Knicks want to speak to every one of the best coaches they can and don’t care if they get denied permission to do so. This is unorthodox but the reaction to it is ridiculous. It was reported they are embarking on a long process to find the right coach. Step 1 is clearly ruling out every top tier coach who’s under contract.
Knicks are going to get trolled for doing all this due diligence only to hire Mike Brown, but he’s an awesome coach I would sign up for. He had no business getting fired in Sacramento.
Mike Brown looked like he was on his way to establishing himself as an elite coach before the Kings kept Kings-ing. He might be a steal and seems like a really good fit for all pure basketball reasons. He’s just lacking in aura which probably means he’s the right move. Whenever everyone is in lockstep around a move it’s usually the wrong one when it comes to the Knicks.
I don't think this is super complicated.
Knicks probably have top tier of candidates they hope to hire - maybe even a favorite.
Being the only opening in the NBA right now, they figured they'd make sure they checked on all avenues, including current NBA coaches that they hold in high esteem. There probably was never an expectation that they would be able to hire them, but you wouldn't know unless you asked. Perhaps they did think one might be available? Who knows, but I'm sure they realized that this was the lowest probability outlet, so they'd take care of asking first and move to the next set after.
The pool of available candidates has two NBA champions (Budenholzer, Malone) and a 2 time coach of the year (Brown). Two young coaches that have had some success that still have upside (Jenkins, Borrego). You still have several top assistants who could be options - Bryant, Quinn etc. The Thunder and Pacers may have assistant coaches we want to talk to. My point here is the Knicks aren't exactly in a bad situation. Saying they let all the best candidates pass them by or don't have a plan is kind of an asinine comment. This is the height of Knicks for clicks.
A little while back I was thinking the Knicks couldn't be so stupid as to have fired Thibs (after all he has done) without having the replacement effectively established.
Now, I'm wondering the opposite. To have a replacement established would have required some behind the scenes maneuvering which besides being a bit sneaky would have poisoned the well if they had decided to keep Thibs (e.g., if he advanced to finals).
I don't know if I'm just rationalizing the situation, but I am going to let it play out and trust that Leon gets more decisions right than wrong
Both Begley and Hahn have killed the Johnny Bryant idea due to his inexperience so I guess that leaves Brown, Bud, Malone, Jenkins, Woodson and Walton who have been rumored. Let me know if I've forgotten anyone but out of these coaches, how would you rank them? I have it like this ...
1. Malone
2. Bud
3. Brown
4. Jenkins
5. Woodson
DLeethal wrote:I don't really understand the hate right now as if the Knicks would have pre-interviewed some of these candidates. Obviously the logical first step is to go after the best candidates, in this case the guys who already have jobs, who are also the least likely. Take the big swings first and cross them off the list if they don't work out. Knicks interviewed 20 candidates last time around. So this is the early stage of a long process.
Knicks are a HUGE television/viewer market - if this were the Kings sifting thru coaching candidate options you might find 1 blip on Hoops Hype but with Knicks places like ESPN going to milk that for all it's worth.
Is the process a bit odd? Sure but who gives a crap - I find it interesting they are casually letting all these experienced coaches know that they'd be interested in talking to them. No idea if the interest is legit for every guy or some type of smoke screen to limit potential tampering issues - NO IDEA.
Quin Snyder is a guy I've always liked - hell I like all of Ima, Kidd, Finch, Snyder and Donovan to a lesser degree.
Also very high on T Jenkins.
VDesai wrote:Wow Begley threw out Mike Woodson as a serious candidate with a straight face on the KFS pod. Says the relationship with the front office is strong and is well regarded from his last stint.
That is so yuck to me --- Mike should start enjoying retirement.
Nalod wrote:EwingsGlass wrote:Brown just signed a 3 year, 30mm extension last season right?I’m still riding the Johnnie Bryant train.
Yes. he was fired half a season into it.
Mike is a good coach who might be a good fit.
Im Stil thinking Billy Donovan? He still under contract with Bulls so there is that! LOL
Brown is in fact a solid and versatile (offense/defense) coach but he's a bit MEH in terms of excitement for me.
Would prefer T Jenkins over Brown but again Brown is a solid coach.
Knicksfan wrote:VDesai wrote:We also got denied permission to talk to Quin Snyder
Hahaha I saw that and accepted the fact that we might really ask all other franchises. We won’t be able to say Leon didn’t explore every possibility.
Soon to be published a list of coaches Knicks haven't requested permission to speak with --- maybe a shorter list.
BigDaddyG wrote:VDesai wrote:We also got denied permission to talk to Quin Snyder
Quinn would relapse in less than a month under this type of pressure.
I like watching the way he suffers through games and decisions --- kind of a skinny/meth version of Thibs.
ToddTT wrote:Anybody impressed with the way this situation is being handled? Feels like we've been set back 20 years.
I think anyone upset about the process is just reaching -- let it play out and see what we end up with.
They have thus far been reaching out to really good coaches - don't think it hurts to rattle some cages and see if maybe one of these guys actually breaks free.
Also not sure if there is some considerable misdirection here -- Leon/Wes/Gerson/Brock lead front office has been very solid thus far.
Let it play out and we can all bitch when they sign Derek Fischer for 2nd tour as Knicks head coach.
SergioNYK wrote:Both Begley and Hahn have killed the Johnny Bryant idea due to his inexperience so I guess that leaves Brown, Bud, Malone, Jenkins, Woodson and Walton who have been rumored. Let me know if I've forgotten anyone but out of these coaches, how would you rank them? I have it like this ...1. Malone
2. Bud
3. Brown
4. Jenkins
5. Woodson
Jenkins and Borrego are young guys, guys who spent time with Coach Pop that have had some success. Jenkins has two recent 50 win seasons under his belt. Guy played a deep rotation, developed a lot of young players. Mainly just a victim of having a superstar with a volatile personality. Interesting background, UPenn Econ major who didn't play college ball...got an internship with the Spurs and managed to stand out.
https://www.nba.com/spurs/features/120925_rodriguez_jenkins
DLeethal wrote:Knicks want to speak to every one of the best coaches they can and don’t care if they get denied permission to do so. This is unorthodox but the reaction to it is ridiculous. It was reported they are embarking on a long process to find the right coach. Step 1 is clearly ruling out every top tier coach who’s under contract.
Reactions by some fans very silly to me -- OMG I'm embarrassed and my family is embarrassed and I'll never get over the Knicks asking for permission to speak to another teams coach. I'll never forgive them.
SergioNYK wrote:Both Begley and Hahn have killed the Johnny Bryant idea due to his inexperience so I guess that leaves Brown, Bud, Malone, Jenkins, Woodson and Walton who have been rumored. Let me know if I've forgotten anyone but out of these coaches, how would you rank them? I have it like this ...1. Malone
2. Bud
3. Brown
4. Jenkins
5. Woodson
I mean maybe I'm wrong here but the Johnny "Red Auerbach" Bryant love is beyond my comprehension.
Why him over 1,000 other assistant coaches in the league and why him when he left your organization 1 year ago to join a chief rival.
Maybe Johnny is Red 2.0 but I think it's funny the amount of fans wetting themselves to throw him into NY firestorm and a vet locker room.
VDesai wrote:SergioNYK wrote:Both Begley and Hahn have killed the Johnny Bryant idea due to his inexperience so I guess that leaves Brown, Bud, Malone, Jenkins, Woodson and Walton who have been rumored. Let me know if I've forgotten anyone but out of these coaches, how would you rank them? I have it like this ...1. Malone
2. Bud
3. Brown
4. Jenkins
5. Woodson
Jenkins and Borrego are young guys, guys who spent time with Coach Pop that have had some success. Jenkins has two recent 50 win seasons under his belt. Guy played a deep rotation, developed a lot of young players. Mainly just a victim of having a superstar with a volatile personality. Interesting background, UPenn Econ major who didn't play college ball...got an internship with the Spurs and managed to stand out.
https://www.nba.com/spurs/features/120925_rodriguez_jenkins
I love style of play Jenkins had in Memphis, liked the tempo, defense and physicality and use of deep/young bench.
Also a positive to me that he clashed with Ja who is an absolute knuckle head with knuckle head father.
VDesai wrote:Better in depth article about Jenkins
https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/14/nba...
Only skimmed thru that BUT that was very good and reflects very well on Jenkins.
Has some serious experience for younger guy - head coach at 35, Bud connections.
He's a dark horse for me. Loved the video clip of him holding the bench guys from running on the floor - funny.
VDesai wrote:Better in depth article about Jenkins
https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/14/nba...
Something else to take away from this article:
-Very strong relationship with DDV during his time as an assistant with the Bucks.
-This point about organizational alighnment and the coincidental usage of a quote from Gersson Rosas about Karl Anthony Towns struck a chord:
The new buzzword around NBA front offices is “alignment,” meaning everyone in the organization, from ownership to the front office, medical department, analytical staff, and the head coach, is on the same page. When I asked new Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas about why he took the job in Minnesota, he mentioned the opportunity for organizational alignment in the same breath as the ability to chart the path for Karl-Anthony Towns. In other words, Rosas wanted a coach who would be willing to work with him in putting Towns in the type of offense that he envisioned.
“[Jenkins] has the overall knowledge of everything that it takes to be a head coach. It always starts with a high basketball acumen [...] but you also need an understanding of what’s happening in the [NBA] landscape,” Budenholzer said. “How are you building culture, how are you building your team, can you work with a front office, can you collaborate—things like that. [That’s the] next step of being a head coach. There’s just a lot more that comes with it.”
VDesai wrote:VDesai wrote:Better in depth article about Jenkins
https://www.theringer.com/2019/11/14/nba...
Something else to take away from this article:
-Very strong relationship with DDV during his time as an assistant with the Bucks.
-This point about organizational alighnment and the coincidental usage of a quote from Gersson Rosas about Karl Anthony Towns struck a chord:
The new buzzword around NBA front offices is “alignment,” meaning everyone in the organization, from ownership to the front office, medical department, analytical staff, and the head coach, is on the same page. When I asked new Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas about why he took the job in Minnesota, he mentioned the opportunity for organizational alignment in the same breath as the ability to chart the path for Karl-Anthony Towns. In other words, Rosas wanted a coach who would be willing to work with him in putting Towns in the type of offense that he envisioned.
“[Jenkins] has the overall knowledge of everything that it takes to be a head coach. It always starts with a high basketball acumen [...] but you also need an understanding of what’s happening in the [NBA] landscape,” Budenholzer said. “How are you building culture, how are you building your team, can you work with a front office, can you collaborate—things like that. [That’s the] next step of being a head coach. There’s just a lot more that comes with it.”
Good catch on that 1st paragraph and could see Gershon (as an example) having some frustrations if Thibs was refusing to try some things they may have wanted to see in terms of better roster/play cohesion and overall top to bottom alignment between players, staff, management.
