The Knicks' coaching search may officially start later this week.The NBA Board of Governors is expected to approve a plan Thursday to re-start the season that doesn't include New York, according to ESPN.
Once the Knicks know that they won't be playing any more games in 2019-20, they will start to interview candidates for the job.
With that in mind, we reached out to one current NBA coach and one former NBA coach to gauge their thoughts on some Knicks candidates.
Below are their thoughts on Kenny Atkinson and how he would fit in New York...
TEACHING THE GAME
"He's an elite teacher, which would obviously benefit the Knicks right now," a former coach who worked on the sideline for more than two decades said. "They have young guys who I think would really do well under Kenny and whatever staff he brings in. Kenny showed in all his coaching stops (Atkinson was an assistant in Houston, New York and Atlanta before taking the job in Brooklyn) that he has a mastery of player development. He gets on the floor with guys and shows them how much he cares. He let them play through mistakes and helped grow their confidence. It seemed to me, from afar, that his approached worked well with Brooklyn's young players."
There's plenty of evidence to support the coach's opinion. Under Atkinson, players like Spencer Dinwiddie, D'Angelo Russell and Joe Harris came from other organizations and thrived. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert -- two Nets first-round draft picks -- developed well with the Nets. Of course, the players deserve a ton of credit for their improvement. But the common thread here is Atkinson and the Nets' approach to player development.
As the coach mentioned, the Knicks have several young players on the roster who can benefit from development (RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox to name a few). New York also has three picks in the 2020 NBA Draft. Unless the Knicks trade their young players or picks in the offseason, Atkinson and his staff would have several young players to work with from a development standpoint.
Also, if you are a Knicks fan who wants to see Robinson shoot threes in games, it's worth noting that under Atkinson, Brook Lopez was encouraged to shoot from beyond the arc. Lopez has used the shot effectively in subsequent seasons (though he shot just 29 percent from 3-point land last season).
OFFENSIVE SCHEMES
"You have to love the way they played for most of Kenny's time in Brooklyn. They shared the ball, helped the helper on defense -- just seemed to play the right way. Their shot profile was consistent prior to last season -- emphasizing threes and layups. But they didn't shoot threes recklessly like Houston -- they took quality threes. It worked well for them."
The Knicks were 27th in 3-point percentage last season and the rate at which they shot threes was in the bottom third in the league. Would that change if Atkinson was the head coach? It seems likely. Also, Atkinson seemed to empower his guards to be a driving force for the Nets offense. That could give Barrett and the Knicks point guards -- whoever they are next season -- the chance to expand their responsibilities and improve through trial and error.
WHAT WENT WRONG IN BROOKLYN?
"Each year, the Nets got better under Kenny and he and Sean seemed to establish a great culture there. They shared the ball well and played with cohesion. They also seemed to buy into the culture the system. I wasn't there, but I think that the culture fell apart this season with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the sideline and Kenny was the fall guy."
When Atkinson and Marks took over, the Nets had next to no draft capital or young talent. They won 20 games in Atkinson's first season. Two years later, they won 42 games and reached the playoffs with a young core surrounded by the right veterans. Obviously, the feel-good story ended this season, when Atkinson was fired in March. At the time, SNY reported that Atkinson had lost some of the Nets' locker room and that some veterans didn't feel that Atkinson was the right coach to lead them to a title. We'll find out in the coming seasons whether those veterans were right or wrong.
But the coach we spoke to wondered if Atkinson would benefit from having a lead assistant with a "different voice" than Atkinson's, in part because of how things seemed to unfold in Brooklyn.
"Again, I wasn't there. But hiring a strong first assistant with a different voice, a different tone, is always helpful," the coach said. "He seems like a great communicator but sometimes having a strong secondary voice helps keep you from losing guys."
I'm not sure if the Nets did or didn't have that kind of assistant on the bench. But if Atkinson came to New York, it seems like he'd have a nearly unlimited budget to attract top assistant coaches. Kurt Rambis was the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA under former president Phil Jackson, so the organization isn't shy about giving out big money to assistants (though it's unclear if the economic impact of the coronavirus will change their approach).
As far as where Atkinson stands with the Knicks, he is expected to get an interview with the club. Interim head coach Mike Miller is also expected to get an interview, as is Tom Thibodeau.
In March, we reported that agents and other coaches with a vested interest in the Knicks' coaching search said they believed Thibodeau is the most likely hire if Rose decides not to retain Miller as head coach. Rose and Thibodeau have a close relationship. Nothing has happened since then to alter the thinking of those coaches and agents.
Other outlets have reported that Thibodeau is the favorite for job, which is essentially saying the same thing. But it's worth noting Rose has relationships with dozens of coaches in the NBA and college due to his two-plus decades as a top player agent at CAA. Among the coaches he has relationships with are John Calipari, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mike Woodson.
Per multiple SNY sources, the Knicks' current plan is to interview other coaches in addition to Thibodeau, Atkinson and Miller.
Those interviews are expected to begin once New York has clarity on the rest of the season.
