D'Antoni to sign with Knicks. Now What?

Mike D'Antoni has agreed to terms of a contract offered by the Knicks. He will sign monday and become the Knicks new Head Coach next year. Looks like the offer is 24 mil. over 4 years.

So now who do the Bulls hire? Or better yet, who WILL John Paxson pick? I have also read that Avery Johnson may want to sit out a year. If so there are suddenly no top notch coaches out there. I really do not think we should hire an unproven coach. We need a good coach with NBA head coaching experience.

ChiTownCliff,

I could not agree with you more.

Do you remember me saying a couple weeks ago that Paxon's extensive search will end up on the loosing end? 

ginney,

I remember you saying that and now John Paxson has put the Bulls in a bad spot. Unless Paxson still decides to sign Avery Johnson, I do not know who else he can sign.

Larry Brown to the Bobcats, Rick Carlisle to the Mavericks, and now Mike D'Antoni to the Knicks. The only top notch coach left out there is Avery Johnson unless Jeff Van Gungy or Doug Collins decide to coach again. Really who else is there out there with NBA head coaching experience. I can not think of anyone. The Bulls need a coach with experience not an asst. coach.

Carlisle was hands down, my first choice, AND could have been had at a decent price......4/17 was a price that would have fit very well into the Bulls buget. Pax chipped on that, and it might haunt him if he fails to hire the right coach. I still think he flirted with dissaster (gosh, pardon my spelling) be openly saying he will stick to his "Master interviewing plans", and interview everyone he can.

I'll go out on a limb and say that i think Johnson did more with less in Dallas, than D'Antoni did in Phoenix. It will be interesting to see what Carlisle does now in Dallas. 

Considering what's left, Johnson, being more of a defensive minded coach, might be the better fit in Chicago, but his asking price will probably be too steep for the Bulls.

Tom Thibodeau (who Jazzman61 likes alot), might be a good choice, and articles i have read say he might be had for 2-3 mill per. What if he turns down the offer, or wants more than the Bulls are willing to give? That wouldn't surprise me at this point.

Then your question of "Now What" , and what i have been saying all along, may become reality, because the list is getting shorter and shorter everyday.

ginney,

It is getting very scary as the list gets smaller and smaller. Tom Thibodeau sounds like a guy John Paxson could hire. From what I have read he is the mastermind behind the Celtics defense. He is also cheap. Avery Johnson has stated he might take a year off. That could be just a ploy to drive up an asking price. Thibodeau may be the man, but I hope for John Paxson's sake he is the right man. Not jumping on Larry Brown, Rick Carlisle, Mike D'Antoni, or Avery Johnson could be the biggest mistake Paxson ever makes.

Bulls082,

Your kidding right? How can you not blame Pax when he fired a coach knowing he would still have to honor the contract he gave him. Although it turns out to be only 4.5 mill over 2 years, instead of 8.5. But still, he knew he would have to replace him with another coach who might want to get paid.

I blame Pax for masterminding this sad turnaround of a franchise.

Heck, up untill he started dragging his feet with this rediculous search to find the right coach, (which could net him nothing good) a month ago, I was one of his biggest supporters. But i am slowly falling off his bandwagon.

I mean, your the GM, why the &@%% does your meddling owner need to interview a coaching prospect??? If he (Pax) wanted to hire D'Antoni, like he now says he was going to do, then why does the owner need to interview him. Pax should have hired him after the interview, before anyone else (NY) had the chance.

That would be a major red flag to me if I'm the coach considering taking a job in Chicago.

D'Antoni walked away from Pheonix because Kerr was a meddler, why the &@^^ would he want to take a job with a meddling GM AND owner.

Good grief!