By Greg Hutchins

After showing the patience of a saint by weighing all his options, Donnie Walsh's decision to hire Mike D'Antoni as the New York Knicks 24th head coach comes as a complete shock to anyone who expected a better defensive effort in the 2008-09 season. Known best for his dedication to running a high-octane offense at the expense of instilling defensive principles, D'Antoni's hiring leads many to believe that Donnie Walsh is reading the textbook on how to make a big splash in New York sports. Clearly, the Knicks do not have the personnel D'Antoni is accustomed to winning with, but the reported four-year, $24MM contract Walsh gave him was far too much to walk away from. Once again, Jim Dolan's checkbook reigns supreme.

The early favorite, former Knick Mark Jackson, expressed his disappointment during Game 3 of the Cavaliers vs. Celtics playoff series by saying he was "obviously interested in the job, but they went another way." Walsh's decision to pass on Jackson along with defensive-minded coaches Rick Carlisle & Avery Johnson, shows that Walsh either has a master plan in place or was influenced by someone within the organization to make this hire.

D'Antoni's hiring is eerily reminiscent of Dolan & Isiah Thomas' decision to bring in Larry Brown after his two championship seasons in Detroit. D'Antoni - like Brown - will talk about building a winner in New York, but soon find that the roster he inherits will not mesh well with his style. Brown complained about not having his type of players from day one of training camp and D'Antoni will certainly make the same assertion when he conducts his first practice with Mardy Collins running the point. Brown famously said "I don't have a guy with a head out there" referring to the lack of a good floor general on the roster. Unless Walsh & D'Antoni find luck at the Draft Lottery and secure a good shot at drafting Derrick Rose or acquire a veteran star guard in a trade, year one of D'Antoni's run in New York could look a lot like Brown's first & only season (23-59) as head coach of the Knicks.

D'Antoni becomes the Knicks' sixth different coach since the start of the 2002-03 season. Not since Pat Riley's hiring in 1991 has a big name coach come to New York and produced a winner. Every import since then, from Don Nelson to Isiah Thomas has arrived with great fanfare and left with a hefty severance package & damaged reputation. Riley's former assistant coach, Jeff Van Gundy remains the last head coach with a winning record at Madison Square Garden.

Hiring Mark Jackson or former Van Gundy assistant, Tom Thibodeau appeared to be a safe bet for the Knicks, but Donnie Walsh's decision to wait for coaching casualties following the playoffs first round resulted in D'Antoni's availability. Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver & GM Steve Kerr seemed all too happy to oblige the former Coach of the Year winner in his attempts to shop for offers from other teams. In the end, the Knicks trumped the Chicago Bulls for D'Antoni's services and now find themselves with the dilemma of trying to build a roster that suits their new coach's style quickly. Walsh's original goal to carefully rebuild the franchise into a title contender by 2010 now appears to be yet another plan gone by the wayside in attempts to appease the owner with a quick fix.

If the roster remains the same, D'Antoni will head to training camp with former Suns players Stephon Marbury & Quentin Richardson on the team. Both players' skills have diminished considerably since D'Antoni coached them last. Despite Marbury's 20.8 ppg & 8.3 apg averages in his last season in Pheonix, D'Antoni could not win with Marbury at the point. D'Antoni would go from 21-40 with Marbury to 62-20 with his replacement, Steve Nash. Richardson on the other hand, was a member of D'Antoni's 2004-05 team and shared the league lead in three-point field goals made (226) while scoring 14.9 ppg as the team's starting small forward. Richardson is a shell of his former self, who made 69 three-pointers last season while averaging a career low 8.1 ppg in 65 games.

Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson & Wilson Chandler appear to be the only players who could thrive in D'Antoni's system. David Lee may see a major increase in his rebounding stats as D'Antoni's offense calls for quick shot attempts from downtown. Plodders like Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph & Malik Rose and poor shooters like Renaldo Balkman & Jared Jeffries seemingly have no place in the new coach's offense.

Donnie Walsh's first two moves as President of Basketball Operations appear to have been made solely to appease his owner. Considering Walsh spent 24 years working for Herb & Melvin Simon, he must know a great deal about keeping the boss happy. Walsh was acquiescent when Dolan suggested that he demote Isiah Thomas as opposed to firing him outright. Overpaying for the hottest coaching commodity on the street is clearly a Dolan move as well.

Much like Pat Riley's arrival in New York 17 years ago, D'Antoni's arrival could signal a new era in New York Knicks basketball or end abruptly like Don Nelson & Larry Brown's tenure. The one thing that is certain is Mike D'Antoni will be a wealthy man regardless of how many games the Knicks win.

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