Let's get started in the NBA and a story that made headlines throughout the league yesterday the firing of Tom Thibodeaux by the New York Knicks. The move came just a few days after the Knicks made their deepest playoff run in twenty five years. Tibbs, who led the Knicks to back to back fifty win seasons for the first time since nineteen ninety five, leaves ranking fourth all time
on a franchise list and coaching victories. Now, the focus shifts to potential head coaching replacements to lead the team currently built around Jalen Brunson and call Anthony Towns. Let me say this before I get into it, I want to tell you this. There are a bunch of names that need to come up. In a few seconds. I'm gonna give you about five. I'm gonna give you about five because you need to know, you need to know, you need to hear the people that saw on my
list are right. And I got some honorable mentions as well, and I'll explain why because I'm going all down the line, right, I'm going all down the line. Just to tip off my producers are Sam Cassell email, you don't I mean, you can talk about coaches of the contract, mind you. Okay, the tie Lows of the world, and the Mike Maloons
and everybody else. Rick Brunton's evens, all of them. I'm coming with a second, but let me say before I even get into it, let me play a clip for you that was very, very interesting doing my day job on First Take number one morning show for the last thirteen years in counting. Thanks to y'all. By the way, thank you so much. Continue to support your brother. I was gonna first Take this morning on ESPN. Well, my man Jay Williams, and I can't take credit for this.
I gotta give him credit for this, because my man Jay Williams came out with an idea that absolutely positively blew me away because.
I didn't think about it. Why would I think about it? I don't know why.
I think I know why, but I'm gonna tell you in a minute, but not before I play this clip with me and Jay Williams talking.
Check this out.
You can't win in twenty twenty five playing nineteen nineties basketball.
You have to change up your style.
And I do think there is a coach out there that is currently coaching the Houston Rockets that will be the most amazing fit in New York City, and that's Amyiudoka, a guy that understands Boston Celtics and how they built with Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge and what their personnel
looks like. Has an understanding of that and has a similar but updated culture in Houston with some young dogs where he's built a pretty incredible foundation over a quick period of time, and understanding how the Western Conference is loaded, and look, the Knicks have money to spend. I think
Imudoka is the choice. I think he's the person you run towards, and I think you find any way to pry him away from the Houston Rockets organization and bring him to the New York Knicks, because I think he epitomizes who the New York Knicks are as a franchise.
Now, what you didn't see there was to me going I didn't think of that. It's a great idea. But here's why I didn't think about that. I know a few people in Houston, including owner Tilament for Tita, and I'm telling y'all, ain't no way in hell New York Knicks getting email U Doka Forget htown being h town because it's pretty fly. Forget it being in the state when no state didn't come taxes.
That's cool too.
Email U Doka is under contract for the next two years. He can't leave unless tilerm and for Tita granted him the freedom to do so. And I'm here to tell you that shit ain't happening. Ain't happening, email U Doka ain't going nowhere if Tilaman and Fetida has anything to say about it. He loves that man, His staff loves that man. His employees love that man. Email you, Doka. Just they't Bosston.
Where you're sat.
There and railroaded him out of town. And I ain't gonna bring up why. All I'm gonna say is that damnit, he won the first and he ain't the last. But somehow his personal business, which could have been an HR issue, became public consumption.
I ain't gonna get in effected as a hope, but to white boys.
That were guilty of such proclivities for decades, and we ain't hear nothing. I know at least three dudes that lost their job in the last couple of years, all white, and landed.
On another NBA team nobody said.
Nothing we knew, we ain't reported because the team didn't confer, because the team didn't want it out there like that.
They let the people go on about their business.
But email Udoka, they threw under the bus and tried to ruin his career and tell me Fatida and the Houston Rockets said, damn that we're.
Trying to win. It's one of the greatest.
Coaches of the game, easily top five coaching basketball.
That brother special, a hell of a coach.
Who would have coached Boston in a championship.
But that ended up being joy Missoula.
That email Udoka, Oh my lord, everything I said about the Knicks yesterday that raked my damn nerves, even their weak ass statement.
By president Leon Rose. I would have forgave that. If they came and.
Said, yo, man email Udoka is the head coach of the New York Knicks, all would have been forgiven. All would have been forgiven because that man, not Leon Rose. Email Eudoka is a hell of a coach, and that brother right there, if they could get him, fine, but he's got two years left on his deal in Houston. And I called the source within an organization five minutes ago, and they said you couldn't pay us enough. He ain't going nowhere. I know it's a double negative. He ain't
going nowhere, but he ain't gone nowhere. Grammatically and correct and all. He ain't gone nowhere. He may you don't can stayd in Houston.
But let me give you a list of names you might want to consider.
I want to throw out Sam Cossel, assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, because he should be a head coach in this game, and he deserves an honorable mention. It just may not necessarily need to be in New York because you know he was in Boston last year. You didn't even want to contaminate us, you know what I'm saying. You know he's Boston's New York. I don't know about that. But Sam Conceptius does to be a head coach in the NBA, so he gotta throw his name for consideration.
All right, I'm gonna throw out these names for you.
You ready.
I'm gonna throw out Jay Wright, former head coach at Villanova to Tom National champion, four trips to the Final four.
You're gonna say why. Jalen Brunston is the start of the team.
Josh Hart and Michel Bridges are on the team for the foreseeable future.
They ain't going nowhere.
And on top of it all, not only are they not going anywhere, even though Michael Bridges might end up being moved because he'll be looking for a contract extension in the year, the bottom line is all three played at Villanova. Jay Wright is a consideration. I'm gonna throw out another name for you. Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunton's daddy, who's been on the bench last couple of leagues, that's two three years, who I can tell you knows his basketball.
You start Temple, played in the NBA, rough and rugged, no punk in him at all. You're gonna be tough playing for him. You're gonna be accountable playing for him. I like Rick Brunton. I think he's somebody that we should keep our eyes on for future opportunities in the NBA. Personally, i'm'a let you know that right now. I'm just throwing them on my list. Number three on the list Mike Malone, former coach in Denver, one of the NBA Championship a
couple of years ago. Just work with me doing the Western Conference finals I would have no problem if the New York Knicks picked him as the next head coach of the franchise, no problem whatsoever.
I know he departed on.
The tense terms because players kind of needed to hear a new voice. He was big on player accountability. He didn't have the greatest relationship reportedly anyway with the GM Calvin Booth, and so both of them ended up getting booted out of there by the gron Keys.
Who on the team. But Mike Malone is a champion.
And a damn a damn great basketball mind who is proven he could coach. We ain't sleeping on that, so he would definitely be on my list. Wouldn't put him top two though, I put Mark Jackson at number two. Remember the Mark Jackson used to coach a Golden State. Remember Mark Jackson and starred at Saint John's. Remember the Mark Jackson that was Rookie of the Year in the NBA for the New York Knicks. Remember the Mark Jackson
that played for the Indiana Pacers. Remember that Mark Jackson that ultimately coach the Golden State Warriors and groomed the Splash Brothers for Steve curR to capitalized off of remember that that Mark Jackson. Can somebody explain to me why this man is still black ball from the NBA, not even an assistant coach, as good of a job as he has done, as knowledgeable as he is about the game of basketball, me personally him Van Gundy.
I splashed them together.
I loved them being on the same coaching staff because I missed them calling the games.
Love the job JJ Reddick did calling games.
Loved the job that Richard Jefferson with Dorris Burke and Mike Breen do calling the games. Loved the job that Tim Legler does. Love my man Ryan Ruko, the whole bit. No shade on nobody. I'm proud to call these folks colleagues. They're great. But I'm not gonna lie and tell you that I don't miss Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, who, by the way, Jeff and Gunny is a leader sistant on the Los Angeles Clippers bench. I think if Mark Jackson would get a head coaching job, Jeff Van Gundy
should be his top assistant. I think if Jef Van Gundy gets a head coaching job, Mark Jackson should be his stop assistant.
That's how I'm flowing with it. That's how I'm flowing with it.
And not only that, when you consider New York in the sizzle that you need since players, since people like Leon Rose don't want to talk to the media, you know, it helps to see a guy like Mark Jackson talking because he's one of our own in New York. You understand, we love Bishop Locklan, Saint John's Nicks.
Is Mark Jackson one of the greatest point guards in New.
York history, by the way, and you're talking to a brother that grew up the great Kenny Nsen. Don't get me wrong, one better than these dudes. But he was in that ballpark because he was a safe to Rod Strickland just saw him the other day at the Knixt game. Stephon Marlbury might be the greatest point guard in the history of New York.
Let's not sleep on that, brother.
Okay, you got the Nate tiny Archiballs, the Stephar Marlbury's, the Rod Stricklands, the late great d Wayne Pearl Washington, the greatest show in the history of college basketball.
You think I'm lying, go back and watch the tape. Go back and watch the tape. Listen d Wayne Pearl Washington and went to Syracuse. We had some great point guards Kennedy and Jet Smith. Let's not forget him.
Kareem Reid out of Saint Ravens, Let's not forget him. God Sham god Well, one of the greatest handles in history.
Let's not forget him. With all of that being said.
Still got to mention Monk Jackson. Still got to mention mank Jackson. He's one of us in New York City with him as the head coach worth consideration. Just can't put him number one at the list against another dude who's under contract, and I put email you doak in this category, slash him number one with the great Ty Lou for the Los Angeles Clippers, a champion, some man,
somebody who continuously overachieves, who makes in game adjustments. Who if James Harden was short for Game seven, who knows where far he would have want he would have gone. I'm just sorry. I love James Hardiper Damn. I'm just saying these are things to consider. So I got ty lu slash email you Dooka. Both under contract teams ain't letting them out their deals. We understand that I got Mark Jackson, who everybody should have on their list to
be a head coach in the NBA. I got Mike Malone, who everybody's have, on the list to be a coach in the NBA. He's a champion, okay. I got Rick Brunston, and I got Jay Wright with an honorable mention for my man, Sam Counsel and Boston who deserves a head coaching opportunity at some point, if not already.
That's just me, that's just me.
A producer in my ear brought up Danny Hurley really really, you know he's at Connecticut. Yeah, Yukon, you know what I'm saying. I mean, you know he's can coach, Danny Hurley. I mean, I'm not I'm not gonna pooh pooh that. The Hurlies are the Hurlies. They're an institution, so we know we I was getting ready to get on my producer about that, but he's actually right, And since he's right, I'm gonna leave it at that.