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Mike D'Antoni
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Head coach Mike D'Antoni of the New York Knicks watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 12, 2012 in Chicago.
Head coach Mike D'Antoni of the New York Knicks watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 12, 2012 in Chicago. Photographer: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Mike D'Antoni is out as coach of the New York Knicks amid a six-game losing streak and locker- room bickering. Former Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson, a Knicks assistant, will take over on an interim basis.
The departure came hours after the New York Post said All- Star forward Carmelo Anthony wanted to be traded by tomorrow's National Basketball Association deadline and had created a rift with D'Antoni. Anthony responded on Twitter, saying that he didn't want to be traded and told reporters at practice that he supported the coach.
It also occurred about a month after the Knicks, with Anthony sidelined by injuries and Jeremy Lin taking over as point guard, had become the toast of the NBA by winning seven straight games.
"After speaking with Mike this morning, we mutually agreed that it would be best for the organization if he did not continue in his role as coach of the Knicks," Jim Dolan, executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG), said in a statement released by the Knicks.
The resurgence became known as Linsanity, and helped boost television ratings and ticket prices on the resale market and grab international headlines.
As the team slid back down recently, fans at Madison Square Garden, where ticket face-value prices rose an average of 49 percent this season, have again booed the home team.
Final Season
D'Antoni stepped down in his fourth season with the Knicks, who are 18-24 after losing eight of their past 10 games. He was in the final season of his contract with New York.
He exits with a 121-167 record since joining the Knicks before the 2008-09 season. The team reached the playoffs last season with a 42-40 record before being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
The Knicks hired D'Antoni as coach and Donnie Walsh as team president in 2008 to resurrect a salary-burdened franchise that had seven straight losing seasons, including a team-record-tying 59 losses in 2007-08 under then-president and coach Isiah Thomas. D'Antoni was given a four-year contract worth $24 million.
As coach of the Phoenix Suns for five seasons, D'Antoni became known for a high-powered offense, directing his players to get off a shot within seven seconds of gaining possession. The Suns led the NBA in scoring for three straight seasons beginning in 2004-05 and reached the Western Conference finals in 2005 and 2007.
Offense Focus
That type of attack -- and success in the standings --never took root with the Knicks. New York is 12th in scoring among the NBA's 30 franchises this season, averaging 96.7 points per game.
Walsh led the Knicks' strategy to free salary cap space to try to land LeBron James or another star player in July 2010. All-Star forward/center Amar'e Stoudemire joined the club that offseason, when James went to the Miami Heat, joining fellow free-agent All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. New York traded for Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups in February 2011, leading to their first playoff appearance in seven years. Walsh stepped down as president in June.
New York waived Billups in December, signing power forward Tyson Chandler as the NBA got set to start a lockout-shortened 66-game season. With injured point guard Baron Davis, another new addition, unable to play, the Knicks lacked cohesiveness until Lin, a Harvard University graduate cut by two other NBA teams, took over as starting point guard on Feb. 6 and helped the team reach .500.
Coach of the Year
D'Antoni also coached the Denver Nuggets and has a 388-339 record in 10 NBA seasons. He was named the league's Coach of the Year in 2004-05.
Possible candidates to succeed D'Antoni long term include former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, whose 11 NBA titles are a record, and University of Kentucky coach John Calipari.
"As I've said before, I have the greatest job in basketball at any level," Calipari, whose team is the top seed in college basketball's men's national tournament that began yesterday, said in a Twitter post. "Why would I be interested in another job?"
Woodson, 53, coached the Hawks from 2004-05 to 2009-10, posting a 206-286 record while leading the team to the playoffs during his final three seasons.
"I've been the interim there," former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who succeeded Don Nelson and led New York to the NBA Finals in 1999, said in a telephone interview. "It can turn out really good."
Van Gundy said he wasn't sure of the circumstances surrounding D'Antoni's departure.
"He has nothing to apologize for," Van Gundy said. "He went through constant changes to his roster and carried himself with remarkable dignity."
To contact the reporters on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net; Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.
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