New York Knicks: 10 Potential Replacements for Mike D'Antoni

For the past three seasons, the New York Knicks have been coached by offensive guru Mike D'Antoni.  After five seasons coaching the Phoenix Suns, a span that included two trips to the conference finals, Coach D has been showcasing his high-energy style of play for the fans at Madison Square Garden.

Yet, those three years have been tumultuous.  Over that time, D'Antoni has coached the Knicks to a less than respectable 103-143 record, and last year, in his first trip to the playoffs with the team, he saw an early exit due to a four-game sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

Throw in the fact that team owner James Dolan declined to honor D'Antoni's request for a simple one-year extension at season's end, and this year is truly make or break for the Knicks coach.  He is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $24 million, and unless the Knicks either start playing some solid defense or go further than the first round of the playoffs, he could find himself on the chopping block.

If D'Antoni were to be fired, there are many coaches out there looking for a job. 

Here are 10 who could take his place.

No. 10: Larry Brown

OK, I'll admit it.  The odds of Larry Brown coming back to coach the Knicks are slim to none.  He came to the team on a five-year deal worth between $50-$60 million.

After well-publicized feuds with star guard Stephon Marbury and then GM Isiah Thomas, Brown was fired after just one season.  His record that year was a career-worst 23-59.

Still, if Thomas's influence can forever be banished from the team's front office and James Dolan is willing to give this relationship another shot, Brown would actually be a good option in New York.  He stresses defense and has championship experience on both the collegiate and professional levels.

More importantly, he is the man who probably has the best shot at turning first-round draft pick Iman Shumpert into a star.

No. 9: Rudy Tomjanovich

Like Brown, the likelihood of Rudy Tomjanovich coming to New York to man the sidelines is low.  He hasn't coached in the NBA since 2005, when health reasons forced him to resign just 41 games into his first season coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.

Still, Tomjanovich has 13 years of head coaching experience under his belt.  From the mid 1990s to the early 2000s, he put himself on the coaching map while manning the helm for the Houston Rockets.  There, he won two consecutive NBA championships, including one against the New York Knicks.

Besides his great knowledge of the game, Tomjanovich could be a good fit in New York because of his approach.  Rather than wrap himself up in various plays and setups, he is very easy going and tends to let his squad just go on the court and play.  Given the players on the Knicks, this approach could be make or break.

At this point, while Tomjanovich is no doubt a great coach, perhaps he should stick to his scouting job with the Lakers and let someone who runs a tighter ship coach the Knicks.

No. 8: Eddie Jordan

Don't let the career record of 257-343 fool you.  Eddie Jordan is a better coach than the numbers indicate.

In a career that includes stints with the Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, Jordan has been to the playoffs five times and has made the conference semifinals once.  While that may not seem overly impressive, it should be noted that Jordan never really had much of a team to work with wherever he went.

Were he to come to New York, he would already have three of the league's top players on the court for him: Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.  Also, let's not forget that the Knicks' front office will look to lure free agents Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to the Big Apple.

Put together a superteam for Jordan, and the possibilities could be limitless.

No. 7: Mike Fratello

Mike Fratello has 16 years of head coaching experience under his belt, having had stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies.  For his career, he is 667-542 and is easily one of the most respected basketball minds out there.

Ready for the crazy part?  Fratello hasn't been to the NBA Finals once.  Throughout his years of coaching, his teams were good but just shy of being good enough to beat the elite teams.  Were he to come to New York, he would already have a good team to build upon, and barring any major setbacks, he could take them to championship glory.

On top of that, Fratello is from nearby Hackensack, New Jersey.  Coaching the Knicks could be a sort of homecoming for him, and who doesn't like that?

No. 6: Don Nelson

The winningest coach in NBA history, Don Nelson is easily the best coach to never win a championships.  In 31 years on the sidelines in time spent with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks, Nelson has amassed a record of 1,335-1,063 while making it to the conference finals four different times.

That being said, let's analyze Nelson's first stint with the Knicks.  He went 34-25, but resigned before his first season even ended due to disagreements with the front office.  An up-tempo offensive coach like his potential predecessor D'Antoni, Nelson could not get the then-defensive minded team to adapt to his style.

On top of that, he wanted to trade popular center Patrick Ewing so that team management would be in a better position to sign impending free agent Shaquille O'Neal.

This time around, however, Nelson would be in a better position to utilize his coaching philosophy.  He would already have a team that is used to scoring a lot of points, so he would just have to build on top of that.

The only factors working against Nelson are his previous experience with New York, which could be overlooked, and the fact that he is no longer a spring chicken.  The coaching legend is now 71 years old, and when push comes to shove, it would all boil down to what direction James Dolan would want to move inyoung or old.

No. 5: Mike Dunleavy

If the time comes for the Knicks to look for a new coach, one way to excite the fans would be to hire Brooklyn-born Mike Dunleavy.  The man has nearly 20 years of coaching experience and has coached teams including the Los Angeles Lakers (with whom he reached the NBA Finals and lost), Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers and most recently the Los Angeles Clippers.

Today's generation of fans may know him best for his tenure in Portland, where he nearly defeated the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals in the 2000 NBA playoffs.  Once he moved on to the Clippers, Dunleavy brought a team known for always losing to the conference semifinals.

Long story short, this man knows how to run a team, and if there's anyone who could get the best out of Stoudemire, Anthony and Billups, it's Dunleavy.

No. 4: Jerry Sloan

In terms of experience alone, Jerry Sloan could be the man for the job in New York should it become vacant.  The Pro Basketball Hall-of-Famer was the head coach of the Utah Jazz for 23-plus seasons and made the playoffs in all but three of his years in Salt Lake City. 

His tenure there was highlighted by 15 years coaching the deadly tandem of Karl "The Mailman" Malone and legendary point guard John Stockton, who guided the team to two consecutive NBA Finals losses against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.  Coincidentally, Sloan's first head coaching job was with the Chicago Bulls from 1979-1982.

Bringing Sloan to New York would take hard work, as he is not even a year removed from a season that saw him resign midway through among reports that he was not getting along with his players, namely point guard Deron Williams.  On top of that, the 69-year-old seems to be enjoying retirement and is living comfortably in Salt Lake City.

Yet, if the right offer were made, it wouldn't be surprising to see Sloan come to New York to get another shot at that elusive NBA championship he has yet to win.

No. 3: Jeff Van Gundy

Jeff Van Gundy has a distinct advantage out of everyone on this list.  From 1996 until his abrupt resignation in 2001, the man was actually the head coach of the very New York Knicks we are talking about right now.  Despite having no head coaching experience when he took the job following the resignation of Don Nelson, Van Gundy did a great job with the team as he took the Knicks to the playoffs each of the seasons he finished as head coach.

The reason for his departure was supposedly due to his feeling he had lost his focus, but I have a different theory.  Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I have a feeling he just couldn't handle volatile forward Latrell Sprewell anymore.

Van Gundy took the head coaching job with the Houston Rockets nearly two years later and largely underachieved there, thanks to a strained relationship with guard Steve Francis.  He was fired by the team in 2007 and now works as a broadcaster for ESPN.

Despite his long absence from the game, Van Gundy is a great fit for the Knicks now considering the team's needs.  He is a defensive-minded coach, and while the team is talented and could go far in the playoffs, the defense needs a lot of work.  If he and James Dolan can work out a deal to, for lack of better word, bring the band back together, then Knicks fans will all rejoice.

No. 2: Phil Jackson

Though he has never coached the team, Phil Jackson has a strong tie to the New York Knicks.  For 10 seasons, from 1967-1978, he played for the team and won two championships with them.

After his retirement as a player, Jackson became the one of the most legendary coaches in NBA history.  From 1989-1998, he led the Chicago Bulls from the sidelines and was responsible for two three-peats thanks to Michael Jordan.

After Jordan's retirement, Jackson went to the Los Angeles Lakers and saw great success there.  Utilizing the triangle offense he helped make famous, he taught Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant how to play together and the Lakers won three consecutive titles.  Years later, after O'Neal had left the team, he and Bryant won two more championships, increasing Jackson's career coaching total to 11.

For his career, the "Zen Master" has an unbelievable record of 1,155-485.  In all of the years he has been a head coach, he has not once missed the playoffs.

As of now, the only thing keeping the Knicks from wooing Jackson to the Big Apple is his retirement.  He has said multiple times that he is done coaching, but if the NBA has taught us anything, it's that money talks.  Were he to coach the Knicks, just imagine what he could do with a team that already had Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

No. 1: Mike Woodson

Out of all of the men mentioned on this list, Mike Woodson has the biggest advantage of all.  The former Atlanta Hawks coach has already been hired as an assistant coach on Mike D'Antoni's staff.  If team management opts not to re-sign D'Antoni following the season, it's a pretty safe bet that Woodson would be first in line for the job.

While I myself am a D'Antoni fan and would be sad to see him go, I wouldn't be too upset if Woodson was handed the reins.  Why?  Well, as evidenced by his six seasons in Atlanta, he does a good job of taking nothing and turning it into something.

Look at it this way.  His first year with the Hawks, Woodson won just 13 games.  Each year after that, the team won more and more games as Josh Smith became a star, and a team was built around him.  Today, the Hawks are perennial contenders and have one of the most deadly starting lineups in the NBA.

That being said, were Woodson to become the new coach of the Knicks, I wouldn't be too worried.  The man's reputation speaks for itself, and while he has never been past the conference semifinals, fans could breathe a little easier knowing that he had a good core to work with.

At this point, regarding Woodson's future with the franchise, all the fans can do is wait.