After reaching out to a number of representatives over the last few days, the wheels are turning and the Knicks have officially set their coaching search in motion. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Steve Mills and Scott Perry will meet with a slew of familiar faces this coming week.
Blatt is expected to travel to the States to meet with New York next week, with Knicks officials planning to meet with Fizdale, Jackson, Stackhouse and possibly Woodson this week, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 15, 2018
The initial list of meetings includes former Knicks point guard Mark Jackson, who, to this team’s passionate fan base needs no introduction. David Fizdale is an intriguing candidates with deep ties to the Pat Riley regime in Miami. Jerry Stackhouse is a two-time NBA all-star turned G League championship winning head coach. He and Perry are said to be close dating back to their days with the Detroit Pistons. Despite being chased out of Cleveland by LeBron James, Blatt is one of the best international coaches around and was a collegiate teammate of Mills (and Knicks VP of Player Development Craig Robinson) at Princeton.
There are certainly more unqualified coaches than him set to speak with Knickerbocker brass, but Mike Woodson’s candidacy probably raises the most eyebrows. Currently an assistant coach with the Clippers, the former Knicks head coach was prematurely removed from his post by Phil Jackson. Looking for a defensive-minded coach who will communicate well and hold players accountable, Woodson does have proven success in these areas and fits the bill of what the Knicks are looking for relatively well this time around.
“I don’t want to hide the fact I’d love to be back,’’ Woodson told The New York Post. “I’d like to finish what I started.”
Obviously Woodson and Mills know each other from the former’s previous stint in the Big Apple. As it just so happens, Woodson also assisted Larry Brown during the Pistons’ 2004 championship run, when Perry served in the front office in Detroit.
He could be a better fit (and a more likely candidate) than some expect in the early goings.
It’ll be interesting to see, following this week’s preliminary interviews and conversations, who vibes with the front office well enough to move forward as things progress.
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