D’Antoni Resigns Amid Frustration

Mike D’Antoni and the Knicks parted ways Wednesday — an event that seemed fated once the franchise acquired Carmelo Anthony, an immense talent whose individual playing style clashed with D’Antoni’s spread-the-wealth offense.
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James L. Dolan, left, the Garden chairman, and Glen Grunwald, the interim general manager, with Mike Woodson, right, the interim coach.
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The tension between D’Antoni and Anthony has been building for 13 months, since Anthony arrived in a controversial trade. It reached a crisis point over the last two weeks, as the Knicks lost 8 of 10 games, while Anthony bristled over his role.

Finally, on Wednesday morning, D’Antoni asked to meet with team officials and with James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman. D’Antoni asked Dolan if he would be open to trading Anthony before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trading deadline, according to a person briefed on the meeting. When Dolan said no, D’Antoni offered to resign.

The team characterized the parting as mutual, but the decision to walk away “was absolutely Mike’s,” according to a D’Antoni associate.

“He basically said he didn’t see how he could coach them to success the way it was right now,” the person said, adding, “He didn’t want to get beat up for the next two months or see Melo get beat up for the next two months.”

The Knicks were 18-24 as of Wednesday morning, and in danger of missing the playoffs. Their schedule for the final 23 games is brutal, which could only have exacerbated the tension between the head coach and the star player.

D’Antoni never fully sold Anthony on his offensive system, which is predicated on ball and player movement and the premise that whoever is open takes the shot. Anthony thrives in isolation play — the antithesis of D’Antoni’s philosophy — and he is most comfortable as a primary ball-handler. That role is now filled by Jeremy Lin, the point guard.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Anthony said after the Knicks’ 121-79 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. “There’s no bad blood between myself, Mike D’Antoni, the guys on the team or anything like that. We respect his decision. He said he did what was best for the team at this point in time right now.”

Asked if he was to blame for D’Antoni’s resignation, Anthony said: “It is what it is when it comes to that. That’s something I can’t control as far as the blame they put on me.”

The Knicks’ style will presumably be tailored more to Anthony’s game now that D’Antoni is gone. Mike Woodson, who favored isolation sets as the Atlanta Hawks’ head coach, was named the interim head coach. He made his debut Wednesday night against Portland.

Woodson will finish the season, after which the Knicks are expected to conduct a broad search for a new coach. Phil Jackson will top the wish list, although the chances that he will come out of retirement seem slight. John Calipari is another likely target, primarily because of his ties to Creative Artists Agency, which represents Anthony and has increasing influence at the Garden.

Calipari, who is currently coaching Kentucky in the N.C.A.A. tournament, denied any interest, telling reporters: “Every job that’s open, including high school jobs and A.A.U. jobs, my name is mentioned. So, no.” He added, “I have a great job.”

D’Antoni initially suggested resigning in a morning meeting with Glen Grunwald, the interim general manager, and Allan Houston, the assistant general manager.

“I was surprised,” Grunwald said at a news conference before Wednesday’s game. “I wasn’t sure exactly what he was saying. So I asked to clarify, ‘What do you really want to do, Mike?’ ”

The decision stunned D’Antoni’s friends, as well as the Knicks’ players, a majority of whom were loyal to D’Antoni and believed strongly in his system. Many were angry and disappointed, believing that D’Antoni may have been pushed out.