April 22, 2014
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After a 54-28 record last season while taking the team to the playoffs and advancing to a 2nd round series for the first time in 13 years, Mike Woodson and the Knicks began an early vacation last week, finishing with a disappointing 37-45 record. With franchise player Carmelo Anthony able to bolt the team in free agency this summer and with this being the 1st time Anthony has missed the playoffs in his entire professional career, naturally some swift changes needed to be made.
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| Mike Woodson and Herb Williams |
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mike Woodson and his entire staff,” Jackson said in a press release announcing the move. “The coaches and players on this team had an extremely difficult 2013-14 season, and blame should not be put on one individual. But the time has come for change throughout the franchise as we start the journey to assess and build this team for next season and beyond.
“Everyone in this franchise owes a great deal of gratitude to what Mike and his staff have done. We wish him the best.”
Interestingly, Herb Williams, who survived 6 coaching changes in New York as an assistant and/or interim coach, was also (finally) let go. As of this writing, his firing was trending on Twitter even ahead of Woodson’s.
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Phil Jackson certainly has his work cut out for him, but NY Knicks owner James Dolan has bet the farm that Jackson is the man to run the storied but troubled franchise. Jackson earned 13 championship rings in his career — 11 as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, and 2 as a player on the Knicks’ 1970 and 1973 championship teams. His basketball knowledge and championship pedigree is expected to change the atmosphere around the Madison Square Garden front office and among the team. Getting rid of Woodson and everyone connected with him was a huge 1st step toward righting the ship.
Disclosure: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of the Knicks.
But I am very much familiar with their place in NBA history and to see what's happened to that franchise is pretty darn sad.
Who knows if PJ can return that franchise to greatness?!
Yes, I know he's coached great teams. But has he himself ever actually put a championship team together?
Well, time will tell if he's up to the task before him now.