D'Antoni Gone

This is why ... as a Suns fan ... I had no problems letting Amare walk a few years back. Phoenix is a train wreck in its own rights, but paying $100M plus for Amare was certainly not the answer.

 

Look at the link I provided. He was still getting his shots after Carmelo arrived. He just wasn't hitting them at the same percentage.

He was being talked about as an MVP candidate in the first half of the season. But after playing almost 40 minutes per game in December, the decline began, and really sped up the last 20 games or so. I know I can't be the only one who remembers this. There were multiple stories written about his playing time.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/stoudam01/splits/2011/

 

This guy lights a cigar and smiles.

 

Really 2 players. Anthony sucks up the ball and Chandler
clogs up the area where Stoudemire likes to operate.

 

Hence my question.

 

Jackson coached four workaholics - Jordan, Pippen, Kobe and Shaq. Well, three...

There is no way he'd step into a Carmelo-led shitfest. This is New Yorkers thinking their franchise is more important than it is. They just had their every-40-years 15 minutes of fame, it lasted a month. Now its back to the same old same old that anyone under 50 can ever remember.

 

It's funny, the only way I could see Jackson do this, would be for $250k for one year. He doesn't need the money and I'm sure he doesn't need the aggravation. But if the Knicks don't have multiple millions and years hanging over his head, Jackson would have the leverage, he could walk whenever Dolan looked at him the wrong way.

 

Your question is not relevant to my point, which is that Jackson does not need New York to validate his legacy.

 

He could do that if he was being payed 10 mil per.

 

Or if he gets an ownership percentage of the team. I kind of think he'd be more likely to come on-board as some sort of "special advisor" or executive role aka Pat Riley in Miami. Perhaps contingent on them hiring one of his former assistants (like Brian Shaw).

 

He's going to be considered one of the greatest coaches of all time regardless. Even if he never coached again or if he coached the Bobcats to an 0-82 season.

And I don't think that he needs to prove that he can win with any cast -- he's too old and has too much coin to worry about hat.

However, I think that doing it with the Knicks would be special to him. Not because it is the greatest city in the history of mankind. But because of his special connection with the team and the fans.