cutting will be the only reason D'Antoni walks. It certainly won't be for basketball reasons.

And on his legacy... nobody that knows basketball questioned his legacy or the impact he's had on the game, and it's not just in the NBA. The guy across the street from me is a college coach. When he was in college his coaches ran "11 seconds or less." D'Antoni had universal respect from his peers long before this Rockets stint and was HOF bound, even if the Rockets stint went poorly. He changed the game, and that is something very few coaches have done. It doesn't really matter that most folk in here don't understand his contribution. The folks in here aren't HOF voters. :D

But to be informed about this issue you should look up coaches salaries. $5M after bonuses would put him in the bottom half of the league. He's a two-time coach of the year; he deserves more respect. If HOU won't give it to him somebody else will.


The $5 Million is before playoff bonuses (which would accrue for every round advanced). Essentially all he'd have to do is finish the season and make the playoffs.
That hardly seems an unreasonable standard for one of the best teams in the league.

Also, I'm not sure where you are getting your info but $5 Million per season is on the high end of the mean for current NBA coaches.
Only championship coaches like Greg Popovich ($11M), Doc Rivers ($10M), and Rick Carlisle ($7M) earn significantly more with Scott Brooks' $7 Million from Washington being the lone outlier.
Five million is exactly what Steve Kerr earns and is notably more than guys like Brad Stevens and Eric Spoelstra.

Anyway, like it or not perception matters when it comes to coaching careers. Unfortunately for D'Antoni his two high profile disappointments is major markets had long overshadowed his success with the Suns. Especially given they were never able to get over the hump in Phoenix anyway.
His legacy for the 5 years he spent coaching the Suns had been reduced to, at best lightning in a bottle, at worst a straight up fluke of that era. D'Antoni's name was not in demand in NBA circles and he had become a bit of a forgotten man on Philly's bench during one of their 10 win "The Process" seasons.

I think you are suffering from a bit of revisionist history when it comes to D'Antoni's perception prior to arriving in Houston.
After his recent failures he came to the Rockets with legitimate question marks about his ability to succeed at a high level, his willingness to adapt to the roster, and his commitment to the defensive end.
That's part of the reason the Rockets insisted on independently hiring his associate head coach and some of the assistants on his staff.
Considering Houston was already one of the better teams in the West and had been to the WCF just two seasons prior, It's not a stretch to say that had D'Antoni bombed with the Rockets it may well have been the end of his career as an NBA head coach.

To my original point, it has been a mutually beneficial relationship. The Rockets have done as much, if not more, for D'Antoni's career as he has done for them. D'Antoni himself has acknowledged that his success in Houston has legitimized his time in Phoenix.

These are (were) negotiations and as expected both sides are trying to take advantage of any leverage, real or perceived. Suggesting the Rockets aren't dealing fairly with D'Antoni just isn't supported by the facts.
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Re: Mike D'Antoni's Agent Claims Offer Considerably Lower Than $5M 

Post#16 » by Pickled Prunes » Wed Jun 5, 2019 5:22 am

BallerTalk wrote:
Pickled Prunes wrote:
BallerTalk wrote:
Firstly, you are severely misinformed if you think Rockets fans wanted to pay Ariza $15M. Most of that chatter came from outside.
Informed fans knew it was a serious overpay.

Secondly, I'm not sure I would call a pay raise "low balling". D'Antoni would earn more than his current contract just by making the playoffs. That's a reasonable bar given the make up of the team. Then he would earn additional bonuses for advancing in the post season.

The injury argument is a bit of a red herring considering even if they lose CP3 for a notable amount of time (as they have the last 2 seasons) history suggests having Harden alone virtually guarantees them a 50 win season and a playoff spot.
Granted if they lost Harden for a significant stretch thing would be decidedly more challenging but history suggests that would be unlikely as well since Harden has shown to be one of the most durable superstars in the league.

Again, I understand both sides of the negotiations. It's fair that D'Antoni wants guaranteed money but it's also not unreasonable that the Rockets want incentives in place as the proverbial carrot.

Also, it's easy to say D'Antoni is a virtual lock for the HOF now, but that certainly wasn't the case three years ago when his legacy was in shambles after NY and LA. Like I said, the Rockets were openly mocked by many fans and media members alike when the decided on D'Antoni. His time with the Rockets has done wonders to resurrect his career.
He's a phenomenal forward-thinking coach but he has also benefited greatly from have a superstar like Harden who has bought in completely and from have an aggressive GM like Morey who is just as committed to exercising their joint vision.

D'Antoni deserves to get paid like a HOF coach. He came in on a discount because of a few bumpy years, but he has now prooven to be as advertised. He and the Rockets have exceeded expectations since his arrival and if he leaves HOU will slowly regress to the mean. That roster is weak. Harden and CP3 are HOF players but CP3 is getting old. Gordon is a good player and everyone else, including Capella, are journeyman level players benefiting from the attention and play making that Harden and CP3 create. The roster is a victim of a new owner cutting costs and cost cutting will be the only reason D'Antoni walks. It certainly won't be for basketball reasons.

And on his legacy... nobody that knows basketball questioned his legacy or the impact he's had on the game, and it's not just in the NBA. The guy across the street from me is a college coach. When he was in college his coaches ran "11 seconds or less." D'Antoni had universal respect from his peers long before this Rockets stint and was HOF bound, even if the Rockets stint went poorly. He changed the game, and that is something very few coaches have done. It doesn't really matter that most folk in here don't understand his contribution. The folks in here aren't HOF voters. :D

But to be informed about this issue you should look up coaches salaries. $5M after bonuses would put him in the bottom half of the league. He's a two-time coach of the year; he deserves more respect. If HOU won't give it to him somebody else will.


The $5 Million is before playoff bonuses (which would accrue for every round advanced). Essentially all he'd have to do is finish the season and make the playoffs.
That hardly seems an unreasonable standard for one of the best teams in the league.

Also, I'm not sure where you are getting your info but $5 Million per season is on the high end of the mean for current NBA coaches.
Only championship coaches like Greg Popovich ($11M), Doc Rivers ($10M), and Rick Carlisle ($7M) earn significantly more with Scott Brooks' $7 Million from Washington being the lone outlier.
Five million is exactly what Steve Kerr earns and is notably more than guys like Brad Stevens and Eric Spoelstra.

Anyway, like it or not perception matters when it comes to coaching careers. Unfortunately for D'Antoni his two high profile disappointments is major markets had long overshadowed his success with the Suns. Especially given they were never able to get over the hump in Phoenix anyway.
His legacy for the 5 years he spent coaching the Suns had been reduced to, at best lightning in a bottle, at worst a straight up fluke of that era. D'Antoni's name was not in demand in NBA circles and he had become a bit of a forgotten man on Philly's bench during one of their 10 win "The Process" seasons.

I think you are suffering from a bit of revisionist history when it comes to D'Antoni's perception prior to arriving in Houston.
After his recent failures he came to the Rockets with legitimate question marks about his ability to succeed at a high level, his willingness to adapt to the roster, and his commitment to the defensive end.
That's part of the reason the Rockets insisted on independently hiring his associate head coach and some of the assistants on his staff.
Considering Houston was already one of the better teams in the West and had been to the WCF just two seasons prior, It's not a stretch to say that had D'Antoni bombed with the Rockets it may well have been the end of his career as an NBA head coach.

To my original point, it has been a mutually beneficial relationship. The Rockets have done as much, if not more, for D'Antoni's career as he has done for them. D'Antoni himself has acknowledged that his success in Houston has legitimized his time in Phoenix.

These are (were) negotiations and as expected both sides are trying to take advantage of any leverage, real or perceived. Suggesting the Rockets aren't dealing fairly with D'Antoni just isn't supported by the facts.

I read it was $2.5M guaranteed and $5M if they make the second round. It probably depends on who's leaking the info.

It is fair to say that you dismissed D'Antoni's time with the Suns as a fluke, and possibly many did. But many did not and you can go back through my RealGM posts to verify that. (I've been in here a while.) I hear all the chatter in here but it's all just noise. Clearly Kerr was taking notes.

D'Antoni's "failures" as you call them, came when his players refused to buy in. Melo wouldn't move the ball in NY and D"Antoni was taking a lot of guff from the media. Then Melo got hurt and Linsanity hit. The offense was freed up and once again D'Antoni was turning roll players into stars. Melo came back and refused to run the offense and D'Antoni took the hit.

D'Antoni comes to LA and very quickly there are issues a lot of them were injury related, but aside from that, Dwight didn't want to roll to the rim and Gasol didn't want to space the floor and shoot threes. The very best things they could do for their teams were the very things they were pouting about, on the floor and to the media. And those are the two main offensive roles of big men today, rolling to the rim and spacing the floor. It is exactly what was hoped for in every stop of Dwight's career. And Pau shot 41% from 3pt for the entirity of his post-Lakers career and had no problem shooting threes when Pop asked him to. He shot nearly half of his career 3pt attempts in his two full seasons with SAS. But Pops the genius, right?

Look, Mike D'Antoni was on point and ahead of his time at both of those stops. He was asking Melo, Dwight and Pau (amongst others) to do the right things. His style of play has helped shape the NBA of today; those of us paying attention understand this. There was never a point when I watched the Knicks or Lakers and wondered what the hell Mike was doing. It was always, "why the hell won't these guys run his offense?" So yes, there was failure at both of those stops, but it wasn't D'Antoni failing to have great ideas. It was a failure of players to understand that he was smarter than them. Clearly Melo and Dwight never figured it out and Pau successfully extended his career by doing exactly what he refused to do under D'Antoni. He's a pretty smart dude. Players should buy in and ownership should pay him as if he is one of the architects of modern basketball... because that is what he is. :D

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