David Blatt, former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, met with Phil Jackson, president of the New York Knicks, last week. Blatt is optimistic about the meeting, according to Harvey Araton of the New York Times:
Meanwhile, according to a person close to Blatt, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the current coaching search, Blatt at least came away from his chat with Jackson with the belief that he was a legitimate candidate for the Knicks job.
He pitched himself to Jackson as a defensive-minded coach who, while playing collegiately at Princeton, was reared on the joy of a deliberate, five-man offense and therefore amenable to embracing Jackson’s beloved triangle. He reminded Jackson that he initially went to Cleveland in 2014 to coach a young, undisciplined Cavaliers team, a work in progress. That was before James suddenly returned as the homecoming King, when the Cavs were essentially the Knicks, minus the veteran shotmaking of Carmelo Anthony.
The Knicks are a big-time franchise, so Blatt will have to get in line. There are many candidates for the job, including Frank Vogel, Mark Jackson, Patrick Ewing, and Kurt Rambis.latt is up there with all of these guys for “legitimate” candidates for the coaching job. It will be interesting to see who gets it.
