With the team in utter free fall, something had to give for the Knicks, and it seems something has: according to ESPN, Mike D'Antoni has resigned as head coach of the Knicks. A source explained the resignation to Yahoo Sports: "Conflicting visions of club's future...Mutual decision to no longer coach." Assistant coach Mike Woodson, who previously coached the Atlanta Hawks, will take over in the interim. Dare we even say it: could this lead to the return of Isiah Thomas?
Okay, this probably won't herald the return of Lord Zeke, but there are some interesting options for the team to explore: former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who abruptly resigned last season after coaching the Jazz for nearly 23 seasons, has shown interest in taking over. And of course, looming large over any coaching decision is the prospect of the Knicks organization being able to woo zen master Phil Jackson out of retirement. A former Knicks player and 11-time NBA champion who retired in 2010, merely calling the city "special" made New Yorkers blush, and inspired a long NY Times piece earlier this year about the possibility of him coaching here.
Along with Thomas, Jackson and Sloan, two other potential candidates we'd love to see on the sidelines are former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, and current Kentucky coach John Calipari. Below, vote for who you would like to see as the Knicks' new head coach.
The resignation comes on the heels of the Knicks losing six straight, and seven of their last eight. An ESPN report earlier today claimed that the team had become divided, and D'Antoni had lost control: "The players like Mike as a person," one source said. "They think he's a good guy. But he doesn't have the respect of the team anymore." Carmelo Anthony, who has been the center of much of the bad mojo around the team lately, also denied a report that he wants to be traded: "I don't know where that foolishness came from, so let's put a cap on that and make [sure] this the last time I hear about that."
D'Antoni, who came to NYC in 2008 along with then-team president Donnie Walsh, lasted three-and-a-half season with the Knicks, and finishes with a 121-167 record as their head coach. According to Deadpsin, a source who informed them of the resignation an hour before it was confirmed says that D'Antoni will have a new job soon enough: "he has either the Wash or Charlotte job lined up, otherwise he would not have left."
