I keep on reading where Mike D'Antoni was the wrong choice to coach the New York Knicks and Donnie Walsh was the wrong choice to run the Knicks. I am not a fan of Garden el jefe, James Dolan, but it's hard to argue with these moves.

Donnie Walsh had a great run with the Indiana Pacers. Walsh understands how to build a team and how a team can lose its window of opportunity to win a title. Mike D'Antoni realized he could not work with Suns g.m. Steve Kerr after he had lost a power struggle with the first-year g.m. It's fairly obvious Suns owner Bob Sarver brought in Kerr to diminish D'Antoni's power.

The critics of D'Antoni point out the Suns regressed this year, but this is the team Steve Kerr built. Where is Kerr's responsibility in being the architect of this year's edition of the Suns? Kerr added players who were not a good fit for D'Antoni's system and I'm not talking about Shaq.

You can argue that the Suns were one game away from winning it all last year. Robert Horry's Chris Chelios body check of Steve Nash completely altered the balance of power in that series. Horry's cheap shot gave the Spurs a huge advantage when Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for Game 5 for leaving the bench area. Who cares that Horry was suspended - Horry deserved to be suspended a game.

In his Judge Judy wisdom, David Stern rewarded the Spurs for Horry's cheap shot. The absurdity of the decision still astounds me. Stern contends he kept to the letter of the rule, but this year Celtic Kendrick Perkins and Hawk Marvin Williams were not suspended for taking a step onto the court during the Kevin Garnett and Zaza Pachulia tiff. (Later in the series, KG rocked Pachulia's world with a devastating back court pick.)

The point I'm trying to make, in bringing up Big Shot Bob's intramural hoops body block, is that the Suns had a real shot at the title last year. When the Suns fell short versus the Spurs, Sarver decided to decrease D'Antoni's power.

This is not the first time Sarver has chased a competent basketball mind out of Phoenix. Why do you think Bryan Colangelo is in Toronto? He wanted to experience winter in Toronto. C'mon, Sarver put the Suns in Steve Kerr's hands and why is Kerr qualified to be a general manager? He was a Jordanaire.

Kerr was one of the original partners when Sarver bought the Suns in 2004 and after the purchase acted as one of Sarver's basketball advisors. Kerr has never been an executive in the NBA, he has never coached an NBA team and Mike D'Antoni might have taken issue in being asked to collaborate with Sarver's good buddy. To quote The Tuna, "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for the groceries. "

Under the foundation established by Bryan Colangelo and strengthened by Mike D'Antoni, the Suns rose to power in the Western Conference. Steve Nash flourished under D'Antoni; Amare Stoudemire emerged as a force; Shawn Marion bitched and whined but put up big numbers; Raja Bell found a home in the NBA and the mercurial Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa showed flashes of brilliance and then periods of lackluster play. (Boris Diaw's struggles can be used as legitimate criticism of D'Antoni's tenure in Phoenix. )

D'Antoni wanted out of Phoenix. How people can blame the guy for taking the money and grabbing the job with the Knicks? Supposedly the Bulls are presently configured to play D'Antoni's style, but John Paxson is in charge in Chicago. My gut tells me Donnie Walsh made some assurances to Mike D'Antoni that the Knicks would re-tool the team to D'Antoni's liking. Do you think John Paxson was going to extend the same guarantee to D'Antoni? Donnie Walsh is not going to bring in a general manager that cannot co-exist with his new coach. Perhaps D'Antoni will assume the role of g.m. as he did in Phoenix.

What the Mike D'Antoni era promises is the rebirth of the city game. The mecca of basketball hasn't seen a style of play similar to this since the days of Willis Reed. Alright, maybe the Bernard King era emphasized offense, but the Knicks have been a defensive-minded team under former coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy. Showtime is moving the the Big Apple.

I have been one of James Dolan's biggest critics, but the hirings of Walsh and D'Antoni are steps in the right direction. Let's not forget that Dolan primarily views the Knicks as entertainment and D'Antoni's style of play is entertaining.