Lakers coach Phil Jackson had deep connections with every side of the Mike D'Antoni-to-the-Knicks story: He was drafted by the Knicks and played 10 years in New York, Suns general manager Steve Kerr played for him in Chicago and, it turns out, he has kept an eye on D'Antoni since D'Antoni broke into the league with the Kansas City Kings in 1973.
"One of my former teammates pulled me aside and said I want to introduce you to a rookie, his name is Mike D'Antoni, he's a really good student of the game," Jackson said. "So I met Mike when he was 21, 22 just coming out of college. I've kind of followed his career, Italy and coaching there, Denver and so forth. He's got coaching skill. He's going to get something done [in New York], and I think it's a good choice. It's a real change in philosophy between what they're built for and what he has coached as a team and what he seems to have a propensity to coach. I think he'll make a good adjustment there."
Of the up-tempo style D'Antoni employed during his four years coaching the Phoenix Suns, Jackson said:
" It was great to watch. We all wondered whether it could win playoff basketball or not. It got them to the finals -- the finals of the conference -- [twice]. It's kind of imploded now, we have to see whether it rebuilds again."
Jackson said Kerr, in his first year as GM is going through a "baptism by fire" with the big trade for Shaquille O'Neal and now the search for a new coach.
"I did send him an e-mail recently that just told him I had utmost confidence in his ability to make good choices," Jackson said. "He's been a guy that has great sense about him and he'll do fine."
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