The Knicks Fix

We've seen just about every possible name associated with the Knicks job at this point. And that trend will continue as long as Donnie Walsh continues to extend this process of finding a coach.

But Mike D'Antoni?

According to SI.com, D'Antoni's days in Phoenix are over after another playoff ouster at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs.

McCallum speculates that the situation in Phoenix might go a little more surreptitiously than the usual fired-then-hired routine. For instance, the Suns may not fire D'Antoni, but if another team happens to call for permission to speak with him, they might grant it. Then if he gets an offer, the Suns let him out of the final two years of his contract.

If this is the case, I would expect Walsh to make this call ASAP. When a former NBA Coach of the Year is available, you make a call.

And he should do so before Bryan Colangelo pulls a quick reverse on Sam Mitchell. D'Antoni's up-tempo style would be more conducive to the Raptors personnel than the Knicks (as they are currently constructed) so you could see Toronto as a better fit logistically. If that's the case, Walsh could then go for Mitchell, who is more New York-style with discipline and defense as his mantra (not that the Raps showed either).

Though it happens all around sports (see: Joe Torre) this sloppy-seconds thing is a little disturbing (getting a fired guy who was replaced by another fired guy and neither reached their expectations with a better roster than the Knicks), but at least with D'Antoni, you're getting one of the top coaches in the league. (The Suns demise has more to do with Steve Kerr, IMHO...you trade Shawn Marion and don't make up his minutes? Foolish).

And while Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson sure would love it, can you see Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph keeping pace in D'Antoni's exhausting system? The Suns, with Steve Nash at the point, made D'Antoni's style look fun. The Knicks might make it look really, really ugly, especially considering how most of the team has an allergic reaction to conditioning.

But with some moves here and there, in time Walsh could construct the right mix for that style. And the Garden could see some entertaining ball for a change. That's if D'Antoni wants the challenge (and to deal with some losing at first). McCallum writes that D'Antoni might just take a year off from coaching.

Or, instead of the Knicks and as an alternative to Toronto, he might be better off taking the Bulls job. That roster is a lot more set up for his style of play and a lot closer to being a winner sooner.

One question I have in all of this is, who does Phoenix then bring in to replace D'Antoni? What is out there that is so much better than him? This is a team with a veteran roster that doesn't have much time left, so a rookie coach might be an even more precarious choice than maintaining status quo.

The Knicks are still looking for a coach, but Larry Brown has already found himself a new team. He suddenly became affordable to the tightwad Charlotte Bobcats because LB has that $18 mil of walkaway money, courtesy of the Knicks, who, did we mention, are still looking for a coach.

Brown was on Mike Tirico's show on ESPN Radio today and expressed regret about his one-year debacle as coach of the Knicks in 2005-06.

"I thought it was so important to go to New York and help, because I thought if you did a good job in New York as a coach, you helped our sport and you helped our game and helped the NBA," he said. "And I was so disappointed in what I did."

Tirico then responded, "When you see the way the New York thing has gone, Larry, it wasn't just you."

To which Brown replied, "I was the coach and ultimately that's my responsibility. They gave me a great opportunity, it didn't work out, but I'm lucky enough to land on my feet . . . It doesn't make me feel any better that somebody else struggles."

Especially not now that Isiah Thomas is no longer in charge of the franchise. Though Brown probably won't ever get over James Dolan's decision to side with Isiah instead of him, LB won't have as much disdain for the Knicks with his old friend, Donnie Walsh, now running things.

Still I had to laugh at a quote published last week in the New York Post by Brown's agent, Joe Glass, who was asked if Larry would consider a Knicks comeback under Walsh: "We already got out of that gulag."

Brown should do well with the Bobcats, who have young talent. You would expect Michael Jordan will do whatever Brown asks, which is exactly how Brown wants it. Expect Ray Felton to hate life, but perhaps play the best if his young career once he figures it out. Being a Carolina guy might help him only a little.

Right now, with Brown, you have to argue the Bobcats are in a better situation going forward than the Knicks. We still have to see who Walsh hires as coach, what they do at the draft and, of course, what happens with the roster this summer before we make a final judgement.

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* - There were some gossip items in the tabloids today involving a party that Zach Randolph threw at The Plumm, which is a West Village hangout. Apparently Z-Bo was telling people he doesn't expect to be back with the Knicks next season. But a more interesting story involved Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley, who apparently lost his Blackberry at the place and was trying to get other guests such as Vince Carter and Mardy Collins to help him find it. Tinsley reportedly offered a G to the Plumm staff to find it.

* - Just got word from Toronto that Bryan Colangelo today said he's not making a coaching change....at this time. Does this change if Mike D'Antoni suddenly is available? Perhaps, but considering the money owed to Mitchell, I think he's relatively safe. Now if the Raps get off to a poor start next season, that's a different story. Colangelo has some other tough decisions to make this summer, including what to do with his point guard situation. He needs more scoring at the two spot and could use someone to ride shotgun in the toughness department next to Chris Bosh. This may be a total wildcard, but as I watched the Raptors in the playoffs, I kept thinking to myself that this team might be perfect for Ron Artest. He'd give them the snarl they lack, he can hit an outside shot and certainly can run. He fits their game, plus he plays the way Mitchell wants to play. Just a thought.

A strange development we've been following closely here during the Knicks coaching search is the evolving situation between Patrick Ewing and his former team.

You all remember that Ewing over the weekend went on TNT with John Thompson and admitted that it “bothered” him to not get a call from the Knicks regarding the coaching vacancy.

“Obviously I played in New York, I know the area, I know the team, I know the fans, I know everybody, I know the media,” the Big Fella said. “So, naturally, I would have loved to interview.”

So why not pick up the phone?

We're told that Ewing, nor anyone among his representation, has reached out to Donnie Walsh to express said interest.

The campaign started last week in Orlando, however. Magic GM Otis Smith said no one would need permission to contact their assistants. And Stan Van Gundy went out of his way to promote Ewing as someone who should be a candidate for the Knicks job.

They're basically giving Patrick all the approval he needs to pursue the job, even in the midst of a playoff run.

And . . . ?

“Donnie’s wondering why someone hasn’t called,” said a person with knowledge of the situation.

During his playing career, David Falk represented Ewing. But, as per NBA rules, Falk can not represent clients in coaching and management positions while also representing players, so Ewing has to find someone else to represent him. Not too difficult. Falk's gotta know a few reputable people.

It would then be up to that person to contact Walsh. But...

didn't Ewing earlier this month say he would prefer to be contacted?

“I think it would probably be best if they came to me,” Ewing said on April 6, when the Orlando Magic visited the Garden.

According to the source I spoke with, that isn’t the best plan of action.

“Considering the quality of candidates who have called,” the source said, “that kind of sense of entitlement is going to hurt him in the end.”

It seems Ewing's best chance of a return to the Knicks is as an assistant coach, perhaps on Mark Jackson's staff. Herb Williams would also look to bring The Big Fella in, if he got the job.

But, after this experience, would Ewing accept the invitation?

Perhaps Bob Raissman is a Fixer. Or he just writes with common sense and no fear of repercussion.

Raissman's column today in the Daily News echoed the sentiments of many of you in the comments area, some louder than others. And like you, Raissman called out some of us in the media.

And he is damn right.

The delicate handling Jackson has receieved by the local press is quite curious. Aside from a few columns (Newsday's Shaun Powell was one who immediately disagreed with the idea of hiring the inexperienced Jackson ahead of an experienced candidate), most of the coverage has focused on when Jackson met with Donnie Walsh, what assistant coaches he will hire and getting people such as Rick Pitino and Lou Carnasecca to endorse him.

But as Raissman wrote today:

Jackson's popularity with the media has led to mostly fawning coverage. It has left no room to reminisce about his helicopter days and rabbit ears. As a young man, Jackson did have a rather unique attitude. In 1989, after the Knicks lost the first game in a playoff series with Chicago, Jackson said Knicks fans were "just like rats. They're the first ones to jump off the ship when it's sinking."

I know I read about the "rats" line before from one of you in Fixer Nation.

We here have tried not to have such tunnel vision when it comes to Jackson. Is there a fear that -- with the prevailing belief it's Jackson's job if he wants it -- he will know who was critical of him and who was not and treat those who were not as favorable differently?

Hell, I hope not. Because that would make him a phony. And we already had one of those.

I think we've been pretty consistent here at the Fix: we're not saying Jackson would not be a good coach, we just think you have to strongly consider someone with experience on an NBA bench. Can this franchise really afford to gamble at this point in history?

It doesn't matter to me who becomes the coach. I still have a job no matter who they hire. So it does me no good to, say, tell one of the lead candidates something like, "I really want you to get the job." Quite frankly, I really want me to keep my job. So I'll do mine. If you do yours well, we'll get along fine.

With that, you should know we had a story today about Patrick Ewing's comments to John Thompson during the TNT broadcast yesterday. Patrick is making it known he is not happy that the Knicks have yet to reach out to him about the head coaching vacancy. I think there is also some blame to put on the New York media (myself included) for not including Ewing among the names we asked Donnie about regarding the search.

I don't believe Walsh is purposely slighting Ewing as, perhaps, Isiah did last summer when Ewing was looking for an assistant coach position. I believe Walsh is used to doing things his way and that includes not interrupting teams in the midst of a playoff series. Magic GM Otis Smith said permission is not required to speak with his assistants and I'm sure Walsh has made note of this.

But I also thought it was interesting back in one of Walsh's earlier interviews when he was asked about bringing back Knick players to be part of the organization and Walsh said he was always open to having an actively involved alumni with the Pacers. But to a point.

"Now, you know, I don’t want every Tom, Dick and Harry...," he said with a laugh, "but yeah, I want it to be a place that they understand we value what they did here, the guys that played here. And they’re not just forgotten when they stop playing. That doesn’t mean I can hire everybody, that doesn’t mean a lot of things. But they should be welcome here."

Speaking of inexperience, the Daily News today reported that TNT analyst Kenny Smith will interview with Walsh this week about a front office job. Smith is yet another guy with zero experience, but a front office job under Walsh is often more like an internship. I wouldn't look at it the same as the head coach position.

But keep in mind there is a lot of interest in this job, which, right now, Glen Grunwald still has. There will be some very experienced people angling for a front office position under Walsh if he decides to open up a search for a general manager.

Enjoy your Sunday.

We ran a story in today's Newsday that said Donnie Walsh flew to Phoenix to meet with Mark Jackson.

So the process has officially begun. I don't expect things will come together quickly, unless Jax blew DW away in their meeting. There are other candidates for Walsh to get to, but, as we said, if Jackson came across to Walsh as well as Larry Bird did in 1997, then Walsh might see no reason to carry on.

Stay tuned . . .

A call to Donnie Walsh's phone was met with a grumbling, "Hello?"

After identifying himself, the questioner asked, quite plainly: "There was a report that you're meeting Mark Jackson today at the Garden...."

"I'm not talking today," Walsh abruptly replied. "I'm not at the Garden. I didn't meet anyone at the Garden. So the report was wrong."

OK, so where are you?

"I'm in the bathroom!"

Oopsie.

With that he hung up and, once he was finished in the loo, of course, probably wrote himself a memo:

1. New media policy excludes access in the john.

So, depending on what report you have read (and are willing to trust) Jackson either met with Walsh yesterday somewhere other than the Garden, or traveled to Phoenix to meet with him or maybe will meet with him next week.

Walsh made it a point yesterday to tell his PR staff to tell us reporters that he is not giving daily updates. He is a New Yorker, but he's never experienced anything like this in Indiana, where he dealt with one beat writer on a daily basis, not seven that cover the team here in New York. During the conference call on Tuesday he was asked if he would divulge when and where he planned to meet with Jackson.

"No," Walsh replied, "because then you’ll be peeking through the windows."

He chuckled, but only a little.

But Donnie's right, at times like these we're tip-toeing the line between reporter and paparazzo.

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So we'll continue to scramble to find out when and where DW and Jax met, will meet or are meeting, and try to compile the names of those who are on the current short list (while also tossing out every other possible name, even those who are currently coaching other teams).

- Avery Johnson still has a job, but everyone knows his on the hot seat in Dallas. Wouldn't surprise me if his people are already putting feelers out to teams looking for coaches, just to gauge interest.

- George Karl is an obvious one because he and Walsh have Carolina bloodlines and Karl has always talked romantically about New York and the Garden.

- Sam Mitchell, too, has the link to Donnie Walsh via the Pacers.

But Walsh hasn't reached that point yet. Obviously the longer this process goes, the less Jackson's chances are. Walsh wants Jackson to impress him and prove his instincts correct. Who knows when Walsh will get the chance to meet with Tom Thibodeau, even if the Celtics have a break between the first and second rounds. Doc Rivers publicly said he'd allow his assistants to interview for jobs during the playoffs, but if Walsh allows, I'm sure Thibodeau would prefer it not to happen until after the Celtics are finished.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel wrote a story about Stan Van Gundy talking about Patrick Ewing as a coaching candidate.

"This amazes me," SVG said. "All these names out there and they're not talking about him . . . I'm bewildered that one of the absolute greats in the New York Knicks' organization. . . . and they're not talking about him at all."

It should be noted that Walsh has not sought permission to speak with any potential candidate who is working for another team. That does not mean Ewing is on his list of people to call, but you can assume that if Walsh is aware of Ewing's interest in the job, he would extend him an interview. In the Sentinel's story, Magic GM Otis Smith said the Knicks (nor any other team) would need permission to speak with any of its coaches.

This process is only going to come to a quick result if Mark Jackson blows away Walsh in that interview that either took place yesterday, today or sometime soon.

With that said, I have my calls to make today. After I go to the bathroom....

I'm not as convinced that we in the media should focus solely on Mark Jackson as if it is a given he has the job. I think Donnie Walsh, despite inclinations that he would like to give Jackson the job, also feels like he wants to do his due dilligence here because there are many, many options for him.

Let me hit this at the top: Avery Johnson should not be an option.

Why are we going re-tread here? Why would anyone promote the idea that a coach who is apparently failing with a dramatically more talented roster of players in Dallas could be successful with the Knicks? Avery Johnson dealing with the New York media every day -- and three times a day on game days -- is a precarious scenario all by itself.

I like Sam Mitchell -- he's no-nonsense -- and I know he has a connection with Donnie through the Pacers, but, again, unless you've run out of options, what makes Mitchell such a commodity if they're ready to run him out of town in Toronto?

Fixers, keep the filter on when you read such reports. Reality is the hardest perspective to maintain when speculation dominates the landscape.

The assumption is it's Jackson's job, unless he blows the interview. I think we can't get ahead of the facts, which is that Walsh speaks highly of Jackson and the potential he has to be a coach. But Walsh never said he was convinced of it. That part is up to Jackson. And, quite frankly, we don't even know if Jackson really wants this job.

He'll interview, for sure. But with no experience on a bench in any capacity outside being a player, Jackson has no idea what it takes. Suppose he gets to December and realizes the job is demanding way too much of his time and energy? He won't know this until the day comes.

Or he's already considered it and is preparing for it with the same intensity and determination that Larry Bird apparently wowed Walsh with back in 1997, when he interviewed for the Pacers job. Larry had Donnie at hello. Mark has to do the same.

From the people I've talked to over the past week, Tom Thibodeau is sure to bring the kind of preparation and energy that Bird brought to his interview. Thibodeau's life is coaching. He's the type that sleeps in the office and watches game film as a means to unwind. If there is ever a prototype for changing the culture of a team -- work ethic, discipline and preparation -- Thibodeau is it.

The Celtics have known him for just one season and check out how they raced about him in today's Boston Herald.

"He’s the best defensive coach I’ve ever played for," Rajon Rondo said. "He’s the hardest working coach that I’ve ever seen. I asked him a question about how he works one time, and he said that it takes him four hours to break down one film."

Added Brian Scalabrine, "Everyone uses the same things, but not everyone teaches the same way. [Thibodeau] is a good teacher. The thing about him is that he can teach everyone to do this. As long as Tom gets a team where he can implement what he does, he’ll be like a lot of guys who could be great head coaches. But hell yeah, that man can coach. With the way we run our system, he’s dialed in on the defensive end."

I'm not saying that Jackson can't do the job or won't bring all the necessary tools to the job. I'm saying I don't know because he's never done the job. And I think when you're the Knicks and you are where you are with the franchise, I don't know you can just hand the job to an inexperienced person just because he has New York roots, swagger and was a damn good point guard. Jackson's got to want this job bad enough to say good-bye to his family for seven months out of the year (actually, you'd prefer it goes longer) and focus all of his energy on his job.

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Gotta toss this in:

Kobe Bryant jumps an Aston Martin...

He says "Do not try this at home," but, of course, people did...

And Prince's third-cousin twice removed did...

And then Kenny Smith...ouch

Newsday's Katie Strang was at midtown's Cafe Oakley, where the Oak Man himself was screening a pilot for a cooking show.

Here's the story she posted:

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By Katie Strang

He was known for his prowess in the paint, but former New York Knick Charles Oakley demonstrated he has some serious skills in the kitchen as well.

During an exclusive screening of his own cooking show named “Café Oakley” in Midtown Manhattan, Oakley served up some of his favorite dishes including fried chicken, smothered steak, and macaroni salad. After the screening of the show, which he plans to shop around at different networks, Oakley also served up some insight into his former team, the New York Knicks, who recently fired head coach Isiah Thomas after finishing a dreadful 23-59.

“It’s a bad situation for the city,” Oakley said of the Knicks’ effort this season, at least some of which he attributed to Thomas’ coaching style. “What he’s done in the past five years for the team has been garbage.”

Oakley said he saw the Knicks play at various points throughout the season, and noticed they did not look well-coached to play defense. Just because Thomas was a great player, Oakley said, doesn’t make him a good coach.

“He should’ve been fired a couple years ago. He wasn’t fit for the organization,” Oakley said.
Oakley believes Thomas’ successor should be Herb Williams, who is a longtime Knicks assistant and former player.

“They’ve should’ve given Herb the job [before],” Oakley said.

While television analyst Mark Jackson seemed to be the initial frontrunner with new team president Donnie Walsh, Williams has been short-listed as well, and Oakley believes his loyalty to the organization should be rewarded.

“He would bring just as much as Lenny Wilkens brought here. More than Isiah, no question. He needs a chance, and they should give him a chance, because every time they’ve asked him to do something, he’s done it over the years,” Oakley said.

Oakley also said he has spoken to former teammate Patrick Ewing about the current Knicks coaching vacancy, and that Ewing said he would be interested if Williams was coach. Oakley said he himself would be interested in coaching in some capacity if the right person was hired as head coach. At this point, Oakley said, the Knicks don’t have much to lose in taking a chance on Williams and investing in one of their own.

“They’ve fired everybody else,” Oakley said. “They may as well give him a chance.”

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In case you didn't catch it on Newsday.com's main page yesterday, veteran columnist John Jeansonne wrote a solid, in-depth piece about Jeff Van Gundy. As most Jeansonne pieces, this one's a must read.

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Had a lively debate about the coaching search last night with fellow Fixer Brandon Tierney on his ESPN Radio show (7-10 p.m. weekdays). Brandon says if he had to choose between Mark Jackson and Patrick Ewing, he'd choose Jackson "seven days a week." I challenged him as to why he was so convinced about a guy who has never done the job before, yet has zero confidence in Ewing, who has, at least, spent four seasons on an NBA bench as an assistant coach. BT and I went at it and it was fun. Almost felt like I was auditioning for The WheelHouse, which is his show (along with Brian Custer and Scott Ferrall) on SNY at 6:30 p.m.

Yeah, I know. I have a face for newsprint. But if Isola can keep getting his mug on camera...

Yo, BT has some life, though. Single dude, living in Manhattan, radio gig, TV show. And he plugs The Fix whenever he can on his show, so we gotta break off a little for him here.

There has been a need for some damage control after it was revealed that Isiah Thomas would remain with the organization in some capacity rather than be outright fired from his position. This afternoon on the Max Kellerman show on ESPN Radio, Donnie Walsh addressed the Isiah situation:

"I don't want there to be some kind of double-voice here, so he's answering to me and nobody's reporting to him," Walsh said. " . . . He's not going to be here on a full-time basis anymore. I'll be calling the shots, I'm in charge of the franchise. It's my responsibility where it was his."

Walsh also added this about Isiah's role:

“There is no job description. He more or less is going to – when I call him and ask him to do things, he’s a guy, for me, that I could call up and say, ‘Listen, there’s a tournament in Europe and there’s a guy playing and I want you to go see him and give me an opinion on this guy.’. . . That would be an example of the kind of things I would ask Isiah.”

Walsh also had a conference call with the writers. More on that later...