Mike D’Antoni has resigned from the New York Knicks this afternoon because he was going to get fired sometime in the next few days. D’Antoni was going t be fired because of his poor record this year and the teams poor play at the end of last season as well. Neither of which were D’Antoni’s fault. The problems in New York started with one man’s acquisition and it is that man who should have been moved, not the coach.
Last season Amare Stoudemire signed with the New York Knicks and began the season looking like an all-star and he was the star of the team. Then right before the trade deadline Carmelo Anthony was sent to New York, where he wanted to be, for virtually every role player the Knicks had at the time. The Knicks season tanked from that point forward, and the Nuggets played better than when Mello was there. Amarie’s production dropped off and the two New York stars didn’t mesh.
So, this season the Knicks replenished the talent pool that they threw away last season and entered the season with high hopes. To this point they have been a disappointment, but especially with Anthony in the line up. It seems that every time the Knicks go on a winning streak Anthony is out of the lineup. They finally find a field general in Jeremy Lin and the team won without both of their stars. Then Stoudemire came back into the lineup and the team continued to roll. Add Carmelo into the mix and the winning streak is over and the Knicks are working their way out of the playoff picture.
Now D’Antoni resigns because he didn’t give into Carmelo Anthony’s demands for the ball and because the team hasn’t played well this season. Well D’Antoni never wanted Anthony on his team because of how selfish he is as a basketball player. He didn’t want him because he had a team that was already competing at a fairly high level and they were very young and poised to get better. So, the owner forces the GM to trade for Carmelo and the Knicks haven’t been able to regain the magic they started building last year.
D’Antoni is a good coach that was forced into a losing situation by his owner. With the team he had most of last season he would probably be the 4th seed in the East. Instead he quits his job rather than waiting to get fired while the root of the problem is still comfortable in New York. Carmelo Anthony will never be a winner because he refuses to play a team game no matter where he goes. He doesn’t make teams better, he handcuffs them. Lets put the blame where it belongs for once and it doesn’t belong with D’Antoni.
About Chris Canavan
