Before he stepped out of the Garden last night for the final time this season, Mike D’Antoni delivered one final message to Knick fans who have filled the arena all season to watch mostly losing basketball.
“They need to hang with us a little longer,” the Knicks coach said. “It will be a tough summer. We’ll need a little bit of luck. But they’ve hung with us long enough. They might as well hang in a couple more months and see what happens. Hopefully we’ll get the job done.”
The Knicks won their home finale last night in perhaps their last Garden game of the pre-LeBron James era. They rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter with a 23-4 run to beat the Wizards 114-103.
The Knicks, who finish up tomorrow in Toronto, recorded another sellout for a remarkable 26th full house in 41 games during a 29-52 campaign. At the end, the fans cheered loudly even chanting “re-sign David” — an ode to David Lee who, ironically, was on the bench during the Knicks’ big fourth quarter.
Last night, D’Antoni also disputed the growing idea the Knicks’ stinker of a season impairs their chances of landing a top free agent or two this summer.
“I’ll tell them we won 60 games, and they’ll be OK with it,” D’Antoni joked.
Turning serious, D’Antoni said superstars such as James should not be flustered by the specter of nine straight losing Knick seasons.
“I think we start 0-0 like everybody else,” he said. “I don’t think our record carries over.
“When you ask [the free agents] when they come in, and they’ll say, yeah, well they didn’t have me,” D’Antoni added. “And it’s true. I’m not worried about that.”
D’Antoni privately has told confidants had James been on their roster the last two seasons, the Knicks would have been a top-four playoff team.
However, both James and Dwyane Wade have said being on a winner is the major factor in their respective decisions. Sunday at the Garden, Wade said, “Mostly it is about winning. Wins are how you are remembered more so than individuals. You want to make sure you are surrounded by guys that have the mentality to win.”
Team president Donnie Walsh did not envision this type of season, out of playoff contention by Feb. 18, their final 25 games meaningless. But their cap-clearing trades took their toll.
“We weren’t able to put down block A and go, ‘we’ll keep that there’ and add B and C,” D’Antoni said. “We went the other way. We took away, and it gets into the team’s confidence.”
Feeling James was not joining a losing franchise alone, Knicks brass at the trade deadline urgently packaged Jared Jeffries and rookie lottery pick Jordan Hill in the Tracy McGrady deal to clear room for two max contracts.
But D’Antoni still feels there’s a strong-enough foundation to add to — which is debatable.
“The only thing we’re disappointed in is not fighting down to the wire for the playoffs,” he said. “But we cleared cap, setting up the summer. We had to give up Jordan prematurely because of circumstance. At the same time, we have three, four guys that’s a foundation.”
D’Antoni included Danilo Gallinari, who has had a big finish, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas and Bill Walker in that group, leaving out Sergio Rodriguez, Lee and McGrady,
“I’m really excited about the summer,” D’Antoni said. “We’re in a position to add two superstars or a lot of good players. We have to have a great summer. I’m also excited about young guys we have around. Wilson and Gallinari, especially, can be two very good players in this league.”
D’Antoni has come to grips with his two straight 50-loss seasons and failing to even match last year’s 32-50 clip. He will not survive a third 50-loss season.
“It’s been hard but that’s life,” D’Antoni said. “We didn’t get it done. But if we get it done [this summer], it will all be worth it.”
The Knicks finish in Toronto tomorrow, then come exit interviews Thursday. Asked to describe those meetings, D’Antoni said jokingly, “How ya doing, see ya.”
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Lee, in what might have been his last game as a Knick in the Garden, finished with 26 points but sat the last 10:45 as the Knicks rallied from 10 down.
“It didn’t seem fair to take those guys out,” D’Antoni said.
Lee added, “All of me wanted the win.”
McGrady is likely done for the season and his Knick career. He sat out last night’s game and could miss the finale in Toronto with a sore knee.
The NBA is finally expected to announce today the Knicks’ preseason trip to Italy and France. The Knicks will face the home team, Armani Jeans Oct. 3 in Milan and, according to a source, the Wolves in Paris. Walsh said the club gets to open training camp three days early to prepare.