Whatever happens in Detroit could trigger Mike D'Antoni's activity in searching for a defensive assistant coach.

All eyes will be on what happens with the Pistons head coaching position, as the finalists appear to be Mike Woodson and Lawrence Frank.

From what we've been hearing, D'Antoni personally likes Frank and there is a strong mutual interest there for many reasons.

First of all, whomever the Knicks hire would have to accept a one-year deal because D'Antoni is going into the final year of his contract and there is some uncertainty about his future. Frank, unlike most, would likely be amenable to accepting a one-year contract because it gives him the freedom to continue to look for head coaching jobs.

Frank might also prefer New York over returning to Boston for proximity reasons, as well, because he could be home full-time in New Jersey, where his wife and two daughters remained last season when he worked for the Celtics.

But Frank reportedly had a strong interview that impressed the Pistons' hierarchy, so there is a good chance he could get that job. What does that mean for D'Antoni's search for a defensive assistant?

The rest of the coaching staff hasn't been officially re-signed, but those contracts do not expire until July 31. All four -- Phil Weber, Dan D'Antoni, Herb Williams and Kenny Atkinson -- are expected back. The bigger story, of course, is who will be chosen to join them.

great news.. glad d'antoni is serious about bringing a defensive lieutenant and frank is certainly a good defensive coach, hope this works out...

I would love that hire

If we could care for D like we did in the first games of the playoffs...

nixluva wrote:MEH! The defense will improve when we fix the holes in the roster. All this defensive assistant stuff looks great when you have the personnel, but those guys on bad teams still lose. The best thing we did was draft a defensive guard and hopefully we can finish the job by adding a good defensive C. The rest will be about effort and desire. If we can get STAT and Melo on board with defending for an entire season that would mean more than adding some defensive coach. It's real simple stay in front of your man, get your hands up and block out for the rebound. Things this team has struggled with that have more to do with attention to detail, effort and desire.

Funny how Anthony Carter didn't need any special coaching to play D. It's not about coaching! Get some players that give a damn about D and you'll be a good defensive team. I guarantee that if we had D. Howard and Artest the team would all of a sudden look a lot tougher on D no coaching change at all.

still true you gotta have some players who WANT to play defense. Melo don't crack the 1st, 2nd or 3rd team all pro for a reason. DEFENSE.

Spot light is on Melo. He got what he wanted. Big city and bright lights and all the baggage that comes with it!

knicks1248 wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:Frank worked out well in NJ back when they had Kidd and ran an uptempo offense

I would love that hire

franks ok, but kidd should get most of the credit

For the offense and overall performance, when Frank was head coach? Agreed.

But I meant how the defense performed from when he was assistant coach before he took over for Byron Scott, which complimented a similar offense well.

jrodmc wrote:

jusnice wrote:Frank is a local guy, grew up in Teaneck NJ and was the towell boy for my varsity basketball team. He was always tenacious. I say he'd be a good fit for the knicks in the short and long term..

I'm hoping this was sarcasm. No matter, I still wouldn't want a bleary-eyed midget who looks like he's always on the verge of tears to be in the long term plans of my team.

A tenacious towel boy from Teaneck as head coach. At least JVan Gundy actually played ball.

It's true. He was the "manager" of the team. He did learn a lot under our head coach who had a pretty solid reputation.