NEW YORK (AFP) - Mike D'Antoni has accepted a four-year offer worth 24 million dollars to coach the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks, Sports Illustrated reported Saturday on its website.

Citing an unnamed league source, the website said the Phoenix Suns coach, who was given permission to talk with other clubs about vacancies, will accept a deal to become the third-highest paid coach in the NBA.

The Suns were eliminated by the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs, while the Knicks have struggled for years and will require a major rebuilding operation to become competitive.

D'Antoni also spoke with Chicago Bulls officials this weekend to discuss their interest in having him take over the Bulls, who fired their coach hours after the end of a season where they failed to make the playoffs.

The Knicks' deal would be the third-richest in the NBA behind the annual 12 million-dollar contract of Phil Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and the seven million dollars received each year by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

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