Mike D'Antoni failing to get Knicks roster loaded with players in last year of deals to play hard
Mitch Lawrence

Saturday, November 14th 2009, 5:25 PM

McGrath/GettyWhatever Mike D'Antoni is saying, it's not working. Related NewsLawrence: Knicks only work hard at not tryingNets still only winless team in leagueSources: Tinsley to join GrizzliesRaissman: Phillips faces bleak job prospectsThe Score: 'The Blind Side' tackles touching storyWhen Doc Rivers took over the Orlando Magic in 1999-2000, he inherited a team that would have loads of cap space the following summer.

That was one of the reasons he jumped at the chance to leave his broadcasting job and get into coaching. But there was a potential downside: The reason he could dream of bringing in Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan was because all 12 of his players were in the final seasons of their contracts, raising the question of their willingness to play hard.

Rivers managed to turn that into a positive and led the Magic to a 41-41 record, earning Coach of the Year honors.

Ten years later, the Knicks have half as many players in the last year of their deals and Mike D'Antoni is having a hard time getting them to play hard on a nightly basis.

"It's something I really don't understand," said team president Donnie Walsh. "I mean, when you're on the last year of a contract, why wouldn't you play hard?"

The Knicks did play hard against Utah and Atlanta this past week. But they reverted to form against Golden State on Friday night, with another apathetic effort.

That the players who are on "walk" years - David Lee, Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Al Harrington, Darko Milicic and Chris Duhon - might not be in the Knicks' future plans should not be a deterrent. Ten years ago, the Magic was expected to go hard after some of the top free agents the next offseason, including Toronto's McGrady, who they eventually signed; Duncan, who took a recruiting trip to Orlando but decided to stay in San Antonio, to the Spurs' everlasting thanks; and Detroit's Grant Hill, who joined forces with McGrady but never panned out because of ankle injuries.

Despite knowing they would probably not return to Orlando, the Magic players still played hard for Rivers.

"The thing I emphasized to my players was that they had to be hungry - for their careers," Rivers said. "Guys like Chauncey (Billups) and Ben (Wallace) had not made a name for themselves at that point. So they had to get their careers going.

"But people thought it would be a bad job for me because everybody would be out for themselves," Rivers added. "The thinking was that they'd be looking out for their own good so that they could get a big deal somewhere else. But I told them, if you play together, you will look better, individually. And it worked."

Among those who scored lucrative deals down the line were Billups, Wallace, Chucky Atkins and Corey Maggette.

"The key when you have a team like that is winning," Maggette said Friday night when the Warriors were at the Garden. "Doc told us that if we played hard and played together and defended, we could win. And we almost made the playoffs."

Seattle was able to do the same thing when nine of its 12 players were playing out their final seasons in 2004-05. From the start of camp, coach Nate McMillan, working at the end of his contract himself, told his team that everyone would get their money, but only if they were to win, and not if they would end up with a losing record.

After winning 37 games the year before, the Sonics won 52 games, advanced to the second round of the playoffs and took the eventual champion Spurs to six games, even while losing the services of two key players, Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic, during the series.

How'd it work out? Jerome James scored a $30 million deal from the Knicks, one of several signings that Isiah Thomas lived to regret. McMillan parlayed the team's success into a huge contract with Portland. And his chief assistant, Dwane Casey, was rewarded by being hired for the first time as a head coach, by Minnesota.

So despite what we get all too frequently from the Knicks, it can be done.

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