In 2010 Will Mike D'Antoni Still Be The Coach of The New York Knicks?

Mike D'Antoni signed a four-year $24 million contract to coach the New York Knicks. The question is, will be he be around the full four years or longer?

There are actually two answers to this question. One answer is yes, and the other answer is no.

Let's start with reasons why the answer would be no. As a lot of NBA fans know, there are plenty of teams gearing up to attract the group of 2010 free agents. Among them are Lebron James and Chris Bosh, which the Knicks are rumored to be setting their sights on.

Hypothetically, if the Knicks somehow find a way to wrestle James away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, then D'Antoni is taking that pink slip with him.

James will not be happy with a coach who believes that good defense is simply scoring more than the opposing team does.

James, who has become one of the better defenders in the league, is not going to accept a coach that doesn't know the definition of the word defense, which means that Donnie Walsh or whoever the GM is—most likely Chris Mullin—will be firing D'Antoni.

Only then will James see that the Knicks organization is serious about hiring a coach who emphasizes defense.

Also, getting a post player that can hurt teams from the inside and outside will help lure James to the Knicks. As James stated before, he wants to play for a team that gives him the best shot at a championship.

So for the Knicks, that means bringing in Chris Bosh who will also be a free agent in 2010. Bosh has both the inside game and the outside game.  

Now, for why D'Antoni would still be the coach after his four year contract.

The free agency madness will start much earlier than 2010—it will actually start in the 2009 season. Steve Nash is going to become a free agent, and D'Antoni would clearly love to have the player that won back-to-back MVP's (which is a joke by the way), to come play for the Knicks.

Then the second part of the equation becomes focusing on acquiring a free agent in 2010 or quite possibly sooner, as there could be a sign and trade deal in 2009 as well.

The player the Knicks will be coveting is Amare Stoudemire. A reunion with D'Antoni in New York is not out of the question, and this scenario has a way better chance of happening than seeing Lebron James in a Knicks uniform.

So, to answer the original question, will D'Antoni be the coach of the Knicks for the full four year contract? Most likely yes, but there's about a one percent chance of D'Antoni not being in New York for the full four years.