http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/310172p-265407c.html Phil of waiting As Jax plays field, Herb digs in BY FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Herb Williams would be first to point out that Knicks already have right man for coaching job. Isiah Thomas' search for a coach has hit a lull, which is another way of saying that the Knicks' worst fear - waiting around while Phil Jackson uses them as leverage - has come to fruition. Herb Williams remains the leading candidate because Jackson, who claimed for years that coaching the Knicks was his professional destiny, does not want to tarnish his legacy by trying to teach Stephon Marbury the triangle offense. And even if Jackson did come to the Knicks, the first thing he would do is attempt to dismantle the roster Thomas put together. Few NBA executives believe that a Jackson-Thomas celebrity marriage would last. Fortunately for Thomas, Jackson appears inclined to sit out one more season and angle for a job currently held by a Van Gundy, Jeff or Stan. Jackson is already floating trial balloons through the media that he is the perfect coach for Yao Ming. Larry Brown, who has a history with reclamation projects and is Thomas' first choice, appears to be leaning toward taking a year off and has no doubt informed Thomas as much through an intermediary. There is a strong possibility that if Brown rests for one year and gets his health in order he would return for the 2006-07 season. The only outsider standing in Williams' way is P.J. Carlesimo, the Spurs' assistant who has a career 183-222 record as coach of the Blazers and Warriors. Carlesimo comes highly recommended by Thomas' confidante Chuck Daly and Carlesimo already has a strong bond with James Dolan: they shared a hatred for Latrell Sprewell. Thomas, however, long has admired Sprewell and may be concerned over how Carlesimo handles Thomas' three prized possessions: Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Trevor Ariza. Thomas has been conspicuously silent in the past 10 days, save for taking a trip to Los Angeles and not meeting with Jackson. The last time he was quoted about the Knicks' job, Thomas actually entertained the notion that a woman could be coaching an NBA team within five years. Those mixed signals make it harder to believe that the Knicks' so-called search is nothing more than "a public relations campaign," as one Eastern Conference executive called it. Three weeks ago, Thomas called Williams the "front-runner," and then spent the next 10 days touring the country looking for someone better. If Thomas elects to bring back Williams, it will be interesting to see if Thomas allows him to hire his own coaching staff. Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens brought in just one of his own guys, Dick Helm, and Thomas fired him the day after the Knicks lost their home opener. The Knicks would save a small fortune if Jackson is not the choice, but Thomas would have to give Williams, who has a year left on his contract, a two- or three-year extension just to show that he is the right person for the job. Originally published on May 17, 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This caught my attention --what exactly are the "trial balloons" Phil Jackson is floating in the media about coaching the Rox ?? I've really only heard Bill Walton openly lobby for Phil Jackson to coach the Rox...
I'm not suprised at all. I was thinking a few days ago that Phil might stay out one more year hoping Jeff falters next post season and then he could swoop in. If Phill does stay out another year, Jeff will need to take us at least to the WCF.
does that mean ewing is gone? i remember he was saying that he'd go to the knicks if herb williams got the job. now we need to bring in some legends to work with yao.
No championships are guaranteed, but I much prefer the odds of winning with a Phil Jackson-led team to a JVG-led one...
I like JVG. But I have to say PJ is the perfect coach for T-Mac and Yao and Rockets to get to another level.
I like JVG, but PJ is just the perfect coach for Yao aqnd TMac. The bottom line is, PJ will make them both superstars and get their games to another level.
It is said that Ewing wants to join Herb Williams in the Knicks. Someone tells Phil that we will need an assistant coach if that's true.
BINGO...I think we all like VG very much and respect him for his grit and spirit, but he WILL have to take this team to the WCF and figure out a way to better utulize Yao's talents if indeed he's got PJ waiting in the wings for him to falter. Bottomline, PJ would be a better coach for this team.
Whether he is aiming for the Rockets job or not, PJ should sit this season out. The teams that are in the running for him (Lakers, Knicks, Cavs?) are just not good enough teams to be contendors. The Lakers and the Knicks are just a complete mess right now, their roster isn't very good and both are completely capped out.
