With the NBA playoffs set to being tomorrow, the New York Knicks are preparing for next year already. The 2013-14 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Knicks. They boast one of the NBA's highest payrolls and have the league's second-leading scorer (Carmelo Anthony), yet missed out on the postseason in a watered-down Eastern Conference.
Anthony is a free agent this offseason, and has publicly stated he prefers to remain in New York but needs assurances the franchise is headed in the right direction. While he also has professed support for embattled head coach Mike Woodson, it appears the Knicks' first order of business is a coaching change according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.
"Mike Woodson said he still hopes to talk to Phil Jackson about remaining as head coach next season, but wouldn't say if he will help the Knicks team president conduct exit meetings Thursday and Friday with the players. Woodson said he'd like to find out his status "soon" and he likely will in the next 48 hours," Berman wrote.
One of the leading candidates to replace him is former NBA champion Steve Kerr, currently a TNT analyst. The Post also reported Kerr "absolutely expects" to be offered the job because of ties to Phil Jackson, New York's new front office king. Kerr has never coached before, but he did serve as general manager for the Phoenix Suns from 2007-2010.
Jackson and the Knicks would be hoping that his basketball acumen is deep enough from his playing days to handle the job, a la Jason Kidd of the Brooklyn Nets, while his GM experience can help him build a more cohesive roster than they've had since bringing Anthony on board.
The coach could be a deciding factor in Anthony's will-he-or-won't-he saga, so this decision must be made carefully. 'Melo turns 30 next season, but had arguably his best year to date with 27.4 ppg, a career-high 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
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