D’Antoni Surprised By Randolph

Three nagging issues confronted Mike D’Antoni from the moment he stepped off the plane last spring and plunged himself into theKnicks’ quagmire. Their names were Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph. Curry was viewed as a poor fit in D’Antoni’s go-go offense. Marbury was viewed as a poor fit anywhere. And Randolph? No one was sure what to make of him, but his large contract and his shoot-first reputation seemed problematic. Five months later, the issues remain, though they are no longer quite so nagging. has been one of the best players of the preseason — the Knicks’ own October surprise. “He’s a lot better basketball player than I thought he was,” D’Antoni said Wednesday. “He’s good. His instincts are good. He’s fun to be around. He’s a really good personality and he wants to get it done. He wants to get it done the right way.” Cynics will note that the Knicks have tried at least twice to trade Randolph (to Memphis and to the Los Angeles Clippers), and that it behooves them to polish his image. Trading Randolph remains essential to any plan for clearing salary-cap space by 2010. But D’Antoni’s enthusiasm came without a trace of insincerity. Through three preseason games at least, Randolph has beaten back many of the coaching staff’s doubts.

New York Times