If coaching the Knicks outside the NBA playoff picture doesn’t get Mike Woodson fired, New York’s interest in Jeff Van Gundy might.
While Speaking during the Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show on ESPN New York 98.7 FM Thursday, Smith said he’s hearing the Knicks have every intention of parting ways with Woodson, per BasketballInsiders.com’s Tommy Beer:
Stephen A Smith, on ESPN radio, says he's hearing that:“The Knicks have every intention of letting Mike Woodson go.” (Likely at end of year)
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 23, 2014
Waiting until after this season feels slightly bizarre. Entering their game against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Knicks are 12 games under .500 and three games off the East Conference’s final playoff spot. Carmelo Anthony is now viewed as a flight risk—Smith himself said as much in December—and the team as a whole is in complete disarray.
All along, the Knicks have sported this “wait it out mentality,” hoping things would turn around. That’s so unlike them. By now, usually, Woodson would have been gone. Hell, Iman Shumpert probably would’ve been gone, too, since owner James Dolan appears to despise him and, you know, the Knicks have this thing about keeping first-round draft picks for more than a second.
This is could be further evidence that the Knicks are tracking toward their old ways, even if they wait until after this season. Why? Because they already have a replacement in mind: Van Gundy.
Smith says the Knicks would eventually target Jeff Van Gundy as their ideal candidate.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 23, 2014
These Van Gundy rumors just won’t die. Earlier in the season, he was named as a potential replacement for Woodson. A well-documented man of principle, Van Gundy has always declined to entertain jobs that are still being held by another coach. But the rumors were enough for ESPN to to take him off a Knicks-Bulls game in December, the thought being his presence could fuel an unnecessary storyline.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
Van Gundy makes some sense as a replacement. Unlike Woodson, he’s actually a defensive specialist. He’s also a bigger name, someone who could come in handy when the Knicks attempt a free-agency coup in 2015. He coached the Knicks for six seasons previously as well, before resigning 19 games through his seventh during the 2001-02 campaign, so there is a sense of familiarity there.
But Van Gundy has never been known to pander superstars, like ‘Melo. Or even be at the mercy of front offices, something Smith said would come into play if he were to return:
Smith says if Van Gundy were to entertain NY job, JVG would demand greater control of bball operations & relaxing of NYK strict media policy
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 23, 2014
Try as we might to brush this off, there’s too much smoke for there not to be some kind of fire. Maybe Van Gundy won’t be the Knicks’ next coach, but the last time their incumbent sideline meanderer was facing this much uncertainty, his name was Mike D’Antoni. And he resigned midseason.
Woodson is under contract through 2014-15 and unlike D’Antoni, he seems to believe in his personnel. At the very least, he doesn’t appear likely to resign. That extra year means little, however, in the scheme of things. New York won’t hesitate to pay him to leave (see Larry Brown).
With that in mind, and with the Knicks waffling between absolutely horrible and completely hopeless, Woodson’s days in New York feel numbered, almost like the question of “Will he keep his job?” is irrelevant.
“Will he be fired this season or over the summer?” seems far more appropriate now.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
