For the select few New York Knicks fans holding out hope that team president Phil Jackson won’t be hiring Kurt Rambis as the team’s next coach, Zen Master disciple and former Denver Nuggets head honcho Brian Shaw has some bad news: He’s almost positive your wishes are futile.
Here’s what he told ESPN’s Hannah Storm, per ESPN.com’s Ian Begley:
Brian Shaw told ESPN’s Hannah Storm that he doesn’t expect to interview for the New York Knicks’ head-coaching vacancy.
“Kurt Rambis is there,” Shaw said on SportsCenter in explaining why he doesn’t anticipate to be interviewed. “He’s very adept at running the triangle, and if Phil Jackson wanted a coach that’s going to run that system for him, he has a guy that’s there that he has confidence in. So I don’t see him bringing in somebody else who has the knowledge of that system when he already has somebody there.”
Big Phil has made it absolutely clear he plans on sticking with the triangle offense, because he believes it can work in today’s NBA, so this isn’t too surprising.
It also means that any contact the Knicks have had with other candidates such as Frank Vogel (Indiana Pacers) and David Blatt (Cleveland Cavaliers) is likely a smokescreen.
In other words, I’m sorry, Knicks fans. Rambis is assured of remaining the your head coach, and there’s no alternative that even appears remotely likely at this point.
That is, unless you believe Jackson hasn’t yet named Rambis coach because he plans on guiding the team himself. Then, you know, there’s totally still some empty hope to which you can cling.
