Shakeup In Store For Knicks

"Mike D'Antoni is convinced that the Knicks will put a better product on the court next season. The coach is not so sure about which players from this season's losing team will survive the summer purge.

"It would be the greatest thing in the world if we get this turned around," D'Antoni said before closing out his first season in New York Wednesday night with a 102-73 win over the Nets. "That's why I came here. You guys, the fans are starved for something. That's what makes it exciting. It wasn't going to be easy, and it's not easy. But with a little bit of luck, a little bit of patience and a little bit of hard work we'll get there. It will get done."

The Knicks finished the season with a 32-50 record, marking their eighth straight losing season. They haven't won a playoff game since 2001, and there is no guarantee that the Knicks will be better next season. David Lee and Nate Robinson, two restricted free agents, could both be gone, although the Knicks want to keep Lee for the right price.

Team president Donnie Walsh would like to trade Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries because their contracts run through 2010, but their trade value is low. Their 2008 lottery pick, Danilo Gallinari, will be coming off back surgery, and starting point guard Chris Duhon slumped badly over the second half of the season.

"My statement when I first took the job is that there is no magic wand here," D'Antoni said. "This is going to take time."

In a telling moment Wednesday, D'Antoni singled out Gallinari and Wilson Chandler as two players that he is "enthused" about. No one else was mentioned.

"Everybody wants to win today but it's going to take a while to build a team," D'Antoni added. "We knew that coming in. I'm disappointed as a coach that we didn't make the playoffs, but when you endure three trades and have other objectives to get you stabilized through the future then it does compromise what you're doing in the short term. Going forward we can get better real quick.""