We know that now-former New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni and team owner James Dolan met Wednesday morning and came out of that meeting deciding to resign because of differences in how they saw the future of the organization.
Those differences were major — D’Antoni wanted to trade Carmelo Anthony to the Nets for Deron Williams. So reports David Aldridge of TNT and NBA.com.
D’Antoni, the source said, had been advocating that the Knicks attempt to trade Anthony to the New Jersey Nets for guard Deron Williams, a deal D’Antoni believed would be beneficial for both franchises. But Dolan categorically declined that request, and the “conflicting visions” between the owner and head coach about Anthony meant there was no way forward.
D’Antoni had hoped the Knicks’ inspired and winning play with Lin as the centerpiece — while Anthony and Stoudemire were injured — would convince Dolan the Knicks could win without Anthony.
D’Antoni and Anthony clearly had differences and the coach didn’t think he could run his offense right with Anthony in it. In recent games Anthony had been setting up in his preferred area on the elbow extended, which threw off the spacing of the Knicks pick-and-roll with Jeremy Lin. The whole offense fell apart and became desperation isolations.
But this is bigger than just play sets — this is about how to build a team to fit a system. D’Antoni may or may not have been able to win with his style in New York but we’ll never know because the Knicks management kept giving him an ill-fitting roster that would never work with what he wanted to run. At one point he had a good point guard for his system — which is point-guard dependent — in Raymond Felton, but he was traded to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony deal. Which brought in Chauncey Billups — not as good a system fit but solid. Then he was amnestied to make way for Tyson Chandler and not really replaced. Had they not lucked into Jeremy Lin the Knicks would have had all their hopes pinned on the already strained back on Baron Davis.
D’Antoni wanted a guy that fits his system. Dolan put a lot of effort into getting Anthony to New York (pushing aside then decision maker Donnie Walsh to do it). Dolan loves ‘Melo. It was a battle D’Antoni could not win, so he chose to leave the battlefield.
