During an appearance earlier this week on the ?Knicks Fan TV? podcast, in which he said Dolan is ?scared? of him, Oakley was asked if he thought Van Gundy would be a good selection as the next Knicks head coach.
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?With these guys, a Jeff-type coach?,?? Oakley said. ?If I know Jeff correctly ? and I played for him and know how he coached ? I think it would be tough to come back and coach young guys. What he believes in for his offense and defense in this day and age, it?s totally different.??
Oakley doesn?t think Van Gundy would have the patience for the millennial NBAer.
?You can make three, four turnovers and miss four free throws in the first few minutes and take bad shots,?? Oakley said. ?You look at these teams. Out of 80 shots, 30 shots are bad.
?Basketball has changed. You?re not getting the 1990s back. The game has a totally different atmosphere. You got to build a team with leadership and players willing to sacrifice. These kids don?t care about basketball. All they care about is getting the check, playing video games and the social media.?
Nor would Oakley consider his former teammate and Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, taking more digs at the Big Fella as a teammate. Oakley has ripped Ewing in the past for not having his back after he got tossed and arrested at the Garden three years ago.
?I don?t deal with Patrick,?? Oakley told the podcast. ?He was one of the most difficult guys I?ve played with. I played with Patrick 10 years. He should know me. I should know him. It was a hard 10 years because he?s not easy to play with ? high maintenance.??
Oakley isn?t sure new president Leon Rose can change the Knicks? fortunes anytime soon.
?You can get this player or that player, but if you don?t have good chemistry, it doesn?t matter,?? Oakley said. ?When you have big guys shooting 3s, that isn?t really basketball. It should be inside out. It?s hard to build a team now. It?s not just the Knicks. A lot of teams are going through it.
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?It?s going to take years (for the Knicks). It?s like driving from New York to Texas. It?s a long road. It?s not just (Dolan). They don?t have talent any more.??