Knicks: Is It Time to Give Patrick Ewing a Shot?

Do NBA teams favor guards as head coaches? Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Breaking the Mold

If you still can’t take Patrick Ewing seriously as a coach, you might want to read Howard Beck’s great article on today’s dearth of black NBA coaches. There were many comments from various executives that wished to remain anonymous to protect their jobs, but when they gave their reasons for this development, it’s hard not to think of Ewing as being exhibit A for many of their quotes.

In the article, it reveals growing concern amongst former NBA players turned assistant coaches that they are not taken seriously because of an unfair bias against them not, “Getting,” analytics.

There’s a trend of owners wanting to bring on people they have personal relationships with instead of assistants that have put in years of work.

Many of today’s new coaches didn’t get there from the conventional player-turned-assistant-coach-turned-head-coach route. Many of them are being brought in directly from different countries, colleges and broadcasting booths.

I suspect that, as we comprehend more about the game from the advanced stats revolution, current assistant coaches like Ewing will continue to be stigmatized. Even Phil Jackson himself was criticized for being stuck in the past, and he has 13 championship rings!