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**Dissonance19** · 04-30-2008, 12:54 AM

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SAN ANTONIO -- Mike D'Antoni, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2004-05 season and the man credited with re-invigorating fast-break basketball in a league gone stale, will not be back to coach the Phoenix Suns for the 2008-09 season, SI.com has learned.

D'Antoni deferred questions about his job status after the Suns were eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center in Alamo City. "I'm just really proud of my guys," D'Antoni said after the Spurs' 92-87 win that marked the third time in four years that San Antonio has ended the Suns' season. He did not address his own situation. But sources within the organization confirm that D'Antoni feels he does not have the backing of upper management--specifically owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr -- and considers the situation irredeemable.

The Suns have long been one of the NBA's model franchises, and both D'Antoni and Kerr, for whatever differences they might have about the direction of the team, are respected around the league. It's hard to believe, then, that D'Antoni's situation would devolve into an ugly, protracted war, New York Knicks style.

How exactly the scenario unfolds depends largely on whether or not D'Antoni gets another job offer. The most palatable scenario for all in Phoenix would be: Team A asks the Suns for permission to talk to D'Antoni, who has two years left on his contract; Suns say OK; D'Antoni interviews and is hired.

One landing spot for him would seem to be Chicago, where general manager Jim Paxson has not yet replaced Jim Boylan, who himself replaced Scott Skiles (now in charge in Milwaukee). The Bulls underachieved this season under both coaches but would seem to have the kind of offensive nucleus (Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni) with which D'Antoni could build.

One other possibility is New York, where new GM Donnie Walsh is taking his time making a head-coach decision despite speculation that the hiring of former point guard Marc Jackson is a done deal. There has also been whispers of D'Antoni taking over in Toronto, where Sam Mitchell's coaching future is an ongoing discussion and where Bryan Colangelo, D'Antoni's former boss in Phoenix and still a close friend, is calling the shots. But Toronto doesn't seem as comfortable a fit for D'Antoni as Chicago or even New York. Don't look for that to happen.

As is the custom with all NBA teams, D'Antoni will meet soon with Sarver and Kerr, together or separately. Kerr said before Sunday's Game 4, which turned out to be the Suns' lone series win, that D'Antoni's departure was not a fait accompli as far as he is concerned. He would not comment on D'Antoni's status after Game 5. But a source said that Kerr would make a few demands in the postseason debriefing: that D'Antoni devote more practice time to defense; have more confidence in his bench players, i.e., go to an expanded rotation; develop a clearer plan for a point guard to back up Steve Nash; get more planned touches out of Amare' Stoudemire in post-up situations.

D'Antoni, sources say, believes that the situation has been festering all season and that nothing would be accomplished in the meeting. Whatever the circumstances of his departure, it will probably be presented as as a rift between coach and GM, and to a large extent that's true. But when Colangelo left for Toronto, mostly because he and Sarver were doomed not to co-exist harmoniously, D'Antoni lost his biggest booster in the front office, as well as a friend. It's what happens in the NBA and in all pro sports

Over four full seasons D'Antoni racked up a 232-96 record, made the Western finals twice and changed the way that observers both in and out of the league thought about the game. Management might have some legit gripes about his defensive coaching, and remember that D'Antoni was a bigger booster of the trade for Shaquille O'Neal than Kerr was.

But Suns' management now faces one extremely formidable challenge in l'affaire D'Antoni: Finding someone better.

**Ruff Draft** · 04-30-2008, 12:58 AM

Good for you guys.

**DANNY** · 04-30-2008, 01:21 AM

as much as i hate dantoni and his whiny ways, i think he's a terrific coach who's likely be the scapegoat for phoenix's inability to advance past the spurs

chicago sounds like a great destination for him as that team got some young guys that can run and gun

the big question out of all this is probably "who will be the coach for the suns?" do you bring in a defensive minded coach and rely on steve nash to lead the offense pack? or do you simply bring a respectable coach like fratello or collins and hope that they can straighten this team out mentally not so much physically.

DaRizzle · 04-30-2008, 01:22 AM

**Basel57** · 04-30-2008, 01:23 AM

Great move by Phoenix if it's true.

**DANNY** · 04-30-2008, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaRizzle

JVG

man that would be awesome

beating the suns would be like killing two birds with one stone hahahahahha

B-Roy · 04-30-2008, 01:27 AM

Can't say he didn't have it coming....

Jammin · 04-30-2008, 01:41 AM

Since Avery is fired, I want him to be the Suns coach. He turned a all offense team into a solid O and D team with very few changes.

AZsportsDude · 04-30-2008, 01:48 AM

hire avery...

Aylwin · 04-30-2008, 01:56 AM

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...devote more practice time to defense; have more confidence in his bench players, i.e., go to an expanded rotation; develop a clearer plan for a point guard to back up Steve Nash; get more planned touches out of Amare' Stoudemire in post-up situations.

D'Antoni or no D'Antoni, I agree with Kerr. But most likely this means no D'Antoni.

For all my complaining about D'Antoni, I still think he's a great coach. But he could be better if he'd learn to be more flexible and adapt more to different situations. That's my main gripe about him. He's too stubborn. So if he's not willing to change, then it's best if he leaves.

I think Avery may be a good choice. He's a tough little *******. I'm sure he'll be able knock some sense into Diaw and we'll get to see the MIP again. I'm not sure he'd get along with Shaq though.

**Kekai** · 04-30-2008, 03:45 AM

I like D'Antoni, I don't think there is anybody out there who would do better than him. I rag on him a lot, but it suck to see him go, but with the way things have gone the past 4 years, of course its time for some new blood in Phoenix.

knicksfan89 · 04-30-2008, 03:47 AM

as a lakers fan I say the suns underachieved this year and it is better he quits now before he is pushed, I think he will take over in chicago or new york now

**nffl** · 04-30-2008, 07:14 AM

Avery!

**croco** · 04-30-2008, 07:40 AM

I'm not sure why you want to replace D'Antoni with Avery, he isn't a better coach and he won't improve the team. I wrote this two days ago about him:

Quote:

Originally Posted by croco

In his full first season the Suns won 62 games, the year before they had like 36 wins. They signed Nash before that season, but it was still a remarkable turnaround. Phoenix went to the WCF, but their weaknesses were exposed by the Spurs and they lost in 5, they also had no bench at that time.

The year after Amare signs a contract extension and shredders his knee, the Suns still somehow win 50+ games and go the WCF again. You lose your second best, if not best player and keep your team focussed enough to accomplish the same feat again, isn't that a sign of good coaching ?

Then last season they win again 60 games, roll through the season and run into one of the best teams of all times, that is just how good the Spurs were. They lose in six tough games and we all remember the suspensions. It's not an excuse, but some breaks here or there and they might have beat San Antonio.

Now before this season the chemistry went downhill and they made the Shaq trade, it didn't work out well and the Suns are where they are. It's not totally unfair to fire D'Antoni because the team had talent to win it all, but like I said overall he has been a pretty good coach. Oh and the Suns had a damn good half-court offense, they only ran that much in 04-05 with Richardson and Johnson, after that they were much more traditional. You still get 85 - 90 percent of your points in the half court despite that ability to have a very effective fastbreak.

The truth is that there aren't better coaches available, Popovich and Jackson would never leave and after those two I'm not sure if there is anyone who can definitely be considered better than D'Antoni.

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