Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 11:00 am  |  81 responses

Mike D’Antoni on the Iverson Possibility

D’Antoni doesn’t sound particularly jazzed about the chance to coach Allen: “After practice, Mike D’Antoni’s remarks were noteworthy for what he did not say. The Knicks coach never once indicated Iverson would be a good fit for this franchise. He’s been a force in this league for God knows how long,” D’Antoni said before flying to Indianapolis. ‘I’m not taking anything away from him. At the same time, there’s a lot of organization stuff to talk about. ‘I think it’s what Donnie suggested,’ D’Antoni added. ‘We’ll look into it, see if it makes sense. If it does, the organization will do whatever it can do to make us better. He has unique ability.”‘

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  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Man… the New York Knicks do NOT have any first round picks! Get a player who will at least make them competitive for chrissakes!!

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Okay, someone try this on D’Antoni: The New York Knicks are getting either Lebron or Wade in 2010, right? Of course! Maybe both!
    So, the team needs some experience working at a high level while a superstar overcontrols the ball! So sign Iverson so they will know what to do when Wade and Lebron are eventually signed! Eh? EH?

  • http://mbenga-mblog.blogspot.com rish

    I think if they did sign him, it would be just for the remainder of the year? Wouldn’t it? A.I. needs to be with this Knick team. They stink

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    Someone should really tell Mike that Steve Nash is not walking through that door this year.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    I’m thisclose to turning my back on the knicks for good.

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Brad: I don’t think you understand. D’Antoni doesn’t need Steve Nash: Steve Nash was only so good because of D’Antoni and his MAGICAL SYSTEM! D’Antoni can take any point guard and turn them into an all-star MVP. I mean, take a look at Duhon: 6.5 points, 5.9 assists, on 23% shooting. That’s HoF right there!!!! Nash is a nobody, it’s all D’Antoni.

  • neaorin

    Jukai: not only that, but meanwhile Steve’s numbers in Phoenix have plummeted from 18 and 11 during the D’Antoni era all the way to 17 and 12! Man, he should just mail his two MVP trophies to D’Antoni right now.

  • tavoris

    and Mike D is considered a great coach for WHAT reason?

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Tavoris: He’s NOT. Gentry is doing -EVERYTHING- D’Antoni did but also using a superior rotation, drawing superior plays, and actually has his team playing DEFENSE!
    D’Antoni had an ‘interesting’ system. That’s it. He was a subpar coach at best.

  • tavoris

    does he have a system? or did he just give the ball to Steve Nash on every possession and say “Do what you did at Santa Clara”?

  • Clark

    All they need to do is to put in Eddie Curry.

  • Brian

    AI “has unique ability” to get his coaches fired.

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    No, I’ll give D’Antoni some credit and say he’s got a relatively indepth offensive system (it’s more complicated than it looks), but his inability to ‘direct’ it during an actual game and his relative lack of trust for 75% of players in the NBA makes it sort of useless, especially with the Knicks, who need heavy in-game coaching.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    D’Antoni is a horrible judge of talent, because he only thinks 2 players in the NBA have talent. Those 2 players? Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Teddy: Three players, dude. Gallinari. Best shooter ever, dude.

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    I’ll say this for Mike. The Knicks could have John Wooden with Pat Riley and Phil Jax as assistants and they wouldn’t win 30 games.

  • NUPE

    Regardless how good a coach is, he still needs talent on the floor to produce wins. What the Knicks don’t have is talent. So, adding AI, even if he is a distraction, at least he brings in some talent. Not to be confused with the AI from 10 years ago level, but still an improvement from what they have.

  • tavoris

    Brad…would that be a compliment, especially since he orchestrated the exile of Crawford, Randolph, Marbury, and Curry?

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    You can’t win thirty games with chris duhon starting at the point and playing 40 minutes. This isn’t the f*cking acc.

  • tavoris

    true, but he did have the likely lineup Marbury, Crawford, Randolph, Curry, and Lee to work with, along with Duhon, Robinson, Chandler, AND Galinari.

  • Ricochet

    Iverson’s agent is Leon Rose, who also represents LeBron James…Your move,Donnie.

  • http://slamonline.com Russ Bengtson

    The only W’s and L’s that should matter to the Knicks right now are Wade and LeBron.

  • http://slamonline.com Brad Long

    Bryan:I actually did lol at that. ACC!

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    It seems really unlikely that Lebron and Wade are going to take massive steps back as far as team success and pay to play for the Knicks. It just seems really unlikely.
    Y’all aren’t giving Mike D’s system enough credit. Last year he had the Knicks surprising folks on offense and there was talk of Duhon in the All-Star game. If it wasn’t for Duhon raging alcohol problem and D’Antoni’s horrible rotation, he probably would be playing better.

  • http://myspace.com/brandnew Bryan

    Allenp in fairness to mike who can he rotate? Seriously the knicks are like 4 deep.

  • http://www.alllooksame.com Tarzan Cooper

    Knicks lineup is very weak. Duhon has an alcohol problem?

  • tavoris

    @Tarzan Oh yea…he doesn’t look the part, but he’s quite the club bunny.

  • tavoris

    Allenp, I think he gets alot more credit than he’s due. He has the same team-with more experience at that-playing like the laughingstock of the league. For all of D’Antoni’s accolades recently, he’s STILL about 1/10th the coach Rick Adelman is.

  • DW24

    New word out from D’Antoni “I don’t need Iverson I already have the greatest shooter I’ve ever seen.” hey D’Antoni, you got something on your nose.

  • http://www.shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ TADOne

    If I was Chris Duhon, i’d be an alcoholic too.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    Bryan Posted: Nov.18 at 11:34 am
    I’m thisclose to turning my back on the knicks for good.
    ___
    Well I’m thicslose to turning my back on the knicks for good!?!?

  • http://slamonline.com Russ Bengtson

    D’Antoni and Walsh should have just said “we’ll do whatever Jim Dolan wants us to do because we want to keep our jobs.”

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Ah, forgot about Galinari, Jukai. Good call.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I think these last few years have completely reversed the positive trend in Allen Iverson’s career.
    He has now been permanently labeled as a selfish, one-dimensional malcontent, who always hurt the game of other players. Obviously, I find this to be ludicrous, but from the stories I’m reading about Iverson, that seems to be the consensus. Everybody is lining up to write their hit pieces, it’s really interesting.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Also, for those saying Wades/Lebrons won’t come to a lesser team, you’re ignoring the prospect that TWO all-stars can join the same team.
    The Celtics were probably the worst team in the NBA until Ray Allen and Garnett showed up.

  • http://slamonline.com Russ Bengtson

    The fact that AI bailed after just THREE games with Memphis and didn’t even stick around long enough to play a single game in front of a home crowd that bought jerseys and season tickets and seemed ready to welcome him with open arms is pretty damning.

  • http://bigh bighish3@yahoo.com

    A.I. needs to come to cleveland in the playoff when it get`s 4 real he can get his shoot off without lebron geting it 4 him mo is my boy but look what happen last year holla

  • http://www.slamonline.com Pardeep

    PLEASE SIGN HIM! Basketball wise move makes sense imagine if AI can prove to people that he can still play which I do believe he can do. Than the Knicks will want to keep him and when 2010 free agency happends say “look you played great we didn’t make the playoffs with you but you proved to the league you are still an elite so how bout you take a pay cut let us team you up with LeBron, Wade or Bosh and than next season you can make the best run at that ring that has been haunting your legendary career”. Donnie Walsh needs to do it and they have been almost getting him for the past 2 years now it is time to make the move and save this franchise. LeBron would love to play alongside AI and so would Wade. Wade wanted to play with him in Miami but Riley didn’t sign AI. This is a golden oppurtunity for AI.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Russ
    I’ve never defended Iverson’s decisions in Memphis. He effed up royally.
    That said, the growing list of reporters and columnists taking jibes at Iverson’s inability to co-exist with teammates, his inability to win games and his inability to really be a great player is interesting.
    It seems that many media members have had some serious problems with Allen Iverson the basketball player and person for quite some time. In fact, the three main complaints against Iverson today are the exact same complaints heard when he first entered the league.
    Lest anyone forget, Iverson’s position as one of the NBA’s elite was not given to him because of media hype, but instead earned through a groundswell of public love that forced the media to come off of its stock opinions or risk alienating many, many fans. (Not counting SLAM of course.)
    I find it interesting that after a tough year in Detroit and the debacle in Memphis, the same old complaints have been raised again and have basically become “the truth” about Iverson.
    It’s an amazing example of the ability of sportwriters to shape the way we view athletes and to control their legacies. Not absolving Iverson of his own role, he made many, many mistakes, but I still contend that what we’re seeing now is people finally getting their chance to place a final stamp on the career of a player many of them never liked that much.
    Your thoughts?

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    * should read “taking jabs.”

  • http://www.sixers.com 360vue

    @Allenp, people can be quick to forget.. its the bandwagon to land some hate on AI. hes a flawed character (lack team ethic, poor overall attitude as a professional, avarice) but it dont justify most of it. a complete ball legend, and Mike D is a complete moron, hes a one trick coach and he knows he hasnt got the nuts to manage iverson effeciently even though they obviously desperately need him

  • http://slamonline.com Russ Bengtson

    I’d agree with some of that to an extent, but on the other hand, Iverson has taken pride in never answering to anyone and playing the game HIS way. Which is all well and good, but when you do that, this is how it ends. Ask Antoine Walker (who, unlike AI, actually won a ring), ask Stephon Marbury, ask Steve Francis. AI’s 2001 run to the Finals was simultaneously the best and worst thing that could have ever happened to him. Are there media members who were waiting for his downfall? Perhaps. But with AI insisting on forever being AI, that downfall was coming regardless. And in the end, especially with that Memphis debacle, Mr. “I Play Every Game Like It’s My Last” finally betrayed the only person he cares about — himself.

  • CARTEL

    wth is wrong with the knicks organization??!!!…they can’t get any worse…just sign the man already!!!

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Russ, are you joking? Steve Francis isn’t in the league anymore because an injury slowed him down. You seriously don’t think he could have played longer in this league if healthy? Nah, you’re joking.
    And Allen Iverson DID change his game up. Taking only 14 shots a game last year is insisting on playing HIS way? And if you’re going to ask him to sacrifice, where were the results? Curry clearly didn’t know how to coach that roster, and Hamilton h@ted coming off the bench as much as Iverson did. But wait, why aren’t you complaining about how Hamilton insisted on forever being Hamilton?
    Seriously, we saw the Pistons without Iverson in the playoffs and they stank: swept at the hands of Cleveland.
    So why does it seem logical to you, Russ, that Iverson should have come off the bench for the Pistons and played a meager 18 minutes a game, when he was THEIR BEST PLAYER, and they clearly sucked without him?
    Oh wait, its Iverson’s fault that the Pistons stank, despite not being on the floor and despite being criticized when playing, because he totally forced Joe Dumars to trade away Chauncey Billups–the pure point guard who their system was actually designed to fit.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    How is AI in New York going to be different from AI in Memphis? We can give all the reasons why things’ll work in NY where they didn’t in Memphis. But in a month, I think hindsight will tell us otherwise.

  • http://fdjklf.com Jukai

    Joel O: because New York has no reason to tank. They have no first round pick. Memphis does. Sooo the Knicks have no reason NOT to compete.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    ^^^ Plus, the Knicks don’t have any players like OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay to build around or develop, other than Wilson Chandler. However, we have already seen that Wilson Chandler won’t get the touches he deserves regardless, because Jared Jeffries and Larry Hughes already do that for him. Danilo has shown potential too, but he definitely isn’t an OJ Mayo-type-proven prospect.
    Also, the Knicks have no reason to bench Allen Iverson once they sign him. Toney Douglas will learn a lot playing under him. And since Donnie Walsh h@tes spending money because he thinks the entire Cleveland Cavaliers will sign with the Knicks, he can sign AI for the veterans’ minimum.
    Its worth a shot. The Grizzlies had young, promising guards to develop in Mike Conley and OJ Mayo. The Knicks have Toney Douglas to develop, and Wilson Chandler plays the 3 spot.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @Russ & Teddy:
    Why didn’t Memphis work out? Why didn’t Detroit? Sure, we can’t wholly absolve the dysfunctional Pistons’ or the myopic Grizzlies’ coaching staff of guilt. But the crux to many pro-AI fans’ arguments (and even Allen’s own) as to why Detroit and Memphis HAD to give AI starter minutes is based on the idea that Allen was these teams’ “BEST PLAYER”. And this isn’t wrong – AI probably was their best player, and all things being equal SHOULD deserve starter minutes. But so what if he was their best player? The way he behaved, both on and off the court, the way he behaved to his teammates, fans, coaches and the media, has just plainly been unacceptable. I can’t defend him anymore without sounding like a rabid fanatic. So what if he was their best player, indeed? He proved his doubters right on every count over the last two years, being unable to coexist on two vastly different teams.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    @Jukai:
    Okay, fair point. I still don’t think they’d do any better with AI, honestly. I mean, the best case scenario is that they sign him and let him play a lot and score a ton of points under D’Antoni’s system. That doesn’t necessarily equate to wins, I think. And by the looks of things, AI to New York has the potential to turn into another horribly silly soap opera, which nobody really wants to see happen. I don’t know. I hope things work out for him somewhere, but I think AI in NY seems to be another doomed marriage of convenience…

  • Teddy-tye-Bear

    Joel: How did he treat his teammates badly in Detroit? By never speaking wrongly against any individual person or calling out people by name, even though guys like Sheed and Hamilton tanked it on him?
    You take a guy like Stephen Jackson, who complains about his coach and who’s agent badmouths the entire organization. You take a guy like Stephen Jackson who actually throws his title of “captain” in the face of the franchise that depends on him. But HE STILL STARTS. You know why? Because he’s THE BEST PLAYER ON THE TEAM.

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