th Jeff Hornacek's tenure in Phoenix on life support, who will the Suns, now 12-25, look at next? Intriguingly, former Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni is a potential candidate, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
D'Antoni, who spent five seasons with the Suns and twice led them to the Western Conference Finals, is currently serving as the Sixers' associate head coach. He had been out of the league for more than a year before being hired by Jerry Colangelo, his former boss in Phoenix and Philadelphia's new chairman of basketball operations.
D'Antoni has been a head coach in the NBA for 12 seasons. He's worked in Denver, Phoenix, New York and Los Angeles and has a career record of 455-426. D'Antoni struggled in his previous stop with the Lakers, where he went 67-87 over two years. His most successful stint was with the Suns, who he led to 54 or more wins in four of his five seasons.
Why hiring Mike D'Antoni makes sense for the Suns
D'Antoni is far from a perfect coach. But he has plenty of positive attributes, all of which would instantly make the Suns a better and more functional team.
Any conversation about D'Antoni must begin with the offense. The Suns' roster is stocked with talent and athletes, and yet the Suns are scoring just 100.9 points per 100 possessions, the 10th-worst mark in the league. That number would likely skyrocket if D'Antoni were hired.
In Brandon Knight, the Suns have a point guard who can create and hit shots. In Tyson Chandler, the Suns have an effective roll-man who D'Antoni knows; he coached Chandler in New York. In Devin Booker, D'Antoni would have a knockdown shooter.Markieff Morris is a big man who has shown the ability to hit from the outside, should he be rehabilitated. Eric Bledsoe would be an excellent fit once he returns from injury next season.
D'Antoni would also bring stability and optimism to a team in desperate need of both. There's no question thatHornacek has lost his players. This year, a player threw a towel at him. Last year, Goran Dragic was perturbed about his role with the team. A new voice would certainly help, as would the fact that D'Antoni's is well respected in Phoenix.
Why hiring Mike D'Antoni doesn't make sense for the Suns
D'Antoni has always struggled in two areas: dealing with strong personalities and altering his scheme in a way that best suits his roster. In Phoenix, he'd have to face both, and that could be problematic.
The first issue is the presence of two points guards, the very issue which derailed Hornacek last season. Knight is the only healthy one now, but Bledsoe, who is out for the season with a knee injury, is also under contract for years to come. D'Antoni's system has always centered on a single primary ball-handler on the court. Either he'd have to adjust that next year or the Suns would have to make a trade.
There's also the Morris problem. Could D'Antoni get Morris to stop sulking about the trade of his brother? Will Morris even be on the roster? D'Antoni's been able to form strong bonds with some of his players over the years, but he doesn't click with everyone. His inability to get on the same page as Carmelo Anthony in New York and Dwight Howard in L.A. ruined his tenures in both those cities.
And none of that even touches on D'Antoni's biggest issue: coaching defense. His teams have always struggled getting stops, yet D'Antoni has been against hiring a defensive coordinator in years past.
Likelihood (7/10)
D'Antoni clearly wants to be a head a coach again, so there's no doubt he'd accept this position. The onus then falls to the Suns. D'Antoni might not be perfect, but he is experienced, professional and, most importantly, has a relationship with team owner Robert Sarver.source:sbnation
