Ira Winderman

You ask, we (try to) answer:

Q: Will the Knicks fire Mike D'Antoni at the end of the season or during it? He is not coaching as well as he should be. There are some great players on the team, but his decisions are not reflecting their skills.
— John, New York, N.Y.

A: Uh, first of all, you must be working with an awfully liberal definition of "great players," because it actually is difficult to find anything approaching good on this roster, let alone great. Yes, David Lee is a wonderful hustler, Al Harrington a productive scorer and Danilo Gallinari certainly has somewhat of an upside. But "great"? Not here, not now.

As for D'Antoni, it is interesting that the Knicks have made him the lynchpin of their 2010 recruiting campaign. Yes, he runs a system that pads statistics and, yes, he established a strong bond with the players on the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing, while serving there as an assistant coach.

Still, players look for coaches who have won consistently. The only times when D'Antoni met that criteria was when he was coaching Steve Nash in Phoenix. Otherwise, the record in his domestic coaching stops in Denver and New York hardly has impressed.

It will be interesting to see the approach Donnie Walsh takes with D'Antoni, who is almost certain to be retained for the balance of the season, considering the efforts and expense the Knicks went through to land him.

But, that said, Walsh also might gauge the temperature of the 2010 free-agent class to see if D'Antoni will be the definitive lure that Knicks owner Jim Dolan expected when he signed off on D'Antoni's hiring.

Right now, the Knicks look like a confused mess, and I'm not sure players want to play under a coach who has overseen such disorder.

Players might enjoy working with an easy-going coach, but elite players enjoy winning even more.

Q: Will A.I. go to another team?
— Joel, Burke, Va.

A: At this moment, it looks like Allen Iverson is a reasonable fit for the 76ers, which makes all the sense in the world.

For a player who has recorded so many assists over his career, Iverson's decision-making these past few months has been somewhat bizarre.

Why he even considered playing for the Grizzlies is beyond comprehension.

What Iverson needed was a team lacking a front-line point guard, something that was the case in Philadelphia even before Lou Williams went down with his jaw injury.

Williams will always remain a combo guard, and it's not as if Jrue Holiday, as the youngest player in the NBA, was drafted by the 76ers with immediate minutes in mind.

Yes, there still is a place for Iverson in the NBA, and Philadelphia makes all the sense in the world for both the player and the team, and, just as significantly, a fan base looking for something and someone to rally around.

Q: Was the reason the Knicks didn't sign Iverson so the team could give Eddy Curry more shots and playing time, to better showcase him to potential trade suitors?
— Paul, Sydney, Australia.

A: Clearing Curry's and Jared Jeffries' 2010 contracts from the payroll remains the ultimate priority for the Knicks.

Still, Iverson would have made so much sense on so many levels for the Knicks, who clearly lack a front-line point guard. It is a decision I believe the Knicks will grow to regret as the losses continue to mount and the playoff hope continues to diminish.

About the only true logic for bypassing Iverson, besides the chemistry risks with a somewhat youthful roster, would be stunting the growth of first-round pick Toney Douglas, who has had his moments, even when being somewhat miscast at shooting guard alongside Chris Duhon.

Q: I'd like your honest opinion regarding the drama surrounding the Warriors. It seems like a flashback of several years gone by, with Chris Webber. Things looked bright when they knocked off the Mavericks a few years ago. Now, this team is like a volcano ready to explode once again. And guess who was the coach back then and is now? Is it really because of Nellie? He seems to be the common denominator.
— Richard, Cupertino, Calif.

A: I'm not sure the players necessarily are tired of Nellie, who remains one of the game's truly creative thinkers. I just think they are tired of the drama that surrounds Nellie.

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If Nellie could negotiate yet another of his famous settlements, I think he gladly would step aside. The game, even before his recent bout of pneumonia, seems to be taking too much out of him.

But the Warriors' problems transcend Nellie. They go deep into the front office and all the way up to ownership.

The fan base is remarkable and deserves better. And there is promising, young talent, even if Nellie often appears to be at odds with it.

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With a playoff spot already a longshot in the competitive West, it would seem like this would be as good a time as any for a coaching move.

But, that said, it can't be just shifting another Nellie guy into the top coaching spot and then retaining Nellie's henchmen in the front office.

It has to be a complete overhaul, with new voices and a more clearly defined direction.