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The next coach of the New York Knicks should be _______________.
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Steve Aschburner: Doc Rivers? Rivers might or might not be available for the gig, but he’s got the resume and – more important – the outsize personality for it. Even when the team is bad, the media attention is such that a lower-wattage fellow like Jeff Hornacek really never had a chance. Rivers played in New York, he knows what the market requires and he’s got enough of a salesman and schmoozer in him to keep the critics at bay while he brings the basketball along. The only question is, does he have the desire at this stage of his career to climb the rather steep Knicks mountain?
Shaun Powell: Mike Woodson is the choice. He had a good run in his previous Knicks stint and never should’ve been fired anyway. He’s not the popular choice (Mark Jackson) or the basketball insider choice (Jerry Steakhouse) but he’s the safe selection. Anyway, hiring the right coach is the least of the Knicks’ problems but that’s a blogtable question for another day.
John Schuhmann: Someone with patience and player development skills. With Kristaps Porzingis’ development on hold, the Knicks should have a 3-5 year plan, build organically, and focus on the development Frank Ntilikina and their 2018 Lottery pick. Heck, once he returns, Porzingis will still have a lot of work to do to become a complete player. Ntilikina has already been able to make an impact defensively and can special if his offense develops. The Knicks only have to look 80 miles south to find an example of a coach (Brett Brown) who was the perfect fit for a slow rebuild and who established a strong foundation (in regard to player development and style of play) before the talent eventually arrived.
Sekou Smith: Mark Jackson makes all sorts of obvious sense to me. He’s a New Yorker, a former fan-favorite as a player, he understands the Knicks’ predicament and was a culture-changer and talent — developer in Golden State. Which means he probably won’t be the guy. But for all of the same reasons that I love Jackson in that role with the Knicks, I love David Fizdale for the job as well. The Knicks don’t have a team on the cusp of making the playoffs or anything, so there’s no need for some quick-fix approach in their coaching search. They need someone who’s going to come in and dig into the players under contract and help them improve. They need a coach whose aspirations are not focused on being the general manager, someone locked in on the ugly part of “The Process” (to borrow a phrase from the folks down the road in Philadelphia). Fizdale deserves better than what he got in Memphis. This is the right place for him to continue what he started with the Grizzlies.
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