There’s an offseason move that bears watching for the Knicks, more so than you think.
Folks around the league are interested in who the franchise taps to replace assistant coach Kenny Payne, believing the choice is a sign as to whether Tom Thibodeau has regained autonomy over his staff or will again cede to the front office.
As a condition of getting hired in the summer of 2020, Thibodeau was forced to take on three assistants at the front of his bench, which ultimately became Payne, Mike Woodson and Johnnie Bryant. The logic, beyond former agents Leon Rose and William Wesley getting CAA clients better jobs, was that Thibodeau had problems managing relationships and personalities at his previous stop in Minnesota, so why not bring in coaches who can communicate without being so closely associated with the head coach? Thibodeau is much stronger at the planning and in-game strategizing areas of coaching, and he dominates those areas on his staff, without much room for collaboration.
Of course, such a setup is combustible and can breed distrust. It backfired when Phil Jackson forced Derek Fisher to use triangle-friendly assistants Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons, but worked all the way to a Lakers title when Frank Vogel was handed Jason Kidd, Phil Handy and Lionel Hollins.
With the Knicks, it’s hard to argue with the results of last season, when they exceeded all expectations and Julius Randle—who is close with Payne—burst above all projections with an All-NBA selection. But the encore has been a colossal failure, with the Knicks falling to the bottom third of the East and Randle devolving into an unreliable player/leader.
Thibodeau’s staff remained the same after Woodson left for Indiana University last season, with Thibodeau’s hand-picked assistants—Andy Greer, Darren Erman, Dice Yoshimoto—all remaining on the bench.
With Payne now gone for the University of Louisville, it begs the important question: who will be the replacement? If Erman moves up to the front of bench—as he’s done since Payne left—and somebody like Larry Greer is promoted, it’s a sign Thibodeau is controlling the process. Another potential hire connected to Thibodeau is Rick Brunson, the former Knick who served as Thibodeau’s assistant in Chicago and Minnesota. Brunson nearly left his position as head coach of Camden High School in South Jersey to join the Knicks before last season.
But if it’s an assistant not associated with Thibodeau, the signs point to Wesley again exerting his influence. Either way, it should be interesting, especially in the wake of the news earlier this season that Wesley had been privately blaming Thibodeau for the team’s struggles.
PING PONG TIME
With the Knicks officially eliminated, their next important date is May 17 in Chicago, where the ping pong balls will decide where they draft.
And since the Knicks were hovering around the play-in tournament for much of the season, their odds aren’t encouraging. Following Sunday’s dominating 118-88 victory over the Magic, the Knicks moved down to the 11th worst record in the league, with still a chance to finish between 8th and 12th.
In the likeliest scenario where they’re either 10th or 11th in the draft lottery, the Knicks would have an 11.7% chance of picking in the top-3 and a 2.5% chance of picking first.
Remarkably, the Knicks haven’t moved in the lottery since 1985, meaning they’ve picked either at ranking or below.
Obi Toppin—the team’s last lottery pick—matched a career-high with 20 points Sunday in Orlando.
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Source: Berkshire mont
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