Knicks Hire David Blatt as Basketball Ops Consultant

Da_Mane_Man · Post #81 » by **Da_Mane_Man** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:55 pm

If Mike Miller saved Mills' job in 4 games then Dolan is stupider than we think.

Post #82 » by **Capn'O** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:55 pm

Son of a...

How does he do it?

2010 · Post #83 » by **2010** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:57 pm

GONYK wrote:
MaseInYourFace wrote:I was initially a little worried because a move like this obviously there will be rumors and people will think it's sabotaging the interim coach while he's barely getting his feet wet. But if they really wanted Blatt to be the coach they could have done that immediately as soon as Fizdale was fired.

Blatt has retired from coaching due to MS.

I think he's genuinely here for the FO. I just don't understand what he's supposed to do.

Like bowrips been saying, he is here to fact-check Perry. Just don't know if the idea is coming from Mills or Houston. But this is bad news for Perry regardless. Also, remember Perry has an option that may not be picked up.

BugginOut · Post #84 » by **BugginOut** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:59 pm

I got to hand it to Mills. This motherf*cker has 9 lives. He plays the corporate game so well, no wonder he has been able to stick around for so long.

This move is just another shield for Mills. If Miller keeps the team cooking like this everyone will forget about management come this offseason. The snake will slither away unscathed again.

1999 · Post #85 » by **1999** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:00 pm

BadNewsBarnes wrote:If the Knicks go south under Miller, Blatt could unretire...

Makes it hard to enjoy what’s happening currently with Miller. I have no expectations when it comes to anything knicks related. Just fasten the seatbelt.

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Chanel Bomber · Post #86 » by **Chanel Bomber** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:01 pm

Ok so first of all David Blatt is a former coach whose mandate throughout his basketball career was to win games. Not to manage assets, not to evaluate talent, but to win games. I'm not saying he can't adjust, but I'm really afraid that with that coaching background he's going to push for the Knicks to become competitive asap and mismanage our assets for short-term results. How many successful front office people had a coaching background? There's a clash of interests philosophically speaking.

Was he that great of a basketball mind anyway? Ty Lue was a more progressive head coach than Blatt, and he gets clowned on the regular while Blatt (wonder why) gets widely praised for his coaching acumen despite failing on several fronts with the Cavs. I have just never been impressed with him as a head coach (not saying he was bad either).

We're once again moving further away from analytics with this hire. This is the biggest problem with this organization. It's old-school. Everything is old-school. The decision-makers are old-school. The vision is old-school.

And of course this reeks of nepotism. This is bad all-around.

BKlutch · Post #87 » by **BKlutch** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:04 pm

Kampuchea wrote:This is a nice move. Mills and Perry have earned some props for bringing in Miller and now Blatt. They deserve blame for Fizdale but realizing the error and bringing in Miller and now Blatt more than makes up for it. Plus they have not committed to any long-term contracts so I am happy with how they are keeping our flexibility.

As much as I want to see Mills go, I have to agree with what you said. They brought in Miller before the season, so they knew that Fizdale might not remain coach.

To play devil's advocate for a minute (not that I actually believe this):

1. Pills hired Fiz to do the tank -- no way he would make us play better. They hoped he would get along with KP and maybe attract FA's.

2. Over the summer, yes we whiffed on KD, but after the injury maybe that's better

3. The KP trade is still up in the air. Yes, it was Mills' fault we had THJr to get rid of, but the KP - DSJ trade may still be a net positive, if only because KP has a max contract and he's really a good second option. Paying him the max would not be worth it.

4. Hiring all the 1 year guys cost us nothing (we used cap space that returns to us if we don't keep them next year), but if we can trade any of them for a pick, it means we get picks from nothing.

5. If we trade a 1 year guy for a piece we want, that's also a net positive.

6. Julius Randle used to be a decent forward. Under Fiz, he embodied the worst of Melo and Toney Douglass. Now, he looks like he could be a good part of the team if he is able to improve under Miller

7. Miller was placed on the coaching staff at the start of the season so he'd be in place in case Fiz was let go - they had to know they were doing it for this reason. It means they knew that maybe Fiz couldn't really coach. They liked him personally but had to let him go before any more damage was done.

8. Now they hire a good basketball mind in David Blatt. The PR announcement said the hire was by both Perry and Mills, and they emphasized in the PR announcement that Blatt has retired from coaching, making it clear that this is not a threat to Miller

If all that is true, then things aren't as bad as we thought. Yes, 1-7 may very well not be true. And nobody has any more faith in Mills than we have in Dolan. But Miller and Blatt could be good for the team. We will have to see what happens until the February trade deadline

Fat Kat · Post #88 » by **Fat Kat** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:05 pm

BugginOut wrote:I got to hand it to Mills. This motherf*cker has 9 lives. He plays the corporate game so well, no wonder he has been able to stick around for so long.

This move is just another shield for Mills. If Miller keeps the team cooking like this everyone will forget about management come this offseason. The snake will slither away unscathed again.

I’m not sure Mills was ever in danger. Might’ve been a rumor started by Isola.

Orange Mamba · Post #89 » by **Orange Mamba** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:05 pm

Da_Mane_Man wrote:If Mike Miller saved Mills' job in 4 games then Dolan is stupider than we think.

but that's the problem, he probably is more stupid than we think

BeagleBoss · Post #90 » by **BeagleBoss** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:08 pm

I hate this franchise! They are beyond stupid!

Fury · Post #91 » by **Fury** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:09 pm

I would take Isiah back in any role other than GM if it meant Steve Mills wasn't here. That's how **** awful Steve Mills is.

Post #92 » by **j4remi** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:10 pm

If you remove Mills from this, you're getting a very strong basketball mind with deep respect and connections to Europe. And I'm hoping that that's the more important factor in the hiring, Blatt's understanding and connection to European ball.

BKlutch · Post #93 » by **BKlutch** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:11 pm

Fury wrote:I would take Isiah back in any role other than GM if it meant Steve Mills wasn't here. That's how **** awful Steve Mills is.

Chief Diversity Officer or Head of HR?

Fury · Post #94 » by **Fury** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:14 pm

BKlutch wrote:
Fury wrote:I would take Isiah back in any role other than GM if it meant Steve Mills wasn't here. That's how **** awful Steve Mills is.

Chief Diversity Officer or Head of HR?

Gotta be head of HR

BeagleBoss · Post #95 » by **BeagleBoss** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:15 pm

Steve Mills is going to be here until the end of time, isn't he? He's like Palpatine.

Riot Randolph · Post #96 » by **Riot Randolph** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:16 pm

Blatt!!!!??

NYKAL · Post #97 » by **NYKAL** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:19 pm

Stannis wrote:It's just worrisome that Mills is still able to hire his boys. Which means Dolan has not froze Mills yet.

I though this was an Allan Houston move

BugginOut · Post #98 » by **BugginOut** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:20 pm

Fat Kat wrote:
BugginOut wrote:I got to hand it to Mills. This motherf*cker has 9 lives. He plays the corporate game so well, no wonder he has been able to stick around for so long.

This move is just another shield for Mills. If Miller keeps the team cooking like this everyone will forget about management come this offseason. The snake will slither away unscathed again.

I’m not sure Mills was ever in danger. Might’ve been a rumor started by Isola.

With enough media and fan pressure, Dolan would have no choice. But if things look like they are turning around (new coach, winning team, new FO source) the Fire Mills movement will slow down and he will keep his job.

Unfortunately in NY, fans are extremely short sighted

BeagleBoss · Post #99 » by **BeagleBoss** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:21 pm

No choice but to root against Mike Miller. Sucks cause he's a good guy who's worked his way up. But I cannot stomach Mills being here anymore. Enough is enough!!!

Knicksfan1992 · Post #100 » by **Knicksfan1992** » Wed Dec 18, 2019 7:25 pm

Im not going to quote the long azz post on my phone but there are plenty of coaches and former players who have transitioned to the FO well.

Larry Bird
Jerry West
Elton Brand

just to name a few.

Also the Cavs never had a better net rating with Lebron V2 than they did under Blatt. Lue won off the back of Blatt's principles and never reached that same level when he had his own offseason and training camp to implement. Blatt left the Cavs because Lebron didn't like him plain and simple.

Blatt is a very smart guy who like J4remi mentioned has a ton of connections in Europe. I'm sure he'll be fine as a consultant doing scouting and things of that nature.

The only thing to really even be remotely worried about is what this means for Mills and a potential pursuit of Masai or another executive but the Knicks have always had interest in Blatt dating back to the Phil days... i wouldn't read too much into it.