Yes Jeff Van Gundy was good for us, actually great. We had a 248-172 with him as coach. hes the Knicks third most winning coach of all time. With him as coach we made it past the first round of the playoffs 5 times...
I loved Jeff as our coach. BUT would I want him back? would he be accepted back by the Knicks fans? would Jim Dolan let him come back? probably not....For some one who became our coach when the head coach of the team stepped down (Don Nelson),,,you would think hed (Van Gundy) be the last person to just get up and leave during a season, but he did. Jeff left us after 19 games. a 10-9 start in 02-03....this is the nba and anything can happen BUT i think we either NEED Larry Brown, or NEED Phil Jackson or NEED Flip Saunders.
Larry is just a proven coach, hes friends with Isiah and has worked with Steph before and if given is pink slip in Detroit its a major possibilty for him to coach in NY or flat out retire
Phil is a proven coach and thats all. people say "oh well he was given all his players and a ring handed to him" and that is true. but how many times do we have to hear it? we all know that hes walked into two great situations (Chicago and LA) but until given the chance in a place like in the Knicks franchise well never know other wise. Would his triangle work with Steph & Craw? possibly its all on Steph and how he takes listening to his coach. accepting a lesser role for the benefit of his team (which hasnt proved well in the past ex. Minnesota)...but maybe he has matured...back to Phil hed be a hell of a coach to give a chance to.
Flip, hes also a good coach. isnt it nice when people specially someone of these guys caliber want to come to NY?
anyway...hes worked with steph before but would Flip want to work with him again? Remember steph is the person who demanded a trade out of MN because he didnt want to play second tier to anyone (Garnett)..and im going to go out on a limb and say if Steph accepted his role in MN and did his part, and had waited a good year or two when they picked up a decent SG or SF...they would have won a championship....BUT here in NY unless Isiah does some wheeling and dealing some razzle dazzle (courtsey of Fraz haha) this offseason and gets a great C or PF. i dont believe the knicks with the reuniting Flip and Marbury have a good chance of doing that.
DECISIONS....
LARRY BROWN-Even tho hes familiar with steph and a good coach..We have to face it Larry is getting old and sure hed be good for a year or two but eventually he is going to be past his time. hes going to step down and then once again well be left with no coach. and we will kick our self in the a**es for not choosing flip or phil.
Decison? No
PHIL JACKSON-This is a hard one. do we take a chance on phil jackson and i know thats rough to say seeing hes one 9 rings BUT in this situation do we take the chance? he hasnt coached a rebuilding team EVER and the only reason to take this job is (A) to attempt to prove the people wrong (B) to win number 10 as a coach (C) to have coached every big market team into a championship....We pay Phil a lot of money, we set up the Triangle offense and then what? i dont think Phil legitamely wants to come here no matter what the rumors say until he sees the roster changes if any are made this offseason. the possiblities of players wanting to come to NY to play for him our better for us to get people via demanding a trade lol...would we want to take that chance to become his own personal guinea pig that we know as the knicks?
Decision? Yes
FLIP SAUNDERS-Hes familiar with Steph. and theyll have chemistry. Hell let steph be steph but is that a good thing? hes a good coach and has proven to coach the pick and roll with steph. and as of right now that is all we have....then there is the LITTLE off chance that Garnett would want to play for his "old" coach and demand a trade to NY. heres the little chance (A) Garnett wants a ring (B) He loved to play for Flip (C) if he demands a trade MN would give it to him, they are rebuilding they want a different direction AND i believe after the 10 years Garnett put in for them and the "little" pay he has took to stay there theyll respect him and give him that......the only thing against that is (A) Garnett is not the type to demand a trade (B) Not sure if hed want to play with Steph (even tho he has matured) (C) Would MN accept the trade of more than likely Tim and Kurt Thomas for him?.....anyway
Decision? Yes
For me its Phil Jackson or Flip Saunders. if your a Steph fan you'd go for Saunders. if your a ring fan youd go for Jackson :lol: haha