Suns Allow D'Antoni To Talk To Other Teams About Head Coaching Position

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The signals suggesting that Mike D'Antoni and the Phoenix Suns will soon part company are getting stronger.


Suns president Steve Kerr said Monday that he will allow D'Antoni to talk to other teams about potential head coaching opportunities.
"As we have continued to convey, we value Mike D'Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team. Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission," Kerr said in a statement.


D'Antoni, reached by telephone by The Associated Press on Monday, declined to comment.

"I really can't say anything," he said.
SI.com's Jack McCallum, who spent an entire season with the Suns while writing a book on them, reported Monday that the Bulls general manager John Paxson and Knicks president Donnie Walsh were flying to Phoenix to interview D'Antoni. Knicks' spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said the team is not commenting on its coaching search. Paxson had no comment.

On Sunday night, KTAR Radio (620 AM) in Phoenix reported what Kerr confirmed Monday, that D'Antoni has been granted permission to speak with other teams, including Chicago and New York, about their coaching openings.
Kerr had originally told the ESPN Radio affiliate and Suns flagship station last week that D'Antoni would not be allowed to speak to other teams regarding any vacancy.

NBA coaching sources reiterated to ESPN.com Sunday that D'Antoni believes he can't work under the conditions proposed by Kerr and owner Robert Sarver.

So if even Suns management is now convinced that reconciling with its coach is no longer possible, giving D'Antoni an opportunity to find a new job might be the easiest way for Phoenix to move forward without worrying about the two years and $8.5 million left on his contract. As opposed to firing D'Antoni and paying the full amount or trying to work out a buyout, allowing him to land a new job and thus a new salary would offset whatever the Suns owe him.

D'Antoni met with Sarver and Kerr for more than two hours Friday, with Kerr saying afterward that they all wanted to take a few days to digest what was discussed. Kerr stuck to his earlier pledge that he and Sarver remained hopeful of convincing D'Antoni that the parties' philosophical differences could be resolved.

But sources close to the situation have maintained for days that D'Antoni does not want to continue coaching in Phoenix if he must implement the changes suggested by his bosses, which include increasing the time spent practicing defense and a more stern approach with younger players such as Suns forward Amare Stoudemire and guard Leandro Barbosa.

ESPN.com reported last week that Chicago has emerged as the most likely landing spot for D'Antoni if he leaves Phoenix. The Bulls also want to interview recently fired Dallas coach Avery Johnson and have already spoken to Mark Jackson and Rick Carlisle. But Johnson would appear to be D'Antoni's only serious competition with the Bulls, given Jackson's status as the consensus favorite with the Knicks and Carlisle now widely expected to replace Johnson with the Mavericks.

It's not inconceivable that Toronto could still emerge as an option for D'Antoni, although Raptors president Bryan Colangelo -- who imported D'Antoni from Italy in 2003 to coach in Phoenix -- has insisted that he has no plans to fire Sam Mitchell. If the Raptors were to change that stance so they could enter the D'Antoni sweepstakes, they would have to be considered a serious threat to land him given the Colangelo connection and personnel -- specifically an array of 3-point shooters around mobile big man Chris Bosh -- that would appear to be ideal for D'Antoni.

Identifying potential replacements in Phoenix for D'Antoni is a lot tougher. ESPN.com reported last week that Johnson has already been ruled out as a possibility for Phoenix. Kerr, furthermore, strongly dismissed recent suggestions that he would be a candidate to move to the bench, reiterating his long-held stance that he wouldn't even consider coaching until his children are out of school. TNT analyst Doug Collins, who resides in the Phoenix area, is bound to be mentioned as well, although it's unknown whether Collins can be lured back to coaching at age 56 after turning down offers from Milwaukee in the summer of 2005 and again last month.

Sources say that the philosophical split between D'Antoni and his bosses breaks down thusly:

• D'Antoni considers Kerr's strategic suggestions to be meddlesome and excessive after the Suns averaged 57 wins over the past four seasons, three of which ended with playoff losses to the execution masters from San Antonio.



• But sources say Suns management and some veteran players, while all hopeful that D'Antoni will stay, want more emphasis placed on defensive preparations and want to see the likes of Stoudemire and Barbosa held more accountable for their mistakes.
McCallum reported last week that D'Antoni considers those differences to be "irredeemable."
 

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Suns coach D'Antoni talks to Bulls, moves closer to leaving

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)


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Mike D'Antoni's strong interest in coaching the Chicago Bulls emerged last week. Now it's being officially reciprocated.
NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday night that Bulls general manager John Paxson came away from two interviews with D'Antoni in Phoenix impressed and seriously interested in the coach who wants to leave the Suns in part because of a tense working relationship with Paxson's good friend Steve Kerr.
Sources in both organizations openly expect D'Antoni to wind up in Chicago -- with one Phoenix source going so far as to describe a deal as "imminent" -- but it's believed that financial complications account for the one obstacle that could derail his move from the desert to the Windy City.
[+] Enlarge

D. Clarke Evans/Getty Images
Mike D'Antoni might not have point guard Steve Nash running his show next year.



ESPN.com reported Friday that Chicago was the most likely landing spot for D'Antoni if he could convince his owner (Robert Sarver) and team president (Kerr) that it was time to part company. Yet it remains to be seen how much the Bulls are willing to spend on a new head man when they still owe an estimated $6 million to new Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles, according to NBA coaching sources.
What's increasingly clear is that D'Antoni will be leaving the Suns as soon as he can get another job, which would spare Phoenix from paying off the two years and $8.5 million left on D'Antoni's contract by firing him or trying to negotiate a buyout. With D'Antoni determined to move on but not inclined to forfeit the money owed him by quitting, Kerr announced Monday that he was backing off his earlier vow to deny the coach permission to speak with other teams. Allowing D'Antoni to land a new job and thus a new salary would offset whatever the Suns owe him.
"As we have continued to convey, we value Mike D'Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team," Kerr said Monday in a statement. "Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission. We will have no further comment until this process further evolves."
D'Antoni, reached Monday via phone by The Associated Press, likewise declined to elaborate.
"I really can't say anything," D'Antoni said.
Although he also interviewed with new New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh within the past 48 hours, New York is not considered a realistic destination for D'Antoni. Chicago would appear to be a much better match. A position with the Bulls would offer not only a move to the easier East but also an opportunity to work with several players who have been linked to Phoenix in trades in recent years (Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha) as well a budding star (Luol Deng) who was drafted with a pick traded by the Suns to Chicago.
If there's a basketball issue working against D'Antoni's candidacy in Chicago, it's that Paxson -- like his friend Kerr -- is much more conservative and defensively focused in his approach than D'Antoni.
But the bigger uncertainties are what happens if D'Antoni isn't hired in Chicago or New York … and whom Phoenix pursues as a replacement if D'Antoni does leave this week as widely anticipated.
It's difficult to envision D'Antoni staying in Phoenix to coach after details of the Suns' in-house discord have been made so public. The Suns, though, clearly don't want to fire D'Antoni, who likewise won't walk away from his contract without a new gig, raising the possibility of an ominous impasse.
Identifying potential replacements for D'Antoni in Phoenix might be even tougher.
ESPN.com reported last week that recently dismissed Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson -- who's still on the Bulls' radar after they interviewed likely Mavs successor Rick Carlisle and Knicks favorite Mark Jackson -- has already been ruled out as a possibility for Phoenix.
Kerr, furthermore, strongly dismissed recent suggestions that he would be a candidate to move to the bench, reiterating his long-held stance that he wouldn't even consider coaching until his children are out of school. TNT analyst Doug Collins, who resides in the Phoenix area, is bound to be mentioned as well, although it's unknown whether Collins can be lured back to coaching at age 56 after turning down offers from Milwaukee in the summer of 2005 and again last month.
Complicating matters further is the fact that Phoenix would almost certainly need an experienced coach to inherit a team that is still trying to integrate Shaquille O'Neal into its high-octane offense.
D'Antoni met with Sarver and Kerr for more than two hours Friday, with Kerr saying afterward that they all wanted to take a few days to digest what was discussed. Yet Kerr also has stated repeatedly since the Suns' season ended last Tuesday in San Antonio that he and Sarver remained hopeful of convincing D'Antoni that the parties' philosophical differences could be resolved.
But sources close to the situation have maintained for days that D'Antoni does not want to continue coaching in Phoenix if he must implement the changes suggested by his bosses, which include increasing the time spent practicing defense and a more stern approach with younger players such as Suns forward Amare Stoudemire and guard Leandro Barbosa.
Sources say D'Antoni considers Kerr's strategic suggestions to be meddlesome and representative of a lack of support from the front office after the Suns averaged 57 wins over the past four seasons, three of which ended with playoff losses to the execution masters from San Antonio. But some veteran players, sources add, have echoed management's request for more emphasis placed on defensive preparations and seeing the likes of Stoudemire and Barbosa held more accountable for their mistakes.


Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum -- who spent the 2005-06 season as a virtual member of D'Antoni's coaching staff to write the acclaimed book "Seven Seconds or Less" -- reported last week that D'Antoni considers those differences to be "irredeemable."
 

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The guys is a good coach. he just needs his philosophy 100% implemented. Must get his players for his system.
 

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Suns want him to leave on his own so they don't have to pay him his last 2 years of his contract...
 

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