Give Mike D'Antoni a Chance: Assessing the New York Knicks' Roster

Since reports surfaced Saturday that Mike D’Antoni would be the next coach of the New York Knicks, there has been strong response throughout the sports community. Almost all of these reactions, including those posted on this site, have been negative.

And rightfully so. The coach with the league’s most up-tempo style goes to a team comprised mostly of aging, overpaid underachievers who might not even listen to him. Sounds like Larry Brown part II.

But, from the Knicks’ perspective, don’t they at least have to try? Maybe D’Antoni’s previous success, and more importantly his fun style, will make their players—who still do have talent—want to play hard again. Maybe Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph will lose weight and run the floor. Maybe Stephon Marbury will rededicate himself to basketball.

Or maybe Donnie Walsh just thinks his new team’s roster is better suited to an up-tempo style than everyone else realizes. Maybe he has given up on Curry, Randolph, and Starbury.

Maybe he is ready to turn over this team to his young players—you know, the ones who actually like playing basketball. And maybe he thinks D’Antoni is the best guy for the job.

So I’m going to do what few others have done in this past week. I’m going to give D’Antoni and Walsh a chance.

What follows is a breakdown of the Knick roster, detailing who works in D’Antoni’s system, who doesn’t, and what the 2008-09 edition of the Knick team might look like.

What Doesn’t Work

Let’s start with the easy part of the equation. Curry and Randolph are perhaps the worst possible fits for D’Antoni’s fast-paced system. They both like to take their time setting up on the block and are slow to move up the court.

Despite Marbury’s recent declaration that he is preparing to play for D’Antoni, he has run out of lives in New York. For a team that is trying to start afresh, Marbury has to go.

Down the bench, center Jerome James and reserve forward Jared Jeffries also stand out as players who will struggle to find a role on D’Antoni’s new team.

What Works

There are actually quite a few pieces left, which may surprise some people. While Isaiah Thomas amassed a collection of talent that had virtually no chance to play together successfully, at least he amassed a collection of talent. Which means the Knicks can afford to cast aside several players and still maintain some semblance of a team.

David Lee is this team’s heart and soul, and he would fit in any system. He plays hard night in and night out, can run the floor, and has improved his offensive game and become a much better finisher around the basket.

Jamal Crawford will be another building block for D’Antoni’s Knicks. He is another player who plays with passion and has improved during his time in New York. Crawford also has experience successfully running the pick and roll with Curry two years ago. Look for the offense to run through Crawford, perhaps utilizing D’Antoni’s high screen offense with Lee as the screener.

Quentin Richardson should also see a bit of a resurgence playing for his former coach. Due to his age, he will not be as effective as he was in Phoenix, he is still a smart basketball player. Most importantly, like Crawford, he can shoot.

Renaldo Balkman and Nate Robinson will bring energy to this team. Ideally, both will come off the bench. Balkman still lacks the offensive prowess and shooting ability necessary to play a wing position in D’Antoni’s offensive, while Robinson is too inconsistent and turnover prone to handle the ball in an offense where so much relies on the point guard.

Veterans Fred Jones and Malik Rose should find roles on this team as well. Jones has shown he can run the floor and shoot a little, while Rose brings veteran leadership and a defensive frontcourt presence.

Finally, Wilson Chandler and Randolph Morris, both young and impressionable, fit on this team as well. Neither is ready to make a huge impact in the league, but both have potential and will hopefully improve under D’Antoni (and, if Patrick Ewing is hired as an assistant, expect him to work with Morris a lot).

The 2008-2009 Knick Team 

If the Knicks cast aside—or demote to end of the bench/sitting in street clothes with an “injury” status—players from the “What Doesn’t Work” section, their line-up would probably be as follows:

PG  Nate Robinson

SG  Jamal Crawford

SF  Quentin Richardson

PF  David Lee

C    Malik Rose

BN  Renaldo Balkman

BN  Fred Jones

BN  Randolph Morris

BN  Wilson Chandler

Clearly, this is a team that still has a few holes, specifically at the point guard and center positions. Luckily, the Knicks will definitely make at least one big addition prior to next season: their first round draft pick.

It’s been a while since the Knicks had the high pick they have rightfully earned the last several years—they can thank Thomas for that as well. But this year, they are guaranteed a top six pick, and have an outside chance of winning the lottery and landing in the top three.

By far, the ideal scenario for New York is to end up with Memphis PG Derrick Rose. Not only is he probably the best player in the draft, but he is the one player in the draft who can run D’Antoni’s offense from the point guard position.

The Knicks have a 7.9 percent chance of winning the first pick, and, given that there are a few teams who would prefer Kansas State forward Michael Beasley to Rose, probably have around a 10 percent chance of landing Rose overall. So it isn’t likely.

Assuming the Knicks don’t get Rose and end up with the No. 5 pick, which is their most likely scenario, they would probably take a combo guard such as Jerryd Bayless from Arizona or Eric Gordon, who would hopefully learn to run D’Antoni’s offense but at the least would emerge as a scoring threat. The Knicks would probably prefer Bayless, because he is the better point guard, while Gordon is the better scorer.

With their second round pick, I think it would benefit the Knicks to take a sharpshooter. A player such as Tennessee’s Chris Lofton could be a real weapon off the bench in D’Antoni’s offense.

Now, the roster looks like this:

PG  Jerryd Bayless

SG  Jamal Crawford

SF  Quentin Richardson

PF  David Lee

C    Malik Rose

BN  Nate Robinson

BN  Renaldo Balkman

BN  Fred Jones

BN  Chris Lofton

BN  Randolph Morris

BN  Wilson Chandler

Bayless will be much more efficient at running the offense than Robinson, who can now provide energy off the bench along with Balkman. The Knicks also may look to trade for a veteran point guard such as T.J. Ford and bring in a veteran big man with their mid-level exception.

Suddenly, this has the look of a team that can win a few games next year and compete for a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference.