Mike D'Antoni going from Phoenix to New York has been the biggest coaching change made this offseason in the NBA -- at least from a Fantasy standpoint. And, after all, isn't that the most important thing anyway?
No offense, but Larry Brown to Charlotte? Been there. Done that. We're not talkin' about practice anyway. Rick Carlisle to Dallas? Scott Skiles to Milwaukee? Yawn. Erik Spoelstra promoted in Miami? Stan Van Gundy thinks that's swell.
No doubt about it. D'Antoni-to-New York is going to have more repercussions than any of the above-mentioned coaching moves.
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If nothing else, Mike D'Antoni should make the Knicks more Fantasy friendly.
(Getty Images)
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In four years at the helm in Phoenix, D'Antoni helped the Suns usher in a run-and-gun style of play that helped make them one of the more attractive teams in the league -- both to watch and to pick Fantasy players from.
Steve Nash,
Amare Stoudemire,
Shawn Marion,
Leandro Barbosa,
Boris Diaw and many more, all of these players flourished statistically under D'Antoni and Fantasy owners have reaped the benefits since 2004.
The Suns would run up and down the floor all night, score over 100 points like it was the ABA all over again (the league, not the band) and by the end of the night, the box score would be seven or eight players deep with useful Fantasy players.
Who cared that they didn't play defense?
Fantasy owners didn't, but one man, general manager Steve Kerr, sure did. Even in his days as a broadcaster, Kerr made it known that he didn't believe the Suns could win as they were currently constructed, without much of an inside presence both on defense and on offense.
Kerr thought the high-flying act was great for the regular season, but when it came down to it, in the playoffs, the Suns didn't have what it took to beat the San Antonio Spurs of the world in a grind-it-out playoff series. When Kerr was brought on as general manager in June of 2007, the writing was on the wall.
Kerr began to change the Suns, philosophically, even while D'Antoni was still around this season. He made a big splash when he traded Marion for Shaquille O'Neal in a move he felt addressed the team's primary needs. It was widely reported that D'Antoni was not totally on board with the move.
The team suffered a bit of a culture shock with Shaq clogging the paint, not allowing the slashers on the team to slash and lagging behind when the team tried to run. It took the team a while to come together, but they eventually did. Stoudemire's offensive numbers skyrocketed after moving back to power forward, his natural position. Nash got his numbers back up to around 10 assists per game and Diaw, on a smaller scale, began to fill the inside-out role that Marion used to play.
The Suns made the playoffs as a sixth seed, but lost, once again, to the Spurs. In the 4-1 series loss, the Suns reached triple digits in scoring just once and that was in a double-overtime loss in Game 1 at San Antonio.
Presenting, the 2008-09 Phoenix Suns: Less scoring, more boring. They say if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and that's the way Kerr is headed with the Suns. Expect the next head coach in Phoenix to be more Gregg Popovich than D'Antoni, with defense and fundamental play being the passwords to getting the Suns job. The Spurs, as many Fantasy owners already know, are a great all-around basketball team that doesn't boast many useful Fantasy options outside of their big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.
Feeling a bit slighted by the change in philosophy, D'Antoni asked for -- and was readily granted -- permission to talk to other teams. The Suns say they wanted him back and perhaps they did, but D'Antoni wanted more control. After a song and dance with the Chicago Bulls, he ultimately opted for the Knicks, who have a record of giving their head coaches a pretty long leash. Just ask Isiah Thomas.
D'Antoni sounds like a good name for New York, too. Doesn't it? It's kind of like DiMaggio, Giuliani or Costanza even. It just fits. The Suns should probably look for a guy named Eastwood or Wayne. What's Rex Walters doing these days?
Just a thought.
With the Knicks, D'Antoni has himself quite a little project on his hands. New general manager Donnie Walsh was brought in to clean up the mess that Thomas made in his tenure as coach/general manager/screwer upper and the Associated Press notes that Walsh has already told D'Antoni that he wants to find a way to turn a loser into a winner now, without messing up plans for the future.
Item No. 1 on D'Antoni's table will be to address the point guard situation. When D'Antoni was promoted to head coach during the 2003-04 season, Stephon Marbury was running the point for the Suns. The two didn't mesh and D'Antoni quickly shipped Marbury to, as luck would have it, the Knicks. Now, he finds himself in a similar situation and may once again have to find a way to move Marbury. Especially if the powers that be want him to win now.
D'Antoni needs a point guard who can run the floor and make quick decisions, like Steve Nash for instance. Whoever winds up running the point for the Knicks in 2008-09 will be a sleeper in Fantasy. After all, Nash had his best years under D'Antoni. Prior to the 2004-05 regular season, Nash's career high in assists was 8.8 per game. In four full seasons playing in D'Antoni's offense, he averaged 11.2.
Expect Jamal Crawford to have a very fruitful rapport with D'Antoni. He led the Knicks in both points and assists in 2007-08 and will probably be looked upon to play the role Joe Johnson played for him in 2004-05, the year that led to Johnson's big contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
Zach Randolph should enjoy a bit of a renaissance under D'Antoni as well. It was no secret that his relationship with Thomas soured over the course of his first season in New York and the Knicks will have to rely on him as a go-to scorer and as their primary rebounder. Randolph, who averaged 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in his final season in Portland, could return to being a 20-and-10 guy in 2008-09.
Then there are the role players. David Lee will probably fill the Boris Diaw role, as a rebounder off the bench who can provide some energy and also help on the offensive end. Nate Robinson fits the Leandro Barbosa/Raja Bell mold as a quick slasher who can get to the basket and provide some instant offense. Eddy Curry, who isn't a force in the paint, will benefit from being moved away from the basket some and could also have a bounce-back season.
