Knicks' Big Three endorse coach D'Antoni

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Amar'e Stoudemire made it clear: He wants Mike D'Antoni back as the Knicks' coach.

"Mike is a phenomenal coach. He's been great my whole career," Stoudemire said Monday after his exit interview at the MSG Training Center. "He's been great in New York so far this year. I have high confidence in his coaching style and what he can bring to the team."

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the All-Star power forward plans to further emphasize his endorsement of D'Antoni when he speaks with Garden executive chairman James Dolan later this week.

D'Antoni, who has one year left on his contract, has been criticized by fans and media, especially after the Boston Celtics completed a four-game sweep of the Knicks on Sunday. But what can't be overlooked is that the Knicks played the last three games without the most important element of D'Antoni's system, veteran point guard Chauncey Billups (knee strain). Stoudemire also was limited by a back injury in the last three games.

Another argument in favor of retaining D'Antoni is that in each of his three seasons, he's had to adjust on the fly with major in-season trades. He never has taken a Knicks team from training camp to Game 82 with the same core of players. And with a potential lockout looming that could cut into the 2011-12 season, plus no high-profile candidates (outside of Rick Adelman, perhaps) available, it is highly unlikely that D'Antoni will be replaced.

"I don't think there's one perfect coach in the world . . . There's no perfect coach for nobody," Billups said. "You can't go around looking for perfection."

But would it be asking too much for a better defensive mind-set? That part of the game has long been an issue for D'Antoni, who left the Phoenix Suns when team owner Robert Sarver and former general manager Steve Kerr asked him to hire a defensive specialist on his coaching staff, as Celtics coach Doc Rivers has had with Tom Thibodeau and now Lawrence Frank. That conversation might come up again this offseason, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

"That's just a natural reaction," Carmelo Anthony said. "We want to play defense. We showed we can play defense at times. I think if that's our goal, going into every day, and keep working on it and harping on it and practicing on it, we'll only get that much better at defense."

While Stoudemire was the most vocal in his support of D'Antoni, Billups and Anthony exonerated the coach for the team's struggles after the 13-player trade that shook up the Knicks' roster in late February.

"I think he's been very patient due to the circumstances," Anthony said. "We came a long way, especially when I first got here, with the expectations being so high so quickly . . . You've got to take your hat off to Mike for being able to handle a situation like that . . . Almost losing damn near the whole team and [starting] off fresh with something new; he lost four key components to his team . . . I think it took a lot, and I respect that from him."

Billups, who candidly said D'Antoni's wide-open offensive system can't be a 48-minute strategy, also preached patience.

"I think he's done a great job for what he had this year," Billups said. "He had totally two different teams."

Donnie Walsh's future as team president is more uncertain because, unless a team option for 2011-12 is picked up by Saturday, his contract will expire June 30. However, as Newsday reported Sunday, Walsh still could negotiate a contract extension beyond the team option deadline, and that is believed to be the more likely scenario. According to a report Monday by CBSSports.com, Dolan is preparing to offer Walsh a two-year extension.

Walsh has consistently refused to comment about his future. Stoudemire said Walsh "spoke with confidence" Monday about the team's future. With the Knicks looking to build off this season, Stoudemire said stability is key.

"Donnie has done a phenomenal job," Stoudemire said. "He's one of the main reasons I'm in New York and we happened to turn the Knicks' franchise around."

The Dolan family owns controlling interest in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.