Patrick Ewing Wants to Coach the New York Knicks
Patrick Ewing spoke at length about his coaching and playing career with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The one thing he didn’t mince words about: he wants to coach the New York Knicks.
For all of the players who have donned the orange and blue, very few have achieved the level of greatness displayed by Patrick Ewing.
From 1985 to 2000, Ewing represented the Knicks in a number of tremendous ways. He simultaneously played the roles of ambassador, franchise player and enforcer while leading New York to a pair of NBA Finals appearances..
With almost everything but an NBA championship on his resume, Ewing is ready to return to New York and finish what he started.
In an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Ewing all but accepted a hypothetical job offer from the Knicks.
"“It is what it is. Naturally, I would love to be back in New York. I still have a home there. In the offseason, I still get to go back there. My kids are still in that area. But, I guess it’s not meant to be. I’m happy where I am in Charlotte.”"
The professional answer is only the tip of this tantalizing iceberg.
During the interview with Wojnarowski, Ewing echoed the sentiment of many a Knicks fan when he expressed remorse over not finishing his career in New York. That’s a big enough headline unto itself, but what Ewing said mere minutes later may have significant long-term ramifications.
After getting the professional answer out of the way, Ewing all but told Wojnarowski that he would accept an offer to be the next head coach of the Knicks.
"“It is my goal to be a head coach. And, if the Knicks called me and offered me that position, or gave me an interview, I think it would be great. I’ve played there. I’m one of their best players. My number is in the rafters. I think it would be a great fit.”"
Forgive me for stating the obvious, but that’s big.
Ewing isn’t wrong about how much he means to the organization. He’s the Knicks all-time leader in games and minutes played, points, rebounds, blocks, steals, field goals and free throws made, and Win Shares.
Walt Frazier and Willis Reed have powerful cases of their own, but one could easily make the argument that Ewing is the greatest player in franchise history.
There’s no guaranteeing that Ewing would be a successful head coach, but he’s been an assistant in the NBA since 2002. He worked with Jeff Van Gundy and the Houston Rockets from 2003 to 2006, Stan Van Gundy and the Orlando Magic from 2007 to 2012, and is currently the associate head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
Coupled with his having played for Pat Riley, Ewing comes from quite the coaching tree.
During Ewing’s tenure in Orlando, the Magic made an NBA Finals appearance and a second Eastern Conference Finals trip. In 2015-16, Charlotte is 43-31, trailing the No. 4 seed Miami Heat by 0.5 games and the No. 3 seed Atlanta Hawks by just 1.5.
Thus, it stands to reason that Ewing is as close as ever to fulfilling his goal of becoming a head coach in the NBA.
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The question is, will Phil Jackson and the Knicks consider Ewing when they commence the coaching search during the summer of 2016?