Mike D’Antoni has resigned as coach of the New York Knicks, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Mike D'Antoni could never get Carmelo Anthony to buy into his system.
(Getty Images)
D’Antoni and Knicks owner James Dolan agreed on Wednesday to end his four-season run as Knicks coach, a source said. “It was a mutual decision to no longer coach the Knicks … conflicting visions of the club’s future,” the source said.
D’Antoni had clashed with Carmelo Anthony after the trade brought the All-Star forward to the Knicks a year ago, and he could never get Anthony to buy into his system.
The Knicks have lost six consecutive games to nearly drop out of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Assistant Mike Woodson, who formerly coached the Atlanta Hawks, will take over as the interim coach.
The Knicks enjoyed a brief revival this season after D’Antoni moved Jeremy Lin into the rotation and made him the starting point guard. The Knicks won seven consecutive games from Feb. 4-15, a stretch that almost entirely coincided with Anthony’s absence from the lineup because of a groin injury.
The Knicks have gone just 2-8 since Anthony’s return, losing any of the momentum they gained while he was sidelined. While fans at Madison Square Garden have taken to recently booing Anthony, he told reporters Wednesday he doesn’t want to be traded.
“Dolan is blaming the coach,” said a source with knowledge of the Knicks’ locker-room dynamics. “Tyson [Chandler], Baron [Davis], A’mare [Stoudemire] – guys who came to play for Mike – or that system – are pissed. Lin isn’t happy either.”作者: MoiRhapsody 時間: 2012-3-14 23:08