by Steve Cass

Created on: May 06, 2008   Last Updated: April 13, 2012

Where will Mike D'Antoni being coaching next year?

For those of you who may not have been tuned in to the latest info, the Phoenix Suns gave permission to Coach D'Antoni to have conversations with the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks.

The story is unfolding like this: the Suns are out of the 2008 playoffs (beaten by the Spurs AGAIN) in the first round. Depending on who you talk with, Mike D'Antoni and his system is not necessarily looked upon with favor by GM Steve Kerr and owner Robert Sarver. A little more of recent history:

It was reported that in a November meeting between D'Antoni, Kerr and Sarver that D'Antoni rejected Kerr and Sarver's suggestions of shoring up the defense, using more bench players and giving Amare more touches during game situations. The report says that D'Antoni was quoted as saying, "Don't tell me how to coach!" I'm sure this kind of report didn't come as any kind of surprise to those who know the defensive-minded Kerr. As further background, D'Antoni was hired by former GM and president of the Suns, Bryan Colangelo. Robert Sarver also came on board under this same tenure as the former owner and founder of the Suns franchise, Jerry Colangelo, ended his run at the top of the franchise.

With this background, it doesn't seem all too far-fetched to imagine that D'Antoni's run of having his way 100% of the time has waned. Also remember that D'Antoni was GM at the same time as being coach until Kerr was hired by Sarver.

That's ok. Situations change. People move on. This is life and this is sports. But where will D'Antoni be coaching? There's a ton of speculation out there that it will either be the Bulls or the Knicks. There are money considerations, and as of this writing, the Knicks are out-bidding the Bulls handily.

But there are two more scenarios that are currently being played in the NBA marketplace that will have an impact. Number one is that the coach of the Toronto Raptors, Sam Mitchell, is on the top of the list of desired coaches for the Knicks. If the Knicks lure him away from Toronto, guess who will most likely be on the top of Toronto's list? You guessed it: Mike D'Antoni. Why? The GM of the Toronto Raptors is none other than Bryan Colangelo. We all assume that Bryan would hire his former basketball colleague in a New York minute.

The second scenario? Since there are 2 years and some $9M left on D'Antoni's contract with the Suns, that would require that another team hire him in order for the Suns organization to be off the hook financially. If they fire D'Antoni, well...you do the math. Unless D'Antoni really, really does not want to be in Phoenix any longer (and reports suggest that he loves Phoenix and the organization and the players. The feeling is also mutual), then the likely scenario is that he will stay and be the coach for 2008-2009.

Can Kerr, Sarver and D'Antoni put aside their differences and work together? Absolutely. This is surely a business where egos and dollars talk, but it's also about two people who are really driven by ethics and not only dollars, Kerr and D'Antoni, (no one really knows how Sarver feels since Kerr is the mouthpiece of the organization these days. Sarver is a successful banker) who are absolutely committed to not 'throwing out the baby with the bathwater'. Will they? That's another story. But let's be honest and examine what we know: Kerr wants D'Antoni to be more defensive-minded, use the bench more, get a legitimate back-up point guard for Nash, etc. Will they reach compromises and shore up an already-great team, or has the championship window closed on this edition of the Suns?

Or will Kerr let D'Antoni go and hire Avery Johnson?

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