Even after five years have past, it still remains a mystery why Mike D'Antoni left the New York Knicks‘ head coaching job in 2012. Many speculated he was unhappy with the team's top brass, while others believed it was because of his rough relationship with Carmelo Anthony.
The former NBA Coach of the Year has recently shed on the situation, via Tim Keown of ESPN, and admitted he resigned due to an ultimatum set by the 10-time All-Star forward to their front office, where they had them choose between him and their head coach.
In New York in 2012, after Anthony said the team needed to choose between him and D'Antoni, Mike made it easy. “I just went in and quit,” he says. “Don't say ‘quit,'” Laurel says. “I hate that word. You resigned. You walked away. Mutually walked away.” Mike rolls his eyes and turns to me. “I quit,” he says.
Laurel keeps shaking her head. She has her opinion of what went wrong in New York. And Denver. And Phoenix. And Los Angeles. “And if it doesn't work here, I'll just walk away,” Mike jokes. “That's what I always do.” Laurel doesn't like this answer, even if it's clearly meant to agitate her.
“I've got a motto,” he says. “When the posse's chasing you out of town, you just act like you're the head of a parade.”
Now with the Houston Rockets, he has surprised a lot of people with how he has made his system work with the team even if it's just his first year coaching them. They were able to finish the regular season with the third seed in the Western Conference, and their franchise player, James Harden, has become a strong MVP candidate this season.
The Knicks on the other hand will have a very busy summer as they will decide whether to continue with Anthony or ultimately ask him to waive his no trade clause and agree to play for another team.
The ending D'Antoni had with the Knicks may not have been what he wanted it to be, but one thing that's certain is he wouldn't want it any other way now that it's led him to success this year in Houston.