With that said, Avery Johnson would have been my first choice- I think he brings the style that the Knicks really need. That depends on how early you want to see success. Avery, a firey coach who will yell at his players and demands defense, probably would have been a total disaster with all those over paid Knicks, who were already soft defensively. It sounds like he lost the respect of his players in Dallas because of some of that, and in NY that would have went south quick. For Avery to ave been a success, you would have had to completely scrap everything and start over before you started to see success. With D'Antoni, you still have personel issues, but at least his style will be more appealing, and encourage the players to go hard. I think that while they may not be great for the next couple years, they will improve quite a bit, and if they can draft Rose and shed a couple contracts, they could get a lot better in just a couple years. Dolan and Walsh will see more immediate returns with D'Antoni. Avery would have work as well, but it would've required more time.
and if they can draft Rose and shed a couple contracts According to the Daily News, he's already trying to unload Marbury for Diaw and Barbosa. That would be the best move the Knicks made since.....firing Thomas
Think it is a good hire. Lee, Crawford, and Richardson will flourish in D'Antoni's system. Need to find a quality point guard in the draft and the could have a shot.