But like any movement that finds its conscience coopted by the greater culture, D’Antoni has, in the years following his halcyon team’s unlikely ascendance, become just another embattled denizen of the basketball establishment.
For proof, look no further than the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.
Four seasons of 50 or more wins, a trip to the Western Conference Finals, a savvy basketball savant in Steve Nash spearheading "Seven Seconds or Less": You’d be hard-pressed to author a more successful five-year story than the one D’Antoni experienced in Phoenix—albeit one written without a title.
When the bright lights and big money of New York beckoned, one could’ve forgiven D’Antoni for believing he could mold the long-suffering Knicks in his high-octane image.
Even if it meant two full seasons of cap-clearing moves and rancid rosters, such was a small price to pay for staging the world’s most exciting basketball in the World’s Most Famous arena—particularly if it meant landing LeBron James.
The gambit failed, of course, and the Knicks deigned instead to sign D’Antoni’s one-time high-flying finisher, Amar’e Stoudemire, to a five-year max contract.
For a while, it looked as though D’Antoni might’ve struck sparks anew: His fast-jelling Knicks, led by Stoudemire, Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton, were playing above-.500 basketball for the first time in seeming eons.
The dynamic changed drastically with the arrival of Carmelo Anthony, acquired via deadline trade that jettisoned most of New York’s young assets.
...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
