Official Knicks Coaching Search Thread

[Jeff Van Gully]

Im getting concerned considering the coaches they are looking into, they arent good coaches. should have kept thibs.

even now it's probably still too early to make sense of any of these reports.

i'm gonna touch grass instead of chasing my tail.

[kNicksGmen]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the Jenkins situation, but I do have a lot of respect for how he kept that team playing hard when they were absolutely ravaged by injury.

He was driven out by Ja, but Ja isn't someone I'd say prioritizes winning.

I'm not unintrigued.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

[cldbld]

Bring in Jeff Van Gundy.

He can take this team to a championship.

Come full circle.

[BKlutch]

I still find it weird that they signed him to an extension with all these questions hanging and that they're asking teams if they can have their quality head coach when the answer is obviously "no, and it's kinda weird that you're even asking." None of this really matters though. Just sign somebody good.

I think that was Leon’s way of taking care of his boy Thibs in advance

That has to be it. Good to have a friend like that, eh?

Leon to Thibs: I like you a lot but this has to end.
Thibs: Is there somebody else?
Leon: No, it's just you.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the Jenkins situation, but I do have a lot of respect for how he kept that team playing hard when they were absolutely ravaged by injury.

He was driven out by Ja, but Ja isn't someone I'd say prioritizes winning.

I'm not unintrigued.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

taking jenkins over thibs isn't really relevant here. thibs is gone. we're taking anything over thibs at this point. ain't nobody talking about him here.

but for the half court conversation, i don't know if i agree. they're basketball players. unless you're putting all the blame on ja, which may be correct. it crossed my mind. bane and JJJ are definitely players who can thrive in the half court and don't need to be flying to be their best. they drafted zach edey. as impressively athletic he is for his massive frame, that doesn't scream pace.

while it's not their strong suit, the pacers play better than a lot of knick fans expected in the halfcourt. teams oversimplified them and thought slowing the game down or winning the glass would be enough. they do well enough as a cohesive unit to find shots. slowing the game down regularly seemed to confound the grizzlies.

[BKlutch]

Not only that but the story is bogus because why did Dolan need to sit with the players for exit interview when he wanted Thibs gone long ago? Why did Leon need the green light from Dolan when he always had it?

What are you saying?

Rose didn’t need to justify to Dolan why he wanted to fire Thibs. Dolan wanted him gone anyway. Dolan being at that exit meeting was him making his presence felt and applying pressure on Rose to do what he’s been asking him to do for years now.

Well, that's an improvement from saying it was Dolan's decision.
But Leon is the best thing that's happend to Dolan (in MSG) since he owned the team.There's no way he wants to ruin his first chance to not be hated, give out basketballs to kiddies, and have the NBA with a few far worse owners. So no, for all the reasons stated previoulsy and for this reason, it was Leon's decision. Dolan was backing him up and doing due diligence on his lost $30M.

[GONYK]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the Jenkins situation, but I do have a lot of respect for how he kept that team playing hard when they were absolutely ravaged by injury.

He was driven out by Ja, but Ja isn't someone I'd say prioritizes winning.

I'm not unintrigued.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

[BKlutch]

I wasn't very high on Mike Brown as our next coach, but reading this made me think he might be good. What do others think?

Read on Twitter

This seems to say he has very good ideas about a motion offense, but his success was limited when he coached the Kings by the quality of their personnel. No matter who is chosen, I really think a motion offense would serve us far better than placing people in spots where they can stand around waiting for the defender to approach. The 3 point shooter who gets to his spot well before the defender is going to have a better shot. And those who can leave their defender to go inside will also shoot a higher percentage.

In a vacuum, a motion offense sounds good. The question is, do we have the personnel for it? Our best outside shooter is JB, so if we're running him off multiple screens, we need an offensive initiator like Draymond Green. The only big we have capable of that might be KAT, but he's more flashy passing than really initiating. The second option is Hart, but he's not enough of an offensive threat, nor big enough to post up. Makes me wonder if really the best offensive set that maximizes our talents is the triangle *ducks for cover*.

I understand how you feel about the triangle. We def need something not as easy to defend, something that provides more space for our shooters, because the other teams were on to us and we didn't adapt. We also aren't sure who our players will be - Leon has surprised us before.

[TheGreenArrow]

It’s going to be Johnnie Bryant folkssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cp said Dolan is a big fan of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just relax breathe and go on about your day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No need to stress what is already done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capn'O]

Jenkins intrigues me. They had a good record through all sorts of drama and injuries. They always have nobodies stepping up during those times. He might be a little reactionary after Thibs going away from heavy minutes to the starters but he clearly ran a good ship.

Also, somebody give Sam Cassell a chance. He's been a lead assistant on good squads for years.

Jenkins is like, the true anti-Thibs

I think he'd be the most interesting hire, but I don't think anyone really stands out as a clear tier above others.

Once I get past what happened in Phoenix this year Bud is the guy who stands out to me. Other than getting murked by Spo, which happens to everyone, he's just had good squads. Him, Jenkins, and Bryant are the guys I'm most intrigued with, each for different reasons. Malone seems like a more reasonable Thibs. If Hurley's actually a candidate, add him and probably at the top.

And, of course, Sam Cassell.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

They ran it previously, but it's hard to run PnR when the ball handler can't shoot. You can do it but long term there's a cap on how far you can go.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

you know what we'd need to do for that to happen.

those two need to be in the lab this summer working on that. both need improvement with that basic foundational action. KAT has to be able to start it.

[Wildcat]

i need more news i'm bored

Read on Twitter

This should cure the boredom

Well established Shams doesn't know **** on this topic.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.
They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

They ran it previously, but it's hard to run PnR when the ball handler can't shoot. You can do it but long term there's a cap on how far you can go.

the ja part.

[8516knicks]

I think that was Leon’s way of taking care of his boy Thibs in advance

That has to be it. Good to have a friend like that, eh?

Leon to Thibs: I like you a lot but this has to end.
Thibs: Is there somebody else?
Leon: No, it's just you.

"It's not me; it's you."

[FrozenEnvelope]

Why haven't we asked about Spo, Lue and Kerr? Might as well ask for the best!

[Capn'O]

Why haven't we asked about Spo, Lue and Kerr? Might as well ask for the best!

Maybe the other asks are meant to signal to them to get out if they want to? I don't quite get what our strategy was with the contracted coaches.

[Wildcat]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.

even looking back before the assistants inflow, jenkins teams struggled in the halfcourt IIRC. when they couldn't run, they didn't look so good.

i would hope he could address those issues while getting the team to run more and getting youth involved.

They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

I'm still trying to figure out whose the problem in the PnR situation. I can't remember, but I recall him and KP had decent chemistry with the PnR. I also remember JB using him as a certified lob threat. Knicks need those actions back. I know KAT sets some of the weakness picks/screens, but it still confuses me on who to blame on this.

[GONYK]

I'll take Jenkins over Thibs all day.
They never had great half court players. Morant is overrated especially as a PG and beyond that they never had great offensive talent. They have a lot of good, athletic guys - but JJJ has been their only borderline all NBA guy and he's that due to his defense, not offense.

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

I'm still trying to figure out whose the problem in the PnR situation. I can't remember, but I recall him and KP had decent chemistry with the PnR. I also remember JB using him as a certified lob threat. Knicks need those actions back. I know KAT sets some of the weakness picks/screens, but it still confuses me on who to blame on this.

It's KAT.

He never actually sets a screen

[Capn'O]

But they almost never ran PnR either. They were pretty much full transition.

I would think maximizing Brunson and KAT PnR is high on the priority list.

I'm still trying to figure out whose the problem in the PnR situation. I can't remember, but I recall him and KP had decent chemistry with the PnR. I also remember JB using him as a certified lob threat. Knicks need those actions back. I know KAT sets some of the weakness picks/screens, but it still confuses me on who to blame on this.

It's KAT.

He never actually sets a screen

Which is super weird because of how aggressively he battles for boards. But little baby no-touch screens.

Maybe he's worried about picking up fouls because guards will just bounce off of him?