God Proves He Does in Fact Have a Sense of Humor

ESPN has reported that Mike D'Antoni has accepted the head coaching position with the New York Knicks and that development leaves me with a couple of thoughts.

-I will be shocked if D'Antoni can put any kind of respectable season together with that squad. This team will not be able to bounce back until their absurdly constructed payroll has an opportunity to run its course. Take a look at the above list and than tell me whether or not you think that roster could be made into a playoff team. Yeah, me neither.

-What will Chicago do? Right now Avery Johnson and Tom Thibodeau, the assistant coach for the Celtics and a well known defensive specialist, are on the market. I think that Chicago needs more help on the offensive end of the ball than they do on the defensive, but I wouldn't be surprised if John Paxson's gut reaction to this situation was to go with Thibodeau.

-I think that Phoenix will go after Avery Johnson (I believe they already are). He's a smart pick as he is probably the best coach left on the market, although he would be a decent fit for Chicago if my guy instinct about Thibodeau is wrong. Either way, I imagine Chicago would have an uphill climb here, as working for former teammate and friend Steve Kerr in Phoenix might be a very attractive scenario for Avery.

-D'Antoni's hiring both saddens and comforts me simultaneously. It saddens me because Madison Square Garden, a temple of hoops, is sure to continue to be a place where some of the most poorly played basketball in the Association occurs. But it comforts me because, let's be honest with ourselves, watching the Knicks flop around like a dying fish is hilarious. And the laughs are sure to continue.

Check out my posts "Le Weekend: A Mixtape" and "Rough and Tumble: Notes from across the Association" for why D'Antoni will be unable to revive the Knickerbockers. I would link to them directly but that function isn't working properly for me right now.

UPDATE: If you happen to have read this post earlier, I have edited it significantly to remove comments about Sam Mitchell and the Raptors. I for some reason was under the impression that the Raps had already/were on the cusp of dumping Mitchell, but according to Matt over at Hardwood Paroxysm that's not the case. I checked around and concluded Matt's right, and actually I am kind of glad that he is. I think Sam Mitchell is a good coach and a reasonably good fit for Toronto. In my opinion, of all the coaches on the preverbial "hot seat", Mitchell deserved to be there the least. I really don't know why the hell I thought that?