The New York Knicks might be interested in hiring Luke Walton next year as the head coach. Famous father Bill Walton isn’t a fan of that move. Not one little bit.
Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take,” the legendary baller said he’d tell Luke to “stay there” at Golden State as an assistant, rather than take the head coaching job with the Knicks.
Bill Walton's advice to his son, Luke, a GSW assistant & potential candidate for the Knicks job? "Just stay there," he said on First Take.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 26, 2016
Really, this is just solid parenting.
The Knicks are a crapstorm of dysfunction, even with the venerable Phil Jackson pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The team’s best player, Carmelo Anthony, isn’t much of a leader and is best suited as a secondary player but has never allowed himself to be put into that situation.
The Knicks don’t have any top talent at the guard position, don’t have a dominant big man and don’t seem sure about how to groom a 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis, who is undeniably skilled but who needs something he may never get in New York — a mentor.
New York is 13 games under .500 and hasn’t come close to fielding a winning team in three years.
Before that this franchise posted a winning record in two of 12 seasons dating back to the end of the Jeff Van Gundy days in the early 2000s.
And while some might see this as a golden opportunity for a young coach like Walton to step in and create his own legacy, the truth of the matter is this franchise is going to continue to be doomed to failure as long as owner James Dolan is leading the way.
These aren’t your father’s Knicks. This organization is destined to continue floundering until Dolan steps out of the way, and that’s not likely to happen any time soon.
Needless to say, daddy Walton is right: Luke should avoid the Knicks like the plague.
If New York is the only NBA franchise to come calling this offseason with a head-coaching opportunity, then Walton would be better off staying under Steve Kerr as an assistant for another season for a better job in the future.