While Mike D'Antoni is trying to teach everyone with the Knicks how to pronounce his name -- he was introduced as "Mike Dantonio" by Knicks president Donnie Walsh at his introductory press conference Tuesday -- the Suns are pressing forward to come up with the name that will replace him and a staff to put around him.

Longtime NBA point guard and ABC broadcaster Mark Jackson, who finished second to D'Antoni in the Knicks' derby, will get the first interview.

"It's a great job," Jackson said. "That team is ready to win right now. Anyone who got that job would consider himself lucky."

Suns general manager Steve Kerr has already spoken to at least three general managers of teams still in the playoffs asking permission to speak with staff members. That leaves names like Kurt Rambis and Brian Shaw in Los Angeles, Tom Thibodeau in Boston, ex-Suns head coach Paul Westphal in Dallas and two former Suns players, Tyrone Corbin and Jeff Hornacek of Utah, as possibilities.

The Suns are also expected talk to ex-Sun and veteran NBA coach Paul Silas, most likely about an assistant coaching position to work with the big men -- Shaquille O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw -- something the team lacked after Marc Iavaroni left for the head coaching job in Memphis.

Silas played with the Suns (1970-74) before winning three NBA titles (1974 and 1976 in Boston and 1979 in Seattle) and serving as a head coach in San Diego (1980-83), Charlotte (1999-2003) and Cleveland (2003-05). He returned to the Suns as an assistant from 1995-97.

"I still have the passion for coaching and I'm always interested in staying involved," Silas said. "Phoenix is where is started for me, and I was back there again in the 90s and I've always loved it."

Silas said he'd relish the opportunity to work with Stoudemire, who he believes can be a strong defender.

"You see the rebounds and the blocked shots and you know it's just a matter of putting the emphasis on it," he said. "You have that, and the desire, and you'll get there."

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
After losing six of their first nine games with Shaquille O'Neal and with their playoff lives hanging in the balance, the Suns beat San Antonio on national television on March 9 and used it as a springboard to a seven-game winning streak that locked up a fourth straight 50-win season. O'Neal finished the game strong, furthering the hope that the Suns now had an antidote to Tim Duncan and their arch-rivals. The run included home wins over the Spurs, Nuggets, Warriors and Rockets -- teams the Suns had struggled against to that point.

TURNING POINT
After the winning streak gave the Suns a chance to obtain the homecourt advantage in the first round and have a say in their opponent, they blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead to Dallas -- again on national TV on April 6 -- and failed to show up for a key loss in Houston five days later. As a result, the Suns were helpless on the last night of the season as Utah lost meekly in San Antonio, ensuring they would play Houston in the first round of the playoffs instead of the Spurs and the Suns right in the path of the team that annually ends their season.

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