Most Likely to Wish He Had Taken Another Coaching Job: Mike D'Antoni

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

When Mike D'Antoni first decided to leave Phoenix, everyone automatically assumed he would end up in Chicago. Even before Chicago secured the number one pick, observers thought that the Bulls had a stable of players that would be perfect for D'Antoni's style. Images of Tyrus Thomas finally being set free bounced throughout the blogosphere.

Everything seemed perfect until Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf got involved and mucked up the negotiations. Being the savvy GM that he is, Donnie Walsh swooped in and made sure to make D'Antoni an offer he could not refuse before the Bulls would even have a chance to respond. D'Antoni made the choice to go to the Knicks because of his comfort level with Walsh, and the Knicks' better financial package. However, in the end, that extra money might not have been worth turning down the Chicago gig.

Yeah, Donnie Walsh has a plan to free cap space and turn the Knicks around, but who knows how long that process will take. Along the way there will likely be a lot of losing and a lot of scrutiny by the New York media. Writers out of New York aren't always the friendliest or most reasonable people. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that many of them are very tabloid-like in their coverage of the local teams. That can be a lot to handle -- even for a guy as cool and collected as D'Antoni.

Despite less financial security and more owner meddling, the Chicago job was still a better fit for D'Antoni. Especially when you consider that they ended up landing Derrick Rose in the 2008 draft. Obviously D'Antoni couldn't have foreseen such an event transpiring, but you know he has to be wondering if he made the wrong choice by coming to New York.