The Knicks Fix

Glad you agree with me that Mark Jackson should not get the job (yeah I'm stretching your words a little bit). Do you see how soft Toronto is, why would we want to bring Sam Vincent here with our already soft team.

I honestly don't know anything about Thib, but I'll trust your reporting on how good he is. Big jump from an assitant to a HC. Just curious why no one is mentioning good transition coaches like Bernie Bickerstaff, Fred Carter, or Lucas. If we want to bring in M. Jackson to hold down the fort until 2010 why not bring in someone with experience. Lucas in particular has experience dealing with troubled players.

With Skiles out of the picture my vote is Carlisle.

I saw it mentioned somewhere this AM (I think it was the Post) that Walsh is considering Sam Mitchell. Now I don't know about you cats, but I think that's the move!! I truly believe he's the one that'll "right this ship". He's non-nonsense and defensive-minded enough coach to instil those principles, and respected enough to ensure they're carried out.

I just love how he handled VC's sorry azz in Toronto....there's no doubt he'll do the same with our "fly boys".

IMHO the jury is still out on Jackson. Not so much on his lack of experience, but his arrogance might rub some the wrong way (as it did me when he played), as KUNAT pointed out. Besides, the last thing we need is another "NY kid comes home to save the franchise" thingy....we merely need the best coach available for THIS team, and his name is Sam.

The previous post was mine. This browser/editer is acting kinda wacky.

Glad to see those clips...in Kobe's, and in (ahem) Prince's cousin's, they look like they're actually about four feet off to the side, using the camera angle to make it look like they hopped the car. Great effect though...

And one other thing on Sam Mitchell...he and Marbs were teamates in Minny, and he has a HUGE amount of respect for Sam, where he took him under his wing and provided much-need mentoring for the young fella. Mitchell represents Marbs' best times in the league.

If we can find a coach that'll garner the leaders' respect (and yes, Marbs is STILL the leader of this team, unfortunately) everyone else will fall in line.

it's a "win-win" situation with Sam. He will be available, because his team will be bounced in the first round. Walsh knows that, that's the reason for the stalling.

Avery Johnson is as good a candidate as JVG was, funny Jeff was fired after not getting out of the 1st round year after year, quit on the very team that people wanted him to coach... But the NY media seemed to love him, seems kinda bias to me... Considering Avery coached a team to a championship as well...

i've been a Thibedeou guy since this whole coversation started, and after hearing even more today about his work ethic and how he's regarded as a defensive coach, im starting to think he's almost a no brainer..

i don't care that jax is from NY. thibedou is from winning teams. including winning knicks teams.

I'll take Jax, cause he's not Isiah, but Tommy seems like the surest thing.

alan, i couldn't agree more about avery johnson. i don't think he's got the goods. as for mitchell, the way he's changing his lineups in the playoffs, and paying the price, tells me no go on him either.

i'm ok with giving jax a shot, but i have my doubts. it's not like he was ever known for his defense. let's be real here. we need some d.

which brings me to thib... bring him on!!! this guy knows his stuff. i can't spell his name or say his name right, but i'll find a way to cheer for him anyway! he's a defensive wiz and works his tail off. the ONLY way you can bully up these young nba guys into flying right is if you wokr harder than they do. then you earn their respect. when david lee out hustles your coach all season long, you've got a problem. man, if thibs doesn't take the job, just give it lee!!! david lee 08!!!

Tom Thibodeau's teams have finished in the top 10 defensively 14 of his 17 years. He's like the John Fox of the NBA.

nice research Sergio.

have you calmed down about isiah? (i think it was you that was pretty heated, right?)

We gotta get a Thib movement going. Someone start a Web site. Guy with the giant pink slip at the Garden, stage a publicity stunt.

Those are great video's; the Prince-like guy is hilarious. When I was a teen, we thought about doing that with a TR7, or an MG, but didn't know anyone who owned one.

The difference btw Avery Johnson and JVG going to the finals is that JVG did it with an ailing Ewing (achilles/calf tear).

jax
ewing
oakley or starks those are my picks
jax or ewing beening the head coach

there is nothing to loose..an i think jax can do a good job with the rite assistants.

beasley allday anyday...

stay tuned for more KnowLedge..

I dont know about that Don if it wasnt for Pat getting hurt Camby would have never put up the kind of numbers he did... Because JVG didnt wanna play him, Camby was one of the main reasons we made it to the finals...

Regardless I'm more inclined to go with a guy with some coaching experience, so I like Tom or Avery... Something has to be said for constantly getting your team to about 60 wins in the west, if your Avery... But anybody telling you they know who would be a great coach for this team is talking out his backside... No one has done a good job with this group yet, not even Larry Brown... Its all speculation til someone comes here and actually motivates these dudes...

I'm not convinced that can be done for 82 games...

@ the Kid

First and foremost, let me say that I don't like Jeff Van Gundy to coach the Knicks at this point either. He is the wrong kind of coach for these players, and his offensive sets are very predictable. Without three or four true defense-first type players on a roster, he's the wrong guy in my opinion.

I do like the idea of Thibodeau, but as a "defensive guru", wouldn't he also need some help?

But let me ask you,

Which Jeff Van Gundy are you referring to? If it was the one who coached the Knicks from the middle of the 95/96 season to the middle of the 01/02 season, you're either being facetious or just plain got it wrong.

The "year after year" Van Gundy didn't get out of the first round was 2001, the last full year before he wisely opted out of the Dolan circus. Every other year he coached in NY, he not only made the playoffs but went at least to the semis. What team were you watching?

As for the popular myth of him "quitting on the team", James Dolan began his reign of terror two years before Van Gundy quit. Being a person with a little vision and a shred of self esteem, he obviously saw that the team was circling the bowl because of Dolan and his lapdog Layden and didn't want to be Dolans puppet or the scapegoat for their failures. Good for him. I said it then and I still believe it. We, as fans can not jump ship when things get "wacky" with our team's management (his bosses). JVG as an employee has every right to do so. You wouldn't want to work under those conditions either if you had a choice.

Loyalty is great, but as the saying goes, you can't soar with Eagles if you hang out with turkeys. If it was me I would have gotten out while the getting was good too. Why risk being associated with fools?

If memory serves me correctly bok, Van Gundy actually did say he quit because those fools don't know what they are doing over there (refering to Knicks managemnt). We then proceeded to foolishly trade Sprewell and Camby. Great point, in any other profession we would have all bailed a sinking ship company we did not own too . . .

I do agree with Kid's assessment, though, that the Knicks reached the Finals only because Ewing was hurt, and Van Gundy was forced to more or less turn the team over to Spree and Camby...and it was only when Camby ran into Tim Duncan that the Knicks' season was over.

I wonder...how good a mix would Avery Johnson and, say, Stephon be? It'd be high comedy, at the very least! How many games before Marbury squirted water on his own coach?

Everyone remembers Houston's game winner in the 99 Knicks/Heat series, and Houston played great, but Ewing dominated Mourning (who was an MVP candidate) in that series, and was a big reason why they won. Without Ewing, they probably don't get out of the first round. The only reason they were an eight seed that year is because Ewing was injured. In my opinion, if he was even 75 percent strength for the Spurs series they would have won it.

Stop the Ewing hate already.

I think you are 100% correct about Jackson vs. Thibedeou. It would be nice to bring in a New Yorker like Jackson, but Thibedeou is WAAAAAAAY more proven and already known to be EXCELLENT. It's not like we are comparing two unknowns or a known mediocrity to an unknown. We are comparing perhaps the best defensive coach in the NBA to an unknown. It's NO CONTEST!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who think Avery Johnson is highly over rated as a coach.

It is intriguing to have Thibodeau as coach. Perhaps Jackson could handle the offense as Asst. Head Coach as he gains experience.

@bokonon when I say year after year I'm refering to the job Jeff did in Houston.... And your theory only works if Jeff would have played Camby and Ewing together and I doubt he would have... Because he didnt that whole year... And Jeff got Grunfeld (who brought Camby, Kurt, and Sprewel to the team) fired so he was responsible for Layden being there....

I agree Mike, Steph and Avery would clash but I doubt Marbury will be on the team... Avery might be able to teach Nate alot about being an undersized guard in the league tho...

Good point, bokonon. I overlooked the Miami series...but Pat was in serious decline that year, a shell of his former self. He never learned to defer to younger, sprier players, which is the main reason the Robinson/Duncan partnership worked so well.

Those comments on Thibodeau definitely represent the type of coach the Knicks need. I still think that Laimbeer and Mario Elle would be interesting candidates and the only former head coach that I think should also be considered is Paul Silas, whose name has not seemed to even be mentioned by any writer.

Alan,

Any whispers that Butch Beard may be on Walsh's list
for head coach?

whatever happened to paul westphal ??

thibedeaux can be quite intriguing...if you keep beating me over tha head i can get on his bandwagon as well. but for now i think MJ can get all in these boys' behind when they don't do what they r supposed to be doing...esp fatso curry. plz trade him on draft day !! i can't take another season of him. he can maybe get steff to get his act together....i think he is def our man. & not to mention he's from st. john's baby.

whatever happened to paul westphal ??

thibedeaux can be quite intriguing...if you keep beating me over tha head i can get on his bandwagon as well. but for now i think MJ can get all in these boys' behind when they don't do what they r supposed to be doing...esp fatso curry. plz trade him on draft day !! i can't take another season of him. he can maybe get steff to get his act together....i think he is def our man. & not to mention he's from st. john's baby.

Look Willis, I can’t find fault with a word you wrote. And, obviously, any team would be lucky to have either player, and especially a team that’s been built to include as little talent as the Knicks now possess. So it gets a little silly – Ferrari or Lamborghini? Okay, I’ll choose the former, but wouldn’t be too disappointed with either.

Paul and LeBron are both great young players. I just prefer having my super star have the physical presence to dominate the court the way LeBron can. Also, I think it’s easier to get a journeyman point guard (easier for most GMs, except Isiah, of course), then it is find even a marginally talented forward who can do half the things LeBron can do.

But, fine – I’ll take LeBron. You take Paul – I’ll buy dinner the first night of the Finals.

I've been a Thibodeau backer since before the happy canning of the Weasel, for the transformation in Boston's defensive identity that many within the Celtic's organization, including players, have credited him with. Recent comments such as Rondo's just reinforce this. I don't think Thibodeau is a magic bullet - a huge part of Boston's make-over comes from the influence of Garnett on his teammates and his ability to direct defensive assignments and rotations while on the floor. The Knicks are unlikely to find a player like that - Duncan and maybe Sheed are the only ones I can think of who can anchor an elite defense. Nevertheless, someone gifted at coming up with and teaching a defensive system with sound principles, and demanding accountability would be a huge step in the right direction for this organization.

I am also all right with Jax although I prefer Thibodeau, to the point where if Jax were hired and didn't work out, I wouldn't be whining about Walsh's "blunder." Other than those two - JVG's tenure in Houston really tarnished his luster in my eyes. He was effective in NY with a team that had a scrambling defensive identity. In Houston he tried to force the same type of system on a different sort of group with disappointing results. This makes him look inflexible and slow to respond to the new rules that have opened the floor and pretty much made 90's style Knick's basketball a memory.

I watch a lot of Raptor's games, and I'm not sold on Mitchell. His team underachieved, and other than Calderon (who was older when he came over) the rookies (Bargnani, Joey Graham) haven't developed. Not sure if that is Mitchell's fault, but after what we have gone through here, it is a bit scary. I also think Avery is overrated and has been exposed in last year's playoffs and this season, although that could also be inexperience and the fact that Kidd has aged into a liability.

Trane - you're on!

Here's hoping we can speak of one of them as "our" guy one day.

And aint that what it really comes down to:

Do you have the owner that makes the right call on the right management, let's them do their job, do you have the right GM to get the right players, the right coach to create the scheme in which they thrive. And since we've had some Ewing talk on this string, wouldn't it have been nice if Checketts had been their from the beginning and they had built it right around Patrick and he'd had one coach like Karl Malone had in Jerry Sloan riding herd his whole career. Wasted years.

One hopes for LeBron's sake, they get it right over there - I don't think the current system is right at all. Let's hope for us they keep effing up and LeBron is fed up and decides to take on New York. But seriously, what kind of offense consists of getting the ball OUT of the hands of your best player to start the posession? I'm very happy LeBron can dribble the ball, but wouldn't it be better if the possessions ENDED with the ball in LeBron's hands somewhere inside the 3 point line? Get your head under the rim young man and dominate all the small forwards in the league the way Bernard King did. You'll get as many assists if not more, you'll pass out of double teams to open shooters with better angles (even Damon Jones can hit if the ball comes straight out of the paint or off rhythm ball rotations) and you'll average double figures in rebounds every night. That's how you'll dominate the league, not dancing around the three point line. Does anybody in Cleveland have the balls to tell him to play his position? The guy is supremely talented, he can play any way he wants, the way they play now, I think they let teams off the hook, basically begging for double teams to get the ball out of his hands to get shots for, whom?

Saw in Alan's story today about The Rifleman being
tossed into the coaching mix. He's been good out here
in Sacramento. In fact, Kevin Martin has learned
quite a few things about shooting from Chuck Person
and I wouldn't be surprised that when Martin makes the
next couple all star teams, he tosses some credit to
the ole Rifleman.

I'm not thinking Person should be "the guy," but all
my fellow Fixers should know that if Person is on the
bench for our Knicks in an assistant capacity that
he'll do a damn fine job.

I still don't think, however, that MJax is ready. If
he gets the job, he needs to surround himself with
very experienced assistants, that's for sure.

Thib is a great candidate for head coach, but that
said, some guys are better teachers than they are head
coaches...

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=8414

Trane - the Fixers got your back! Keep up the good work

Willis - agree. LeBron's otherworldliness has kind of camouflaged how poorly GMed and coached the Cavs are. LeBron getting discouraged with the organization is the biggest factor if he decides to leave.

Brian - "some guys are better teachers" - that is the big concern with Thibodeau. I'm high on him, but I will admit that the head coach's seat is another world from being an assistant and he hasn't proven he can do it.