Tommy Dee, at theknicksblog.com, wrote:
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The Lakers sent shockwaves throughout the NBA last night, hiring Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton as their head coach. The move, I'm told, clears the way for the Knicks to hire David Blatt, whose meeting with Phil Jackson and Steve Mills on Monday significantly impressed the Knicks president.
"Phil absolutely loved Blatt's intelligence," a source with knowledge of the conversation said. "Can't stop talking about it. He's singing Blatt's praises to everyone. Phil's a tough grader when it comes to intelligence. It takes a lot to impress him."
The overriding narrative is that Kurt Rambis is the heavy favorite to have the interim tag removed from the title, but I haven't been getting that sense. Rambis, who Jackson is very close with, is involved in the process, but I'm told that the overwhelming majority of the players didn't sing Rambis' praises in their exit interviews.
Rambis is extremely intelligent and would serve a significant role either as an assistant or in the front office. He was an exceptional coordinator for Phil with the Lakers, in a similar manner that Tex Winter was for Jackson's championship teams in Chicago. That role seems to fit Rambis best, and would allow him to continue to share Jackson's vision and trust.
Blatt seems to have entered into Jackson's trust circle following their meeting, which is a major sign that Phil is really giving a lot of thought to hiring him. Blatt refused to discuss any coaching situations, including Los Angeles, when he came on as a guest on a local Atlanta radio station earlier this week.
Blatt could fill the vacancy on Steve Kerr's bench that Walton left in Golden State. Blatt was a serious candidate for that role in 2014 before taking the Cavaliers position. He's also rumored to be considering going back overseas, according to international reporter David Pick.
Again, based on everything I'm hearing, Blatt has really made a great impression on Jackson. Bringing Blatt on board would be a smooth transition based on his relationship with former Princeton teammate and current executive vice president and general manager Steve Mills. The Walton hiring takes Blatt out of consideration for one of the jobs he was mentioned as a candidate for. His meeting with the Knicks Monday inches him one step closer to filling a vacancy here.