With all the buzz surrounding the New York Knicks’ search for a new coach, something truly important must be highlighted.
Tom Thibodeau has been lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and per Ian Begley of ESPN, Phil Jackson made no efforts to reach out to him. Aside from Thibodeau, there were rumors that Luke Walton had been contacted for the job interview, though he denied ever speaking with Jackson.
Most recently, it has been confirmed by Begley that David Blatt and Kurt Rambis are the last remaining, “Serious candidates,” for the job.
There should be no question that David Blatt is the better option of the two.
Blatt has credentials that far exceed Rambis’. He was part of the Euroleague championship team in Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he also earned the honors of Euroleage Coach of the Year. Immediately following his career year in Europe, Blatt signed on to the Cleveland Cavaliers and brought them all the way to the NBA Finals.
Through one-and-a-half seasons, Blatt accrued 83 regulars season wins—a total that surpasses Derek Fisher and Rambis’ combined win percentage.
His coaching prowess is also some of the best the league has seen in the past decade or so. Many speculate that LeBron James ran the Cavaliers and essentially belittled Blatt, but he still had a lot of influence on the success of the team. He had to manage the egos of James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love all at once, which turned out okay for the regular season, though the latter two wound up injured during the playoffs.
Blatt also had to take on some new blood in the form of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov in the middle of the season, and still kept his composure. Blatt’s pros outweigh the cons, which easily highlights his potential as a head coach here in New York.
Rambis, on the other hand, would be a disaster to take on again after an awful end to the season. Rambis’, “Success,” comprises two 82 game seasons in which he gathered a combined 32 wins. In 28 games with the Knicks, Rambis managed to get nine wins.
I don’t care if he had less than half a season with the Knicks; Rambis simply doesn’t have the coaching ability to handle the Knicks in any way, shape or form.
What I find most disturbing about his tenure as head coach is the inability to properly institute a rotation. He continued the trend of sitting Derrick Williams when he was beginning to shape up to be an elite bench player. He also reduced Kristaps Porzingis’ minutes far too often, which limited his development against the tougher players in the league.
Though this was likely an anomaly, Rambis played Carmelo Anthony 41 minutes in a blowout loss when Anthony specifically implied that he wanted the younger players to be given more minutes during the latter part of the season.
What good does Phil Jackson hope to accomplish by employing a coach who completely negates his players’ potential?
Blatt had a few questionable decisions coaching for the Cavs, but he was always willing to hear his players out. Also, he had a decent roster to work with, and he could absolutely work with the roster in New York.
The young players that the Knicks have are crucial for the future of the organization. Had Blatt been coaching following the All-Star Break, his coaching IQ would have outdone Derek Fisher and Rambis’ combined. Leaving an aged, defenseless Jose Calderon in the starting lineup and not deploying Jerian Grant more often was a rookie mistake by Rambis.
Calderon is good on the offensive end, I’ll give him that, but his defense is useless against the elite point guards in the NBA. Jerian Grant is taller, quicker, and sturdier on defense than Calderon. Though his shooting is still poor, Grant had an aggressive spark that New York needed all season. Starting Grant sooner increases his growth as a rookie and results in more stellar performances—like he had in the last few games of the season.
Arron Afflalo was also in the discussion for being a poor starter. Sasha Vujacic was no better, but due to the circumstances, he was the only other shooting-guard the Knicks could install in the starting lineup.
I enjoyed Afflalo’s performance early on in the season, but he started to show a lack of consistency as well as an inability to defend opponents at his position. A bench unit that consists of Williams, Afflalo, Calderon, Lance Thomas and Kevin Seraphin is much more effective for New York.
They may not turn into the Golden State Warriors with that rotation, but it’s sure as hell more balanced than Rambis tried to be.
There is obvious potential within the roster of New York, but the coaching just hasn’t been effective in this rebuilding stage. Fisher didn’t have a strong coaching IQ, and Rambis has also failed to prove he can coach. Blatt is the only viable, available option for New York’s coaching job.
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Phil Jackson needs to get an interview prepared ASAP, while also eyeing potential free agency steals.