New York Knicks Shouldn't Keep Kurt Rambis As Coach In 2016-17 Season

The New York Knicks have been a dumpster fire for the last two seasons. Kurt Rambis can only claim full credit for the time since he took over as interim head coach, but he has been a failure in many respects. Team president Phil Jackson apparently wants to keep Rambis on board next season, but this would be a huge mistake.

Jackson is either too afraid or too lazy to take on coaching responsibilities himself, and keeping Rambis allows the president to be involved during practices without blotching his coaching resume. Rambis, in essence, will be a glorified puppet for as long as Jackson remains in charge.

“Kurt and I have a relationship that goes back to 2001,” the team president said to ESPN. “He knows the ins and outs, what pleases me and [what] probably I want to have changed. We have a relationship that’s much more tight [than Jackson’s relationship with Derek Fisher].”

The Knicks should really consider hiring someone like Tom Thibodeau. He has a .647 career winning percentage, and he has a reputation for driving his players as hard in practice as the coach does during games. Thibodeau would honestly be wise to wait for a team with more talent to make him an offer, but the Knicks would be foolish to not even try getting him.

The Knicks fired Fisher only a season and a half into his five-year deal, but it was the right move. Derek had some issues off the court with Matt Barnes, a former teammate, and he also had a record of 40-96. Firing Fisher was the smart decision, but that doesn’t mean keeping Rambis is too. Carmelo Anthony has been vocal about wanting the Knicks to explore other options before giving their interim coach a long deal, but it appears as if the team will ignore his request. Anthony is probably wishing he paid more attention to the Chicago Bulls‘ pitch in free agency, but it is too late to do anything about that now.

The Knicks are in need of new leadership, and Thibodeau would fit that bill in every respect. Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson would as well, but the main point is that Rambis would freeze the Knicks into a state of stagnation.