The New York Knicks have ranked among the worst teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference over the last two seasons. It should be no surprise that they enter this offseason with their head coach position among the most popular topics surrounding their organization once again. Derek Fisher didn’t work out in New York and the prevailing theory surrounding the team is that Kurt Rambis could be on his way out soon as well. Or is he? Here is a look at the four most likely options for the Knicks head coach position based on the rumors right now.
David Blatt
Blatt’s dismissal from the Cavaliers had more to do with the situation he found himself in rather than the work he did in Cleveland. It’s easy to think about how different things could have been if Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were healthy last season and the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, but that isn’t the way it went down. It didn’t take much time for Cleveland to make a change this season. The jury is still out on Blatt as an NBA head coach, but he has a strong resume and is considered a very good basketball mind. The Knicks will certainly consider Blatt as an option and he could be the perfect fit for a team that is in need of a head coach with at least some experience at the NBA level.
Luke Walton
Walton remains the hottest head coaching candidate on the market right now after he spent the majority of the early season serving as the interim head coach in Golden State in place of Steve Kerr. Walton also has tied to Jackson after playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and working on the staff of their D-League team so there is definitely a connection there. Jackson had some strong praise for Walton earlier in the year but the biggest question mark here is whether Walton would consider taking the job in New York. The majority of basketball minds think that Walton would prefer to remain on the west coast if he leaves Golden State at all but considering the Knicks position and Walton’s status as the top candidate available it’s impossible to rule this fit out entirely right now.
Mark Jackson
There were reports last week that the Knicks contacted Jackson as part of their search for a potential replacement for Rambis a couple of weeks ago and it will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds. Jackson would have to feel it is the right fit to leave his job as an analyst at ESPN take another shot at the NBA but there are reasons to believe he will strongly consider it including his ties with Jackson and the fact that he wants another opportunity to be an NBA head coach. The feeling is that New York would prefer to land Walton or Blatt but if they can’t convince either of those two to take the job then they could turn to Jackson.
Kurt Rambis
Rambis served as the team’s interim head coach following Fisher’s dismissal this season, but the expectation is that if the Knicks can find a better fit they will make another change this offseason. Rambis has previous head coaching experience with the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. He is also a four-time NBA champion as a player. However, the Knicks didn’t make any significant progress over the second half of the season and his previous history with the other two teams isn’t glowing. The pressure is building to get something done in New York. One popular scenario is that the Knicks could keep Rambis but then hire David Blatt as an assistant. It would give the Knicks two good options and Blatt could assists, maybe uplifting Rambis and the Knicks in the process. The flipside of it is that Rambis might be looking over his shoulder and cause some friction. We’ll have to see what the Knicks decide.
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