Calmly yet meticulously in a Monday night phone interview, Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf detailed the sequence of events that led to Mike D’Antoni spurning the Bulls for the Knicks.
Befitting his law background, Reinsdorf pegged matters to the minute, saying he’s still waiting for D’Antoni to return his call placed at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday.
“I’m disappointed in him,” Reinsdorf said. “I don’t know what else we could’ve done. He chose to go to New York knowing there was a good chance we would make him an offer. If he had really wanted to be in Chicago, he would’ve waited. Instead, he misled us. It’s not the end of the world, but it is somewhat rude.”
The “misled” accusation stems from their 2-hour-15-minute meeting Friday at D’Antoni’s Phoenix-area home that is mere yards from Reinsdorf’s, a meeting Reinsdorf said he left at 4:45 p.m. local time.
“The second subject, I said if we need to get something done this weekend we shouldn’t even bother talking because it will take longer than that,” Reinsdorf said. “He said nothing had to be done over the weekend.
“I also said if this proceeds to where we want to make an offer, we don’t deal with coach’s agents. He said that’s not a problem and that money wasn’t the most important thing anyway. He said he wanted a job where he was going to be happiest. He said he didn’t want to coach the Knicks.”
A call to Warren LeGarie, D’Antoni’s agent, went unreturned. In a Saturday phone interview with the Tribune, LeGarie praised the Bulls’ efforts.
“Chicago made a terrific, last-second pitch, but at that point, Mike was emotionally committed to New York,” LeGarie said then. “[Bulls general manager] John Paxson did a magnificent job to bring Mike on board, and Mike was quite taken with John.
“This has nothing to do with money. Mike sees a great challenge in New York.”
The Bulls now face a challenge in the court of public opinion overcoming the perception they dawdle and/or can’t pull the trigger on major decisions.
D’Antoni’s defection comes on the heels of the Bulls failing to acquire Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol in trades and — in an incorrect perception since the Lakers never seriously entertained trading him — whiffing on Kobe Bryant.
“I can’t worry about perception,” Reinsdorf said. “I have to worry about making the right decision. This is a very critical hire. If you make a mistake, you set yourself back. Tim Floyd didn’t work out, Bill Cartwright. Scott Skiles, we thought we had a good one, but he’s gone with two years left on his deal. We’ve been set back.
“The answer is this is a very important decision to make and we didn’t want to make the wrong decision. I don’t think we moved too slowly. As soon as the Suns gave permission to talk, John was on a plane to meet with him. We did not move slowly here.”
Asked why, if D’Antoni was the target, the Bulls didn’t make a pre-emptive strike offer before the Knicks, Reinsdorf deferred to the sequence of events.
Reinsdorf said he met with Paxson last Tuesday to review the general manager’s two interviews in Phoenix with D’Antoni, as well as other candidates on the Bulls’ list. Paxson had flown to Phoenix on May 4, the day Suns general manager Steve Kerr granted D’Antoni permission to interview.
Knowing he would be in Phoenix over last weekend, Reinsdorf said he called D’Antoni last Tuesday and set up the Friday meeting. Reinsdorf said as he left that meeting, he told D’Antoni he would speak to Paxson and talk to D’Antoni again on Saturday.
When Paxson called LeGarie on Saturday morning, the agent informed Paxson that D’Antoni had accepted the Knicks’ job. As Paxson attempted to sway LeGarie to listen to the Bulls’ offer, Reinsdorf left his Saturday morning message for D’Antoni.
“I never tell the general manager who he has to hire, but I do have veto power,” Reinsdorf said. “After meeting with Mike, I told John I was inclined to negotiate a contract and John made it clear he wanted Mike.”
Paxson subsequently talked to D’Antoni, which is perhaps why the coach didn’t return Reinsdorf’s call.
Reinsdorf disputed LeGarie’s statement that the Bulls seemed hesitant to enter into another multiyear deal after swallowing close to two years and $5 million of Skiles’ contract.
“I assumed we’d have to go four years,” Reinsdorf said. “We gave Scott Skiles four years. That’s kind of the going rate for coaches now. And money isn’t an issue. Believe me, we can afford to pay coaches. Even if Skiles hadn’t spread his money out (over four years), we can afford to pay top coaches. And we were prepared to do so.”
Now, the Bulls are preparing for what appears to be a lengthy search, starting from scratch. They’d like to interview former Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, but nothing has been scheduled.
Many league observers suspect Johnson, who is owed $12 million from Dallas, will sit out a year.
Beyond Johnson, the Bulls will ask permission to interview Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau and Pistons assistant Michael Curry, although the latter might not be allowed to leave.
Another intriguing candidate is Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. And Reinsdorf isn’t hung up on needing to hire a “name” coach.
“Phil Jackson wasn’t a big name, and he turned out to be a great coach,” he said.
Reinsdorf also shrugged off a question about how critical this hire is to Paxson’s future.
“John’s one of the better decisions I’ve made,” he said. “I have total confidence in John. He’s done a great job and he’s an even better person.”
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
