Suns' head coach Mike D'Antoni already resigns

[Halu Sination]

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.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jack_mccallum/04/30/suns.dantonio/index.html?eref=sircrc

i dunno how reliable this is, but wow if this is true then damn this was quick as hell

['EclipZe]

dumb ass shouldn't have gotten shaq anyways , it's a shame tho i really would've liked to see more suns games.

[Halu Sination]

dumb ass shouldn't have gotten shaq anyways , it's a shame tho i really would've liked to see more suns games.

well they weren't going anywhere before shaq, and now we just saw that they're not going anywhere with shaq. but with nash getting so old, they had to take that type of gamble sooner or later. too bad for them that it didn't pay off.

but even tho now they're stuck with shaq's fat ass contract, i dont think theyre crying over it too much since this type of gamble was inevitable for them.

[jeromechickenbone]

D'Antoni was a bum.  His run and gun shit was never gonna win a ring, so their FO tried to establish a true offense and D'Antoni couldn't do shit with it.  Is it too late to get Larry Brown, lol.

[Antonio_]

Well i told y'all Suns was never gonna win a ring with D'Antoni..

Mike is a good coach for a normal team. I mean you'd rather see a mediocre team playing spectacular basketball than a borin one. But his system will never bring his team a ring.

[OG Hack Wilson]

i predict he goes to the Knicks



edit: woops, lock this sheeet

[OG Hack Wilson]

D'Antoni was a bum.  His run and gun shit was never gonna win a ring, so their FO tried to establish a true offense and D'Antoni couldn't do shit with it.  Is it too late to get Larry Brown, lol.

couldnt do shit with it? he was a few suspensions away from the NBA Finals last year lol

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Anyone who thinks the Suns under D'Antoni were ever serious contenders is lying to themselves. Anyone who expected the Shaq move to work and claimed Laker fans were scared over it doesn't deserve to analyze basketball anymore.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

the Suns just got better

[Mo Z. Dizzle]

Kerr said that the news is false and D'Antoni hasn't stepped down:

PHOENIX (TICKER) —Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr has denied a report that coach Mike D’Antoni is stepping down.

Sports Illustrated reported on its web site Wednesday that D’Antoni feels he does not have the support of upper management - specifically owner Robert Sarver and Kerr - and will likely part ways with the club.

“There’s no truth to that (that D’Antoni is stepping down),” Kerr told the Arizona Republic on Wednesday. “I asked Mike when the story came out and he denied it. Mike’s our coach and has done a great job for four years. We’ll get together soon and talk about where this team can go from here.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AvY_X1ubRM.nxZjJ99n1Lt6J0bYF?slug=txsunsdantoni&prov=st&type=lgns

[jeromechickenbone]

D'Antoni was a bum.  His run and gun shit was never gonna win a ring, so their FO tried to establish a true offense and D'Antoni couldn't do shit with it.  Is it too late to get Larry Brown, lol.

couldnt do shit with it? he was a few suspensions away from the NBA Finals last year lol

Excuses are like assholes son.  Yeah they were a good team but they were never going to win a championship w/ that squad.  Shaq gave them a higher ceiling than they had before.  It's not his fault Nash sucked cock and D'Antoni continually fucking up.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^yet it is his fault that he could only stay on the court for 30 mins, failed to reach 20 points in any game, shot as many as 20 free throws in a game, had more fouls+turnovers than steals+blocks+assists combined, and only grabbed double digit rebounds twice in 5 games.

[thisoneguy360]

the Suns just got better

[wcsoldier]

Suns had very good seasons but I always thought they were a disgrace for the game of B-Ball .. fortunately they never won a title , the NBA would have lost lot of credibility ..

[jeromechickenbone]

^yet it is his fault that he could only stay on the court for 30 mins, failed to reach 20 points in any game, shot as many as 20 free throws in a game, had more fouls+turnovers than steals+blocks+assists combined, and only grabbed double digit rebounds twice in 5 games.

Your opinion on this is invalid.  In your mind, Shaq wasn't the reason for championships in LA / Miami, but he is the reason the Suns didn't win the championship this year.  What a joke you are.