New York Knicks: Patrick Ewing deserves an interview for head coaching job
By Nick Ziegler
The New York Knicks need to find a coach for next season, and Patrick Ewing is making his pitch to lead the franchise.
Recent talk about the New York Knicks’ head coaching position has been about Phil Jackson’s desire to keep Kurt Rambis as the head coach next season, but nothing is set in stone yet about who the next coach will be for the Knicks. One coach that would like an interview for the job is Hall-of-Famer and Knick legend, Patrick Ewing.
“You know, this is a great fit for me. I have my number up there (in the Garden rafters). I still live in the area,” Ewing said to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “If I get an opportunity for an interview I’d be happy.”
“I’ve been doing this, what, 13 years now? I see people who don’t have the same amount on their resume as I do and still have gotten opportunities,” Ewing said Wednesday before the Knicks hosted the Hornets to Bondy. “It is what it is. All I can do is continue to work, continue to get better at my craft, and hopefully, one day somebody will give me an opportunity and I’ll show that I’m ready.”
Ewing was reportedly offered to be the head coach of the Knicks’ D-League team a few seasons ago, which was a bit of a slap in the face to a player who has had so much success with the franchise, and who also has a legitimate coaching resume.
Ewing is currently the lead assistant coach to Steve Clifford of the Charlotte Hornets, who believes that his former colleague with the Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, will have a job next season.
“He loves the game. He loves the NBA. He’s a brilliant basketball coach,” Clifford said to Bondy. “He’ll be a better coach for wherever he goes next year even than he was last year. And you can make the argument in the time he’s been in the league, look he’s been one of the best two or three coaches. And I guarantee you he’s grown this year.”
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Fans will be very upset if Rambis is on the sideline again next season, as they have shown no improvement with him as the head coach, and his coaching resume is extremely poor compared to other candidates.
Jackson seems to be set on keeping one of his guys as the coach of the Knicks to run the triangle offense, which would take out qualified candidates like Ewing and Thibodeau from being considered for the job.