Despite his reputation as a mediocre defensive coach, Mike D’Antoni is on Donnie Walsh’s radar for the Knick opening if D’Antoni is fired by the Suns after the first round, according to a source close to the Knick president.
Meanwhile, veteran coach Paul Silas told The Post last night he plans on contacting Walsh in the next few days with interest in interviewing for the Knick job. Silas was a Knick assistant for three seasons, but hasn’t been a head coach since being fired by Cleveland in 2005.
Though Walsh’s interview with lead candidate Mark Jackson last Thursday went well, the source said Walsh has made definite plans to wait until after the first round to see what transpires.
In other words, no Jax press conference this week.
In fact, as reported first by the Post’s Peter Vecsey on Sunday, Jackson has lined up an interview with the Bulls for tomorrow.
“He wants to see how the playoffs unfold,” the source said of Walsh. “Mark could still very well get the job, but even if you’re 90 percent sure, you don’t want to just hand him the job right away.”
Walsh has now zeroed in on four coaches on the hot seat – D’Antoni, Toronto’s Sam Mitchell (whose club was eliminated last night), Dallas’ Avery Johnson and Detroit’s Flip Saunders.
All four could be fired if they lose in the first round, with D’Antoni already being rumored to land in Toronto to replace Mitchell.
Walsh is close with George Karl and he’d be considered strongly too, but has been told the Nuggets are expected to keep him for next season even if swept.
The Knicks don’t consider the Bulls a serious threat to hire Jackson. The Bulls are conducting a massive and marathon search.
In 2000, Walsh didn’t hire Isiah Thomas in Indiana until July. League executives and agents say Walsh is extremely meticulous in making decisions. The last Knick coaching search took three months, when Thomas waited for Larry Brown to get himself fired.
“Waiting is the right thing to do,” one league executive who’s close to Walsh said. “You want to see what your options are.”