The Putback with Ian Begley: Knicks Coaching Search Q&A | SNY

The Putback with Ian Begley: Knicks Coaching Search Q&A | SNY

[Music] welcome to the Putback here on sny.tv i’m Ian Begley SNY’s NBA insider and host of the show today we’ve got a special mailbag edition of the Putback where we’re answering your questions about the Nick coaching search the Nick off season the NBA offseason in general we got the draft coming up uh joining me today is SNY’s social media guru my friend and yours Matt Spendley the big spend he’s going to be relaying your questions to me and uh we’ll get right into it what’s up Ian how’s the offseason been so far i know it’s been busy with the coaching search how you feeling yeah it hasn’t started yet for me uh let’s let’s talk in mid July that’ll be my off seasonason all right we’ll hit you up when you’re on the beach we’ll uh we’ll check in on you let’s get right into it all right our guy Alex B from Twitter who we’ve had on the show before Nick Central it’s well documented that the Knicks reached out to five different teams for permission to interview their employed head coaches do you think it was at all a smokeokc screen to avoid tampering charges for when or if they circle back to Jason Kid who you’ve reported on um recently so what do you think about that yeah I’m not sure if it if it’s about the tampering charges it might be but I think more so what happened with them reaching out there was they just didn’t have a shoein replacement when they decided to let Tom Thibido go right i mean this was this is very different from Leon Rose’s first coaching search where you kind of had Thibido all along but you took your time and you interviewed dozens of candidates and you ended up with Thibido this time there is no there is no coach at the end of the line where you know you’re going to end up with him and maybe you go through a process and end up with that coach anyway so that’s why they were reaching out to those teams to see if their coaches were available to discuss uh the possibility of coming over to New York and uh I don’t so I don’t see it as much of a tampering thing as it was just hey we have to do our due diligence we have to find out who’s available who isn’t available we need to know about the landscape as we embark on this coaching search and I think that’s where you are with this thing right now right and speaking of of kid our next question goes right into that too from our um our guy kn hoops hey Ian is Jason Kidd still the favorite to land the Knicks job at the moment so just generally kind of painting the landscape where we’re at right where we’re at right now based on um what you know with kid and then with other candidates what are we what are we looking at right at this moment yeah I mean look I I think that I I’ve done these enough to know that are there are so many factors beyond anything I would know in the moment where it’s hard for me to pick a favorite i I’m sorry that’s probably a copout for for you guys but I that’s just the reality of these coaching searches and and kind of there’s so many different factors at play but you know we know obviously um that Taylor Jenkins interviewed with the Knicks Mike Brown scheduled to interview with the Knicks and uh and Jason Kidd to my knowledge as of earlier this week was still a possibility um so that’s kind of where it sits i do think that you know Jenkins and Brown have been you know the focus i don’t know if there’s a list but I think they’re in that top tier um of the Knicks options and then Kidd obviously more of a wild card because he is under contract with Dallas um but I think they’re still kind of waiting in waiting to see there on on a final uh decision but uh to me that’s that’s a wild card so I guess if I had to pick one if you’re making me pick one uh I would probably pick Taylor Jenkins given all the factors that we know about you’re allowed three copout answers that’s one that you’ve used already so just just know we got we got a ways to go but but you’re good um and I know you also reported that Jenkins and Brown are interviewing with the Knicks this week is that correct uh yes yes i believe J Well I know Jenkins got the first interview i believe it already happened i’m not a thousand% sure on that okay got it um one more kid question from Nicks Chat 1112 with Jason Kidd apparently still in the mix what is a possible pathway to him being interviewed slash potentially hired so we know that the Mavericks denied the Knicks permission but he also hasn’t been ruled out as a candidate so just from Nick’s chat’s question what would that look like if that was to heat up in any way yeah as it sits Dallas has zero interest in giving New York any kind of permission to speak with Kid they’ve already denied it once so so we know that and that’s still the case i’ve been checking in pretty regularly over there and Kid has been engaged uh on all things Dallas as far as I can tell he was in involved in that Cooper flag uh meeting i don’t know if they did a workout too but he was involved in that so he’s been acting like the Dallas Mavericks head coach and I think what it would take there is Jason Kidd to make things uncomfortable in terms of taking something to ownership or or Nico Harrison they just by the way Kid and Harrison happen to share uh the same agency with Excel Sports which I which I find interesting but it would take kid kind of making uh making things ugly behind the scenes and you know demanding the chance to leave for New York or appealing to ownership’s human side and saying hey this is a dream job of mine you guys will get compensation can you at least let me look into it and see uh what the details are so it’s one of those two avenues but it starts with Kidd or his representation uh pushing the envelope a little bit forcing Dallas uh to let them out and let them talk to New York and you know I think that that’s there are a lot of hurdles before you get to the point where Dallas throws their hands up and says “All right we’ll let you talk to them.” But that’s that’s kind of where it starts it starts with kid or his representation getting the ball rolling since Dallas has declined the Knicks attempt to talk to Kidd uh above the table so to speak got it good note there on on Harrison and kids agent also um so we’ll keep an eye on that we’ll see how that ends up playing out shifting gears a little bit but staying on the coaching search Ian um Nicholas Bra 10 have you heard about Terry St Dave Bliss or Jerry Stackhouse potentially getting an interview i have not uh I know Jerry Stackhouse i believe he has a a close relationship with uh William Wesley and the Knicks you know they’ve been talking about casting a wide net and and talking to uh different candidates maybe not in a formal interview setting but at least checking in on many different candidates so yeah I’d be surprised if they didn’t check in on on St who’s I believe currently with Golden State and Stack House uh with Dave Bliss former Nick assistant coach done a great job in Oklahoma City uh he and Josh Longstaff another former Nick assistant from that staff done very well for themselves so I’m sure if they haven’t formally reached out they they’ve done their homework on these guys who could be out there but I I I do think that at the end of the day you’re looking at more of a stats type just in terms of a coach with experience that than you would be uh a Bliss who does not have head coaching experience in the NBA sounds good i want to jump ahead to another one because you you segueed me perfectly Ian so our guy um Ank Brutus the mayor be true for life hey Ian have the Knicks shut down the idea of getting a first-time head coach and are they singularly focused on getting one of the ones that have experience so when they’re approached to all these different options first-time head coach experience do you think that that matters to them where do you think that stands in the coaching search as they’re evaluating all options just uh my my guess my based on the landscape u I I don’t know that they’ve ruled anything out but I think it’s fair to expect them to hire a coach with experience because obviously they they did say in their statement they’re singularly focused on winning a championship and if you want to get there it’s it’s to me uh you’re putting yourself at longer odds if you hire someone who’s never done the job so yeah I think you can assume that it’s going to be a head coach with experience whether it’s Jenkins Mike Brown Jason Kidd somebody else i can’t see them bringing in uh an assistant who doesn’t have the experience because of the level that they’re trying to reach the level they’re trying to get back to and get beyond you know you put yourself kind of behind the eight-ball if you come in with somebody without any experience so speaking of experience one of the questions was just all caps Mark Jackson which isn’t a question it’s more just posing us to talk about him so our guy Jukard Lumman is asking about Mark Jackson so Ian I ask you Mark Jackson yeah I I know that uh there’s been kind of a public push for Mark Jackson Stephen A smith and others and look I think Mark Jackson just um seeing his work and and knowing people I know who know him who who really speak so highly of him I hope he gets a second chance at coaching here i don’t think it’s going to be in New York uh I I think that you know things would have to take a a left turn for them to go uh down the road and and end up with Mark Jackson but um I I do think he he does deserve a second chance i just don’t think it’s going to happen here fair enough all right another uh another former player another former point guard uh Goolson Ronald’s asking “Why isn’t Celtics lead assistant Sam Cassell a potential candidate for the Knicks head coaching job?” And I know you’ve mentioned more candidates could emerge but he’s not a name that we’ve heard yet so is that a name that you could potentially see entering the frey i mean I checked in shortly after Thib was let go and asked if there was uh any contact there or did they reach out to Boston and to that point which was must have been a little early last week they hadn’t uh they hadn’t heard they hadn’t heard about Nicks reaching out now uh to me if you’re canvasing the league it’s he’s an obvious name that you have to canvas but yeah I’ll go back to what I was saying a minute ago which was I have to assume this thing ends up with a head coach coming here who has significant head coaching experience in the NBA that’s going to matter i think you can’t hire somebody who has zero experience because if you are where the Knicks are and you know this bar is very high for the Knicks head coach whoever it is he has a very high bar to meet very high standards that he’s going to be judged by based on what Tom Thibido did here and where he got the Knicks so this is not a job where you want to throw somebody’s feet into the fire and let them learn on the fly it’s going to be somebody who’s established sure just to be um specific on that point too because I know a name that we’ve spent time talking about and you’ve reported on is Johnny Bryant who was a assistant coach with the Knicks um has been a name out there and he of course would be a first-time head coach so have you heard anything else with Johnny Bryant that we should be aware of and let me make sure I shout out our guy um Anytime Knicks jay from Eastn Y is asking about Johnny Bryant um and his potential yeah Jay Brutus it’s awesome to to hear these familiar names uh thank you guys for the questions yeah I I just heard um I guess it was late last week still that that Johnny it was more of a uh a longer shot there you know when you’re talking about the coaches who have been in or will be in for interviews the guys that we’ve already talked about I think those are the the guys who have much higher odds of landing this thing than a Johnny Bryant and I I don’t think that’s a shot at Bryant at all it’s just the reality of where he is and and where he would be if the Knicks hired him which is a first-time head coach um understanding that he was the associate head coach here had a lot of close relationships with players particularly uh Julius Randall RJ Barrett Emanuel Quickley i know those guys were close to him i’m sure many others were too um by all accounts has done well in Cleveland but I don’t think that he is a you know an odds on favorite at all here at the moment i think it’s a longer shot now you know maybe the Knicks go through this interview process they decide it’s not Taylor Jenkins it’s not Mike Brown you shut the door on Jason Kidd he stays in Dallas then you have to look at these other options and maybe your criteria changes but as we sit here uh today the middle of this week I think Johnny Bryant is still a long shot for this job all right fair enough we’ll keep an eye on his name i hate to belabor the same experience point but I want to make sure I got one more from from somebody that I want to answer and I’ll combine this one into two because we also got someone on YouTube that’s asking um our guy Al Branch on Twitter hearing reports Knicks may pivot to college coaches if kid Jenkins Brown don’t pan out um if this is true why haven’t we heard any names and then I’ll combine it with um Push on YouTube is asking could the Knicks look overseas similar to a Jordie Fernandez type hire who knows coach for Team Canada has been involved so as we’re talking about experience um obviously we’ve been talking about NBA head coaching experience but do you think that those are any ranks that they would potentially consider um and and will again enter the fray well what we know is is Jay Wright um Leon Rose Nick President and Jay Wright former villain over coach have a strong relationship close relationship and and Leon Rose knew that Wright was comfortable in retirement uh and was not going to be you know open to coming to New York so you cross him off the list in terms of college coaches and yeah I I the same thing i just don’t think that you know if this thing ends up where the Knicks wanted to end up I don’t think it you end up with a college coach a coach from overseas uh David Blat Jordy Fernandez type I don’t think that’s where they want to end up uh if they do ultimately end up there it it means that uh the the plans plan A plan B whatever you want to call it uh did not pan out and and they had to settle for whatever option C option D whatever whatever uh you want to call it i I just don’t think that that’s at the forefront right now um but until we see you know pen to paper a press release a press conference anything’s possible i just I just can’t see it i I I expect this to end up with a this search to end up uh with a head coach with significant NBA experience fair enough last one um before we kind of segue into some other offseason topics john Gersberger wants to know “With the draft coming up and trades likely to be made doesn’t it make sense that the front office would decide on a candidate faster than when they hired Tibs in 2020 which seemed like a len lengthy search process so a timeline here do you think the off season starting to move with the finals potentially being done as soon as uh Thursday do you think that timeline could potentially matter for them that they would like to get a candidate sooner rather than later to kind of advance their offseason moves?” I I do think that you they I don’t want to speak for Leon Rose but I do think that in a perfect world you do get somebody in by uh the end of this week early next week but they have talked a lot about you know the idea that this is going to be a long search we’re going to do our due diligence and if that’s the case you know you’ve interviewed we know that we know of you’ve interviewed two head coaches um does that mean you’re going to bring in a bunch of other guys and this is going to drag beyond the draft if you are doing your due diligence and you want to have formal interviews with these coaches just looking at the calendar it seems like it’s going to have to uh but I do think that with Jenkins in and with Brown in or coming in um I do think you’re going to be able to kind of rule certain things out and maybe one of these coaches in the interview process really puts himself head and shoulders above the rest of the field and I think that would allow you to make a quicker decision but um but yeah we’ll see i I think yeah perfect world they do have somebody in place before the draft but also they have the 50th pick and I understand trades are are going to happen but the Knicks are not going to get involved in the Kevin Durant deal unless they’re a third team and then the other one is Giannis Antakmpo and you know he’s on the record uh from an speaking to an overseas outlet I think talking about wanting to win a championship and run it back with the Bucks we haven’t seen anything beyond that but nothing that uh that leads you to believe that Giannis is gonna pound the table demand a trade before the draft here sure right before we get into all the free agency stuff and trades because again you segue me perfectly anything else on the coaching shirts that we haven’t hit that we didn’t get asked by our our lovely fans that you want to touch on before we move on to some other transactional stuff yeah I think the one interesting thing to me was Billy Donovan uh with the Knicks reaching out to Chicago i I do think we Chicago denied the request obviously but I do think that there was you know some some gray area there where maybe Billy had wanted to to see what was going on here in New York and have a formal conversation and then you know he he turns around and he gets an extension from Chicago so he clearly benefits financially there uh from the Knicks interest and I I do think the interest was real on both ends but obviously good for Billy Donovan getting some more money there i just wonder if anybody else is going to land an extension because of that but that’s not something that Nick fans care about they want to know who’s going to end up here uh we don’t know yet uh but hopefully we find out sometime soon for sure and let’s move right into that so Shiz 86 is asking any truth to the Jiren Jackson Jr rumors the YouTube chat is is buzzing about Jiren Jackson Jr we saw the Grizzlies trade Desmond Bane to the Magic for for quite the whole of draft picks um you know could that portend them having a bit of a different direction obviously a lot more to be seen but with the Knicks specifically Jiren Jackson Jr rumors people are asking “What do you think?” I mean look their messaging after the Bane trade has been “We’re not going to move John Mar we’re not going to move Jiren Jackson Jr um you know Pit Knicks they did hire Jiren Jackson Jr.’s dad Jiren Jackson senior uh to work with their G-League club as right when Leon Rose took over I believe or if not soon thereafter.” And uh you could connect the dots there in terms of you know potential interest i haven’t heard anything specific to Jiren Jackson Jr and the Knicks right now uh doesn’t mean it’s it’s not uh real but I haven’t heard anything specific there it would be a seismic move and uh it would be uh kind of letting everybody know that you you don’t believe in the core that you put together just 12 months ago so I’d be a little bit surprised if the that big that kind of a caliber of trade ended up with a Jiren Jackson Jr um and not a bigger name player um but let’s see i mean Memphis what they’re saying is they’re not going to move those two guys uh they have all those picks i I think it’s more likely that they use those picks in a trade um than they do to kind of completely blow this thing up um but yeah ahead of the draft a lot of these questions will be answered and uh Durant is spec uh obviously interesting for everybody to me I’ll go back to something I I’d said over the weekend i know that uh there are voices in Phoenix who really want to have a topline starting caliber center and and you can get that uh many different ways but obviously the Durant trade is is the easiest pathway to do that the obvious one there is Rudy Goar in Minnesota minnesota you know continuing to have interest kevin Durant reportedly not willing to uh resign there but maybe they roll the dice like the Raptors did with Kawhi Leonard and they just go all in and see how it works out so yeah that’s that’s the one that has the whole league buzzing for obvious reasons makes sense and Ian you’ve obviously been I think at the forefront of saying that the Knicks and Durant were never a pairing that made a lot of sense to you um and I just want to close the loop on that because obviously we’ve seen reports that you know they are not going to pursue that but Nicks recap is asking “Do you know why the Knicks changed their stance on trading for Durant?” So um and he also says “Appreciate everything you do for the community want to make sure I get that shout out there.” So just when it comes to Katie and the Knicks like kind of closing the loop on that Ian and and what you continue to to kind of hear about that yeah well thank you Nick’s recap and yeah it it wasn’t about like my opinion as if he’s a fit or not a fit it was more so kind of what I was hearing in terms of real interest there and I I never I didn’t I heard that you know it wasn’t real i know there was some reporting i think ESPN and others talking about the Knicks having interest maybe they had the conversation at the trade deadline but you know after that going back several weeks going into the end of the regular season I don’t think there was like real strong legitimate interest in going ahead and and trading for Durant and signing him to that extension at age 37 the why I’m not as sure about i I don’t know um I I just you know that was kind of the consistent thing coming out of at least uh my conversations was no on Durant and uh look I don’t think that anything is going to change here i think you can cross him off the list as we get closer to the draft and maybe the Phoenix Suns get closer to making a move um the why is interesting to me i I and I don’t know I don’t know it strongly enough to report uh certainly if if that changes you can uh you’ll be able to read that on sny.tv sometime but uh yeah we’ll see i’m I’m really curious to see where he ends up and what players are involved and how it might impact the Knicks in a tangential way plugging your reporting is my job Ian but nice job there you did great with it stamless uh all right i want to ask uh Derek Sullivan Drolls is asking “What are the chances one of the Brunson pals the Villanova guys Harter Bridges is traded?” So we know that Muel Bridges is extension eligible this off season i feel like that’s a big story and a big uh kind of building block to see how the Knicks end up going so I’m curious both with a male extension and then to answer Derrick’s question what are the chances one of them is potentially traded this off season you know I would I would say I would have said I should say I would have said you know significant if Giannis Antakumpo uh was out there and had requested a trade and you know had asked to come to New York and there was kind of the winds blowing Giannis towards the Big Apple here but I I haven’t heard that to date and so outside of a a deal like that a deal where you’re bringing in uh a headline star and obviously in that instance you really reshape your roster outside of that I don’t think the chances are high that um either of these guys get moved i think it’s more likely the Knicks run it back the Knicks add depth on the bench um and maybe a Hard or Robinson is moved if if there’s an opportunity to to upgrade but I just don’t see it as likely uh specifically with those two guys i mean you gave up so much for MueL Bridges and that’s not a reason to uh automatically extend him but um I I would think he’s much more likely to extend here and to be here for a while than he is to get moved this summer because there’s no Giannis talk and and there’s no you know player comparable to him uh kind of banging at the table and and looking to get out of his current situation that the Knicks uh would be interested in in and so that’s kind of where it sits for me at the moment with Hart and with Bridges sounds good so we’ll keep an eye on how things play out there um just a couple couple other things I want to talk about uh Nason Smith’s asking could the looks could the Knicks look to get Malcolm Brogden and I kind of want to loop in another question that’s been out there too just about the way that the Knicks can build out this roster given their limited cap space and given that they’re kind of sitting in the middle of that apron we know that they’ll have that taxment level exception but that also sometimes will have some apron um you know ramifications so let’s talk Brogden i know Luke Canard’s been a name out there some other guys that are in that space and then right after I’ll ask you um just kind of how you see the Knicks filling out the roster with other types of players right and and so you hit it Met with the exception I believe it starts at 5 million that’s what they would have access to at the moment um and with Brogden specifically you know the Knicks had a chance to trade for him uh from Portland when when he was healthy i think that was a couple trade deadlines ago and they didn’t then and and I don’t I think that um there wasn’t a big appetite for him then is it different now i mean coming off of an injury what’s the price going to be they don’t have a ton of money to spend um I I I I can’t give you a definitive answer but just based on the history there and the context of it all uh I’d be a little bit surprised if it was him who they turned to at the the backup point guard role i do know um he’s on Dallas’s list dallas obviously needing a point guard with Kyrie Irving rehabbing from surgery i don’t know if he’s at the top of Dallas’s list or somewhere in the middle but he is he is there uh Brogden and and so uh the Mavs obviously are going to dictate a lot of that point guard movement knicks uh to me you know if you’re looking for a backup there um I know that you know there was even some some kind of canvasing during the year of the the backup point guard market so I would assume they go back there um in the offseason and then Matt you said it the exception uh you’re going to have veterans minimum exceptions i believe if you use that exception you do get hardcaped at the second apron though check me on that and then if the Knicks wanted to they could trade off some salary and dip under um that apron and then you get to the full mid level which I think starts at $14 million and then you’re capped I believe at the first apron so a lot of ramifications there for the money for the Knicks right now but the the idea that they even have wiggle room to spend at all I think is you go back to Jaylen Brunson his extension uh him taking less to come back here and extend and that’s giving the Knicks the financial wiggle room that they currently have and and that’ll be the case too for for next summer no matter uh where you land with Bridges if you extend them Knicks any wiggle room they have will be because of what Brunson chose to do uh last summer with the extension right and then once they once they hire a coach we’ll have a lot more time to talk about what free agents they could get some other names that will be out there i’m sure there’ll be some others that are out there and that you will report uh Ian want to give you one more chance is there anything else that we didn’t touch on from all of our great questions and thank you everyone for submitting um that you want to hit on before we we call it a day and send it to another part of the show yeah I I don’t know if anybody has any any that have just dropped but I think we hit everything that all the topics that I think matter uh certainly if there are any others maybe we’ll get to them next time we do a mailbag maybe I’ll I’ll write something and answer some questions but really do appreciate everybody for for dropping those questions in and for checking in with us here at the Putback matt appreciate you uh steering the ship for us today and I did actually take questions from a couple other big-time Nick fans uh Joe Cruz Randy Cruz founders and CEOs of the Hoops in the Sun basketball tournament in Orchard Beach goes on every summer they’re entering their 25th summer uh so Joe and Randy had a couple of Nick questions for me we talked about their tournament which comes I think it opens up actually this weekend at Orchard Beach it’s always a great environment always a fun place to watch some highle basketball high level outdoor basketball so uh let’s hear from Randy let’s hear from Joe we got two special guests here with a question for our mailbag we have Joe and Randy Cruz the Cruz brothers CEOs and founders of the Hoops in the Sun Basketball Tournament at Orchard Beach all summer long fantastic tournament 25th anniversary for the tournament i have a couple questions for these guys about that tournament uh but first I think they have a couple Nick questions what do you guys have for me i I have one I had to ask you personally because I know you do a great job covering them the whole entire season and beyond and in the offseason how do you I mean how do you feel about Tom Tibido’s um how you say early resonation i don’t agree with it personally i think that he’s one of the one of the only coaches that really you know um dedicated his craft to making sure this organization is back into respectable manners but for them to do this at this point in time and them not having a end end goal right now with all these coaches names coming up just wanted to see how you felt about the tips uh situation yeah it’s a great question i mean look to me there was every reason in the world to to bring him back from the outside looking in uh obviously 51 wins getting to the conference finals first time in 25 years not to mention the uh 30 plus million dollar extension that he has on the books so yeah I just thought because of those reasons he was going to be back um obviously the Knicks decided otherwise i thought he certainly deserved the chance to coach a team one more year at least and Nick felt otherwise and to me now it’s about what this next coach brings and he’s got to bring a lot because Tom Thibido has set the bar very high 51 regular season wins this past year conference finals i mean if you fall short of of those thresholds or even you know more importantly the conference finals everybody’s going to kind of be scratching their head and looking sideways at the coaching decision that you made this offseason so you know front office you really you know put themselves under the microscope with this move they’ve got to hire the right coach they’ve got to hire the coach that could get the Knicks to that next level uh which is getting through the conference finals into the finals so high high bar for the next coach i I thought that it made all the sense in the world to bring Tom Fibido back for at least one more year uh they felt otherwise and so let’s see where it goes from here but a lot of scrutiny for that next head coach whoever it may be so my follow-up question to you Ian is do the Knicks even come back to Tibido and say “Listen we made a big mistake there’s nobody on the market better than you we made a huge mistake i don’t know how you can really make those ends meet again but is that an option at all?” you look I feel like men our age we’ve probably all swung back uh on a if we ended a relationship and had second thoughts and tried to to swing back and uh see if there was a chance i don’t think that’s going to happen in this case though i don’t think I’m I’m sure was you know not happy with how things ended uh I can’t see it happening listen um I I’ll start with this um Joe and I have known him for a very long time uh probably 15 plus years in the in the in the game uh just seeing you cover this team from New York Post and ESPN New York and now doing a great job at SNY and I see that your background all your credentials uh for for everywhere you’ve been um how does it feel cuz you cover this team for such a long time just as a as a person as a fan of just now you’re covering a really good team a good squad u a a better organization than than what it was back in the days you’re playing basketball meaningful basketball in April May and hopefully one day in June just you as a fan how isn’t your experience been covering this team now as we go later on in the springtime yeah I mean like just as a reporter playoff atmosphere it’s just fun to be there and to cover a series and to cover how a series unfolds and you know adjustments over the course of a series there’s always storylines different narratives to follow and then the basketball you know is the basketball and it’s it’s really really fun to cover that you know over the course of four five six seven games whatever it is so that’s been a lot of fun in terms of covering the postseason and uh you know for me you know win lose or draw I I don’t really get too uh involved in terms of loving not loving whatever happens uh I just try to find an interesting way to look at what’s going on but but I will say this i think u I’m a little strange because I got used to you know the losing and the you know dysfunction and the firing a coach and the firing of a team president and hiring and the palace entry i got used to that so I was out of my comfort zone when this team started winning i’ll be honest but it’s been it has been fun to cover you know meaningful basketball in the spring it’s a great point Randy just being in the garden and the visiting arenas just loudest places that I’ve been in my career and it’s been it’s been a real pleasure uh and a privilege to be in those places yeah if I got one more real quick um generically what can the Knicks do to kind of take the good from this year and kind of follow that Indiana path because they made the conference finals last year they lost but now they’re in the in the NBA finals this year so what what can we do uh like what are the good things that we take away from this year to bring back next year it’s a great point Randy about the Pacers path and how they’ve done it because that’s an exactly what the Knicks want to do um in my mind it’s depth right it’s figuring out who you want back from a Landry Shammit a campaign a precious chewer a Miles McBride and who how you want to upgrade that depth and so that to me is the the most direct path this off season obviously there’s going to be trade opportunities do the Knicks explore those aggressively uh I think obviously it depends on the fit but I think the the most likely path is is going depth and then do you look at you know a backup point guard who can spell Jaylen Brunson a little bit more who could play with Brunson i I look at Taius Jones out of Phoenix because I know that there was mutual interest with New York and Jones last off season he’s a he’s a free agent and I’m wondering about Boston uh my buddy Tim Bontam said a good point about Al Horford uh the idea that you know maybe Boston because they’re trying to trim salary he might be available obviously great veteran presence has a relationship with Carl Town so that’s kind of what I’m looking at now as we are still in the middle of this coaching search but I I agree i think just filling out that depth is a key for this club no matter what happens in the offseason and uh I appreciate you guys asking me about the Knicks but I I want to ask you more importantly about the beach this summer you guys have been doing it 25 years um you know what is it like to be 25 years in and what excites you at this point uh about the tournament chad you’re right Ran um listen 20 25 sounds like a long time uh you’ve you’ve been there a few times indoor sites outdoor obviously at the beach and just seeing myself and Joe and our entire staff grow mature um to bring what this tournament is now uh we start this weekend uh was supposed to start last weekend but the weather got to us but um I listen um just keeping dad’s legacy alive uh creating our own path in this social media digital world the last couple of years and uh just being being different being creative um a brand new of teams are are coming in from the youth side from the adult side it’s really like a a new day at the beach and that’s what we love to do bring in new talent new coaches new teams new orus and see what works what doesn’t work but just overall just um just just you know competing uh in in a good way and um always trying to be better find something new and different to bring to the to the table every single summer and you know listen me and Joe are here doing this show with you you’ve been there your post and and and ASP New York and you know indoor games and spring league games and you’ve always been a constant supporter of of our program doesn’t matter who our sponsors are or whatever we’re doing no matter what he always checking on us do a podcast you know come by the the venue check us out so we definitely love you and appreciate you for being there for almost 15 years and supporting us and without you and other people in around the country and the world um we you know we truly thank you for that for me Ian is like it’s for me to see the kids that have been playing at 10 years old now playing college basketball and coming to play into the unlimited division is like like RJ Davis and you know uh Kadari Richmond and even Obie now NBA finals Obie Obi Toppin now being NBA finals like the these these were kids in our program at 10 years old where we’re trying to scoot them off the court every halftime every time they want to shoot the basketball to now like them you know just following their dream and just to be a part of that dream be a platform be a pedestal for them to kind of use this opportunity for them to elevate their game I I mean it’s it’s it’s surreal like I feel old i remember when Ian was young and just come in the game and I told him I said “Listen you want to take a chance to do street basketball come over here.” And ever since then it’s been a marriage made in heaven and um seen you grow along the way married kids like so surreal um so I think time has just elapsed i think just kind of like understanding what has happened along those 25 years the good the bad and different moments and I think that if you learn from those situations hopefully we have another 25 years to offer service just a tremendous impact on the community um summer in summer out you guys are there do a fantastic job with the tournament i advise everybody who who loves street basketball or just basketball in general get out to the beach watch a game it’s a great venue uh it’s a lot of fun you’ll definitely be entertained and uh uh just hats off to you guys for keeping it going and for uh for reaching 25 and and here’s to many more

On The Putback with Ian Begley, SNY’s NBA Insider alongside Matt Spendley answer your questions about the Knicks head coaching search and offseason plans.

0:00 Welcome to the Putback with Ian Begley!
0:53 Did the Knicks reach out different teams’ coaches to avoid tampering?
2:19 Is Jason Kidd still the favorite to get the Knicks job? What’s the pathway for him to get the job?
6:08 Are Terry Stotts, Dave Bliss or Jerry Stackhouse potential candidates?
7:15 What are the Knicks looking for in their next coach?
10:32 Has Ian heard anything new on Johnnie Bryant?
13:05 Could the Knicks go an unexpected route in the coaching hire?
14:10 Why have the Knicks taken their time finding their next coach?
16:18 Why did the Knicks reach out to the Bulls to speak for Billy Donovan
17:15 Is there truth to the Jaren Jackson Jr. rumors?
19:29 Why did the Knicks change their stance on trading for Kevin Durant?
21:13 What are the chances Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart is moved?
23:07 Players who the Knicks could fill out their roster with
27:10 Special guests join the pod! Hoops in the Sun members join!
27:20 Ian’s thoughts on the Thibodeau firing?
30:03 Could the Knicks ever come back to Thibs?
30:55 What’s it like to cover a good Knicks team?
32:50 How can the Knicks follow the Pacers path of going from the Conference Finals to the NBA Finals?
34:20 25th annual Hoops in the Sun tournament starts this weekend

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