Knicks Rumors: Mike D'Antoni Has Earned Another Season in New York
If we learn nothing else from the emergence of Jeremy Lin and subsequent Linsanity, it needs to be that Mike D'Antoni belongs in New York.
Howard Beck of the New York Times is reporting that his job was never seriously in danger this season but that the team still needs to improve for D'Antoni to stay on the sideline in coming seasons.
"Contrary to speculative reports, D’Antoni was not in danger of being fired when the Knicks were listing at 7-13. By all indications, the Garden hierarchy is content to let him finish the season. But winning a new contract will require the Knicks to become the electrifying juggernaut that the Suns were in the mid-2000s.
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This is a highly unfair expectation, especially if we're talking about achieving it by the end of the year.
If you want to be realistic, the Knicks need a full Training Camp and season with Jeremy Lin at point guard, Carmelo Anthony at small forward, Amar'e Stoudemire at power forward, and Tyson Chandler at center to really judge what kind of team this will be. D'Antoni has done enough with this team to earn the right to coach them next year.
The bottom line is that we don't know how Carmelo and Amar'e are going to mesh with Lin when they come back, but negative results wouldn't change any of this.
The team is dramatically different than what it was when the two stars last played. It is unrealistic to expect them to come into a compacted season and mesh well with Lin in such a short period of time.
If they do well together immediately, great. But if not, D'Antoni has proven to be resourceful enough to find ways to win and get everyone the ball throughout his career.
If they don't adjust well now, it's because Lin has very little experience playing with Stoudemire and Anthony. Being thrown directly into a playoff race, the expectations might be a little high.
Ultimately, you know that Carmelo and Amar'e are going to get you about 50 points a game, and Lin has emerged as a fantastic point guard over the last five games. That isn't a great sample size, but you can clearly see that the raw ability is there.
If they don't immediately gel and struggle through the season, D'Antoni has proven to be enough of an offensive mind to deserve this talent in a normal situation. This situation is anything but normal.
To think that the Knicks need to show a Phoenix-like offense for D'Antoni to remain the coach is baffling. Enough has happened now and he needs some credit for what's happened with Lin.
If Lin is a real star, then you have a top four going in to next season that will be explosive and put up points. This coach has proven that in normal situations, he will maximize that. The Knicks have to give him another season.
