Asked if he can envision Jackson coming back home to coach the Knicks, Kleiman said: “There’a few things in life that like would check certain boxes for me. If he ever had a chance to coach the Knicks, obviously I’d be over the moon. But more importantly he’d be a tremendous coach. Somebody who brings a certain amount of credibility to any room he walks into. He can’t help but infuse positivity into a culture. I’ve seen it.’’
More on Knicks Coaching Search
Frank Isola: Leon Rose has been close with Tom Thibodeau for two decades. If a coaching change is made Thibodeau would be among the favorites. Thibs is 106 games over .500 in his NBA head coaching career. By comparison, the Knicks have won a total of 144 games over the last six seasons.
Frank Isola: Leon Rose has been close with Tom Thibodeau for two decades. If a coaching change is made Thibodeau would be among the favorites. Thibs is 106 games over .500 in his NBA head coaching career. By comparison, the Knicks have won a total of 144 games over the last six seasons.
On the coaching front, some around the Knicks also feel as if Tom Thibodeau is becoming a stronger and stronger possibility for the head coaching position currently occupied by interim coach Mike Miller. One person with knowledge of their thinking put the odds at 90 percent that Thibs will get the job, with Miller staying on in some capacity.
"I don't make those decisions, but from my personal standpoint, dealing with him on a daily basis has been absolutely amazing while he interacts with us, how he coaches the game -- everything.," Randle said. "We've responded really well to him and he's done a great job." Since he replaced Fizdale with Dec. 7's 104-103 loss to the Pacers, Miller is 13-20 through his first 33 games in charge of the Knicks. Over that span, Randle has been an instant beneficiary of Miller's tweaks.
"I think, just knowing him and his personality, he doesn't pay attention to it -- he's focused on us every day, preparing us the best way he can and I really think that's, honestly, his focus," Randle said of the possibility that the Knicks replace Miller. "I know, for me, as a competitor and as a player, we deal with it in a different aspect of free agency and trade rumors and all that type of stuff and I don't focus on it, man. Just focus on the task at hand and NBA is kind of one of those things -- you just go with the flow and when something happens, you adjust to it. But he's been amazing every day, just as far as his focus and what he's doing."
As the Knicks (17-38) get back into the swing of things with the 2019-20 season's second half set to begin in Friday's 7:30 p.m. game against the Indiana Pacers (32-23) at Madison Square Garden, Randle opened up on Miller's impact Wednesday. "I don't make those decisions, but from my personal standpoint, dealing with him on a daily basis has been absolutely amazing while he interacts with us, how he coaches the game -- everything.," Randle said. "We've responded really well to him and he's done a great job."
Since he replaced Fizdale with Dec. 7's 104-103 loss to the Pacers, Miller is 13-20 through his first 33 games in charge of the Knicks. Over that span, Randle has been an instant beneficiary of Miller's tweaks. Randle averaged 16.5 points on 44.2-percent shooting with 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 31.9 minutes in his first 22 games under Fizdale. Since Miller took over Dec. 7, Randle has 21.1 points on 46.2-percent shooting, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists over 33.5 minutes in the past 33 games. "He just made some adjustments, so what he feels is best, as far as playing to guys' strengths and stuff like that," Randle said. "It's just the adjustments and all that type of stuff. So he's done a great job."
Rachel Nichols: Are the Knicks going to offer Tom Thibodeau their head coaching job for next season? @WindhorstESPN gives us the latest:
When not traveling, the unmarried Thibodeau has made his home base at his brother’s place in New England. “He really wants the Knick job,” a Thibodeau confidant said. “He can taste it and he may even be in the lead.”
“Rose has always been known as much more ethical than most agents, and if he can deliver players and let a strong coach coach, this could work out,” the Thibodeau confidant said. “It’s never a sure thing because of ownership, but Thibs knows he can work with Rose and also knows he’d be able to bring in his people as well.”
When not traveling, the unmarried Thibodeau has made his home base at his brother’s place in New England. “He really wants the Knick job,” a Thibodeau confidant said. “He can taste it and he may even be in the lead.”
“Rose has always been known as much more ethical than most agents, and if he can deliver players and let a strong coach coach, this could work out,” the Thibodeau confidant said. “It’s never a sure thing because of ownership, but Thibs knows he can work with Rose and also knows he’d be able to bring in his people as well.”
We're still a couple of months away from the Knicks earnestly engaging in a coaching search. So it's a bit too early to say who is -- and isn't -- a significant candidate for the job. But if the Knicks want to make another run at Villanova head coach Jay Wright this offseason, they'll need to make an extremely strong pitch to lure him out of Philadelphia.
An NCAA source said Tuesday that Wright would need to be "overwhelmed by the opportunity" to even consider leaving Villanova for another job. This echoes a report from The Athletic's Dana O'Neil, who noted Monday, "source told me Jay Wright is not going anywhere. Not to the Knicks. Not to the Sixers. Not to Oz. His house is for sale. He's not."
Forbes reported that the Knicks landing Wright is a "strong possibility." But the NCAA source on Tuesday downplayed the chances of a Wright-Knicks pairing.
Dana O'Neil: Let's quash this stuff before it gets started: source told me Jay Wright is not going anywhere. Not to the Knicks. Not to the Sixers. Not to Oz. His house is for sale. He's not.
League sources say Villanova coach Jay Wright could become the next head coach of the Knicks. “There is a strong possibility that Jay Wright in New York could happen,” one league source said. With his Hall of Fame coaching résumé, charismatic personality and easygoing manner with fans and the press, Wright has always seemed like a potential strong fit for the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
Wright is from the Philadelphia area and has ties with South Jersey guys Rose and William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley, who is expected to play more of an advisory role vis-a-vis Rose and the Knicks.
Interim coach Mike Miller has won his share of Knicks’ fans by stabilizing the Knicks defense. He’s posted a three-game winning streak and a four-game winning streak that ended Sunday when the Knicks blew an eight-point overtime lead in Atlanta. Miller carries a 13-19 record entering the final game before the All-Star break Wednesday versus Orlando. If team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry were coming back next season, Miller had a shot to return if his record got to be around .500. But Mills is gone, Perry may be demoted or fired and incoming president Leon Rose is prepared to make a flashy coaching hire after the season.
According to NBA insiders, ex-Knicks assistant Tom Thibodeau and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy are expected on Rose’s short list. Neither Thibodeau nor Van Gundy have gained so much as an interview across the years. Owner James Dolan was said to hold a grudge against Van Gundy for quitting during the 2001-02 campaign.
Thibodeau is a Creative Artist Agency client and has worked with Rose, who will leave his position as head of CAA’s basketball department. According to a source, Van Gundy likes Rose and the feeling is mutual. Van Gundy and Thibodeau are still tight. Thibodeau was Van Gundy’s assistant during their Knicks days. “If Leon ever hired Jeff, the fans would love him,’’ one insider said.
LaVar says he not only stands by his decisions to take LaMelo Ball out of high school in the United States (he went to Lithuania and Australia) ... but says he's convinced Melo will be the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball says his dream would be for the NY Knicks to hire Mark Jackson as the next head coach -- who would then take Melo with their first pick. In fact, Ball says he sees a world in which all 3 of his sons sign with the Knicks and play in Madison Square Garden. He thinks his fam can save the franchise.
The Knicks want interim head coach Mike Miller to finish the season in the position, but I’m told they have a short list of potential in-season candidates, including Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Tom Thibodeau, should the team’s faltering season necessitate another move. Miller was informed upon taking the job that it is an interim position, and that the Knicks would keep an open mind for a possible permanent hire throughout the remainder of the season.
