The Knicks are perhaps the most dysfunctional major market franchise in American sports. Granted, that’s not a long list, but they’re definitely near the top of it. They haven’t been relevant for much longer than you probably realize:
The Knicks suck. They have sucked for a very long time, and they’ll likely suck into at least the near future, despite boasting a legitimate stud player in Kristaps Porzingis, who while awesome, is likely going to be wasted playing for a franchise that’s only finished above .500 three times since 2001. (Once they finished 42-40. Another was a lockout season.) The NBA, meanwhile, has flourished over that time span, becoming one of the strongest and most popular leagues in the world, all without the Knicks being relevant in the slightest.
The last player from a New York team to hit a meaningful postseason shot in the Garden was Gerry McNamara.
This is because the Knicks can be counted on to do silly things. Right now, for example, they’re in the middle of a coaching search, having fired Jeff Hornacek for not winning with a roster built by Phil Jackson, who was fired last summer for gross negligence and incompetence.
Now the Knicks have begun a weird but typically Knicks coaching search, with plans to interview one failed coach turned broadcaster in Mark Jackson, denials of interest in another former coach turned broadcaster (Jeff Van Gundy), and now reported interest in former player and longtime broadcaster Kenny Smith.
That’s via a report from ESPN citing Stephen A. Smith’s sources, so, yeah:
TNT analyst Kenny Smith will interview for the New York Knicks’ head-coaching job on Friday, a source told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
Smith, who played from 1987 to 1997 with six NBA teams, has never coached in the NBA.
That’s a key bit of information, you’d think! Coaching in the NBA is difficult enough, but having your first coaching job be the Knicks job, with all of what that entails? That seems like a bad move! Could Smith be good? Sure, he could be. But he’s also been out of the game for a long time now, and the Knicks haven’t succeeded in almost as long.
Why is everything so complicated?
[ESPN]
