Rick Fox

Knicks Notes: Jackson, Rambis, Anthony, Dolan

Knicks president Phil Jackson will consider other coaching candidates beyond Kurt Rambis, but only if he knows them well and they believe in the triangle offense, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Jackson said the coaching search could stretch through July, presumably to see if Golden State assistant Luke Walton would be interested. Jackson admitted the Knicks “came apart at the end of the season,’’ finishing 9-19 after Rambis took over, but he added that the interim coach will get an interview. Berman lists Brian Shaw, Bill CartwrightRick Fox and Scott Brooks as others likely to be interviewed. Jackson may also take the recommendation of GM Steve Mills and talk to former Cavaliers coach David Blatt.

Ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau may be left off that list, as Jackson is devoted to the triangle and lashed out at critics of the approach. “That’s what I was brought here for — to install a system,’’ he said. “That’s all part of the package. Who are these people? Do they have 11 championships to talk about?”

There’s more postseason news from New York:

  • Jackson would like to bring free agents Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas back next season, Berman tweets. That also applies to Derrick Williams if he doesn’t decide to opt out of his $4.598MM deal.
  • There has been speculation about Carmelo Anthony forcing his way out of New York if the Knicks don’t have a productive summer in free agency, and the veteran forward said again today that his greatest desire is to win, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. “I’ve thought about [playing somewhere else],” said Anthony, who could waive his no-trade clause and demand to be dealt elsewhere. “Only thing I think about is winning more, whether it’s here or somewhere else.” (Twitter link).
  • The coaching decision will be vital to Anthony and owner James Dolan, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Isola calls on Dolan to order a meeting with Anthony and Jackson where they can discuss their vision of the next coach. The columnist also urges Jackson to give up on the triangle and adjust to “the modern NBA,” which includes interviewing Thibodeau, Blatt, Brooks, Mark Jackson and Patrick Ewing.

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Knicks, Pistons, Stiemsma

The Hawks lost an estimated $23.9MM on their basketball operations last season, a figure partially offset by $11MM in combined proceeds from luxury tax payouts and the league’s revenue-sharing plan, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The Bucks, who went for $550MM this spring, lost an estimated $6.5MM, but revenue sharing lifted them to a profit, Lowe also reveals. Still, the NBA and its television partners are expected to strike a deal that would give the league an average of more than $2 billion a year, up from $930MM in the current agreement, as John Lombardo and John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal report. The NBA is a hot property, but while outgoing owner Bruce Levenson has the controlling stake in the Hawks, he doesn’t have the majority share, Lowe notes. It remains to be seen whether the Hawks sale will reap a figure close to the $2 billion Steve Ballmer paid for the Clippers, the Bucks sale price, or an entirely different number, but as we wait to see, here’s more from the East:

  • Knicks owner James Dolan and team president Phil Jackson have agreed to keep the existing front office staff in place for a year, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. The club hasn’t let go of any front office personnel since Jackson’s hiring, and the only addition has been Clarence Gaines Jr., who serves as an adviser to Jackson, Berman points out. Rick Fox said Sunday that he’d be interested in joining the organization, though there’s been no movement toward that end, as Berman chronicles.
  • Otis Smith confirms that he and Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy discussed making Smith the team’s GM, a job that instead went to Jeff Bower, but Smith told Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel that the timing wasn’t right (Twitter links).I don’t think I’m ready to go back to NBA,” said Smith, the former Magic GM who joined the Pistons as the coach of their D-League team.
  • Greg Stiemsma‘s one-year deal for the minimum salary with the Raptors is indeed partially guaranteed, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link).