Guest Blogger ZECommish says Patrick Ewing is the best option for the Knicks' head coaching job.

Nobody in NY wants to relive this.

After the announcement last week that Knicks GM Donnie Walsh won’t be returning next season, Knicks fans have a lot to worry about. Walsh cleaned up the mess that Isiah Thomas left behind, brought in ‘Stat & Melo’, and finally ended the Marbury-Curry era of Knicks basketball. The sad part  all of this is that Walsh left before his job was done. I mean c’mon, lets be honest, their season wasn’t that good- they did get swept by an aging Celtics team in the first round of the playoffs. To be better than a 7^th seed, the Knicks can’t keep the status quo, especially since their starting point guard is 34 years old and on the last year of what is probably his final contract. Without Donnie Walsh, the Knicks are going to have trouble replicating the success they’ve had in the free agent market while Walsh was at the helm.

            Not to state the obvious, but now that Walsh is gone, the Knicks need a new general manger. New GMs tend to try and shape their team to their own liking. This means that they will add new players, get new advisors, and most importantly (In the Knick’s case at least), hire a brand new head coach. Mike D’Antoni is the Knicks’ worst enemy right now. He’s taken a team that should be among the elite in the NBA and turned it into a team that couldn’t even win a single playoff game. How can he expect to be a championship contender when the word ‘defense’ isn’t even mentioned at practice?!? Just look at the Finals- the Heat and Mavs are two of the best defensive teams in the league! I know I wouldn’t want to drive to the basket against Tyson Chandler! Anyways, the Knicks desperately need a new coach who will take defense seriously and any new GM will hopefully understand that and give D’Antoni the axe.

            Here’s where things will get interesting: who will the next coach of the Knicks be? As I see it, there are a couple of options, each with their own pros and cons. The first option is what most Knick fans are probably hoping for, Phil Jackson. Jackson (a former knick) would be an extremely high profile and glamorous choice considering the five rings he won at his last job with the Lakers (and the six that he won with the Bulls). From that description, Jackson seems like the obvious choice for the Knicks (If he wants to come). However, he does bring along some question marks as well. First off, Jackson isn’t on the young side (He’s 65) and has balked at retiring a couple of times already. This makes it hard to know how long Jackson would stick around if he did in fact take the job. My second concern with Jackson is as follows: Phil’s 11 championships have come with players such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal. Those are some of the greatest players ever! That begs the question; can Phil Jackson win a championship without a player like that on his team? Now sure, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are great basketball players, but they aren’t at the same level as Kobe or MJ. I just don’t know if Phil will be able to lead a team without the best player in the league and I am not interested in having the Knicks become the test case. The next viable option for coach would be Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy has proven to be successful with all different types of teams (especially with the Knicks) and would be a perfect fit for the head-coaching gig. Unfortunately, Van Gundy seems to really like being a commentator for ESPN and doesn’t seem to be interested in giving that up to be a coach again. The third choice would be to hire internally. The most qualified current Knick employee for the position would have to be assistant coach Herb Williams. Williams definitely knows the players and the system, which is an obvious plus, but probably isn’t head coaching material. When Williams was interim head coach in 2004, the Knicks played horrendously and the job was quickly taken from Herb and given to Larry Brown. This leads me to believe that the Knick’s front office doesn’t have much confidence in Williams as a coach and he probably will not get the job this time around. I know what you’re thinking: “Oh god, this list is not sounding very good, we might as well just stick with D’Antoni”. Well don’t worry; my fourth option will hopefully end your fears.

Why not?

              Now before you jump to conclusions, hear me out, I’m 100% serious about this. I think that the dark-horse candidate for the head coach of the New  Knicks should be Patrick Ewing. That’s right, Patrick Ewing. Now let me tell you why: Ewing obviously knows the way the Knicks do business, he has a great basketball mind, and he’s already working his way up to being a head coach someday (he is now an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic). Ewing would have an immediate connection with Amar’e (because they play similar styles on the court), would have a great relationship with the fans, and would finally be able to do what he never could as a player in New York: Win a championship. Yes, it would be a bit of a risk because this would be his first head coaching job and he might have some trouble at first getting used to it, but just as he did with his job as assistant with the Magic, he’d settle in and become a great asset to the organization. This is why I think that Patrick Ewing is the best option to be next head coach of the New York Knicks. 

Follow me on Twitter- @ZECommish
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The NBA season is winding down...

...And here are the two most shocking and disappointing things that happened this season fantasy-wise and not.

#1 That Magic trade...
We all were looking forward to a great run by the Magic after that trade they made this year. They got their star back in Hedo, gave up Lewis who was doing terrible, and all the commentators on TNT thought they would be unstoppable, but...
Gilbert shot 34% from the field, and under 30% from 3. coming off the bench, this isn't great.
Another player- Jason Richardson saw almost every stat drop, including his points, his 3 point percentage, and his free throw percentage. This, as you may have seen, didn't fit so well with the Magic or your fantasy team!
Also- they got no bench!! Malik Allen, Earl Clark and Chris Duhon. enough said there.
Sadly, their season ended in the first round, which was yet another disappointing playoff run for Orlando.

#2 The Draft
And how bad some of the players came out to be in their first year- No complaints on Wall and Wesley Johnson. But let's start with Evan Turner. I don't have anything against him, and he seems like a nice guy and all, but was drafted second, and avgs 7.2 ppg per game. he also struggles with his jump shot, which he'll have to work on this summer. He came in with so much hype. Maybe it's a rookie slump? We have to wait and see..
Another player- Derrick Favors. Terrible free throw shooter, but not a bad defender getting about a block a game and 5 rebounds. but his scoring is atrocious, gets 6.8 ppg. This is just disappointing for a 2nd pick.

Well that about rounds up this post and the NBA season...keep looking back for articles about the MLB and ways to help your team.

Thieves

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