Well, at least for this blog, as Mike D’Antoni is OFFICIALLY out of Phoenix, to take the head job of the New York Knicks.
Some will criticize the move, noting that the Knicks really don’t have the personnel (or personality) to play the up-tempo, free-wheeling, everybody going 190 mph down the court style D’Antoni runs. Me? I think there are some salvageable parts. Clearly, Stephon Marbury needs to go, and Eddy Curry behind him, but those two have huge contracts that may be tough to move. However, with a decent draft and maybe a trade or two from wily Donnie Walsh (who Bill Simmons still insists on criticizing for the mess the Pacers are in, forgetting the real culprit: George W. Bush Ben Wallace) can get the Knicks in playoff contention in the woebegone East. Still, anybody expecting a Phoenix in ‘05 turnaround is in for a rude awakening (unless, of course, there is a way to lure Steve Nash East for Stephon Marbury, a la 2004)
