I disagree. I think some of these players have been poorly coached and haven't been given a chance to really reach their full potential. The things that Phil brings to the table are really from the school of winning culture that we haven't seen here since the last Finals team. In fact I think he's even better than having Grunfeld and Van Gundy. It's funny how they fired Grunfeld when he was the one that put together the team that went to the finals. The fighting between him and Van Gundy was effecting the team and it's what I think Phil wants to avoid. Phil believes in harmony in his team and he's got a chance to actually create that kind of environment.
POSTED: April 22, 1999
In a front-office shake-up curious for its timing, Ernie Grunfeld took the fall yesterday for the problems surrounding the New York Knicks as he was removed as president and general manager.Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts, acknowledging a rift between Grunfeld and coach Jeff Van Gundy, will take over the day-to-day operations for the rest of the season.
"The organization has not functioned well together," Checketts said. "With what we've spent on salaries and what we've done as an organization, to be a .500 club and in ninth place is unacceptable.
"The organization was not on the same page in a lot of categories. I was not going to accept any more divisions, people on different pages, people looking like they had different agendas. We have one agenda - to make the playoffs."
The shake-up comes with just eight games left in the regular season and the Knicks, with an NBA-high $63 million payroll, on a season-high four-game losing streak. At 21-21, the Knicks are ninth in the Eastern Conference and in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
"The timing of it is a little ironic," said Latrell Sprewell, who was fined $25,000 by Checketts for comments made by his agent, Robert Gist, that appeared yesterday in the New York Post. The agent ripped Van Gundy and Grunfeld and said Sprewell would demand to be traded if the Knicks planned to bring him off the bench again next season.
An aggressive GM since taking over in 1996, Grunfeld's latest moves have drawn the most heat.
He traded the team's most popular player and hardest worker, Charles Oakley, to Toronto for Marcus Camby. He also traded John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings to Golden State for Sprewell.
Sprewell and Camby have not fit in with the Knicks, and both are unhappy coming off the bench.
Grunfeld was right! With Phil trying to pick a new Coach that will be in line with his thinking and also be willing to learn from him, there's more of a chance to have a strong flow of leadership from top to bottom on this team.
