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The decision stunned his friends and players, but some saw this coming 13 months ago.
Mike D’Antoni resigned from his position as head coach of the Knicks Wednesday.
The split between Mike D’Antoni and the Knicks surprised some, but others saw it coming since the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony.
Mike D’Antoni and Carmelo Anthony’s clashing styles have been building tension since Carmelo Anthony was brought onto the Knicks 13 months ago.
Wednesday morning, Mike D’Antoni met with team officials to ask if they would be open to trading Carmelo Anthony before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
When James L. Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden, said no, Mike D’Antoni offered his resignation.
Nets coach Avery Johnson was surprised to hear about the Knicks losing Mike D’Antoni.
“I thought he worked his butt off after coming to New York from Phoenix,” Avery Johnson said, “Obviously he had two years where he took over a pretty decimated situation, but he got back on track last year. Of course they had some ups and downs this year—that’s part of it. But, I didn’t expect that to happen.”
Avery Johnson also commented on the tension between Mike D’Antoni and Carmelo Anthony.
“Well, I think the key is you being consistent. Another big key is for ownership o have your back… I think the key is for everybody to be on the same page,” Avery Johnson said.
Carmelo Anthony thrives as a primary ball-handler, but point guard Jeremy Lin recently took over that role. Mike D’Antoni believes that whoever is open should take the shot, and Carmelo Anthony never fully bought into that offensive system.
It’s an unfortunate situation,” Carmelo Anthony said, “ There’s no bad blood between myself, Mike D’Antoni, the guys on the team or anything like that. We respect his decision. He said he did what was best for the team at this point in time right now.”
The decision stunned many of Mike D’Antoni’s friends and Knicks players, most who believed in the Mike D’Antoni system.
