NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Prefers David Blatt Over Kurt Rambis As New York Knicks Coach


NBA rumors are swirling around Carmelo Anthony. The New York Knicks star is waiting for management to hire a new head coach. Though he hasn’t been officially consulted, Anthony has not been shy about telling the media about his opinions on the matter. According to the New York Post, Carmelo would much rather that team president Phil Jackson choose David Blatt over Kurt Rambis. Anthony feels that Blatt would be a much better choice for Kristaps Porzingis.

When David Blatt was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers during the middle of the regular season, many in the NBA wondered if he would ever receive another chance to be a head coach in the league. Some felt that he was not able to handle star players such as Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Kevin Love all that well. Something like that might scare off general managers because they are busy trying to secure star players on their roster.

NBA coach David Blatt
David Blatt [Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images]
As soon as the regular season ended, David Blatt emerged as one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the NBA. The former Cleveland Cavaliers coach has already interviewed with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings. The latter ended up going with Dave Joerger, who was surprisingly terminated by the Memphis Grizzlies after the season. The former is still trying to figure out who will be tasked with reigning in James Harden.

With so few candidates interviewing with the team, the fact that the New York Knicks interviewed David Blatt says a lot about how they feel about the international coach. The team has been criticized about their search for a head coach. In fact, team president Phil Jackson is on vacation at a time when other franchises are scrambling to fill their vacant head coaching position. Many were hoping that Jackson would have locked someone down by now.

New York Knicks coach Kurt Rambis
Kurt Rambis [Photo by Elsa/Getty Images]
While he hasn’t said it publicly yet, Carmelo Anthony is probably hoping that Phil Jackson would be pursuing more head coaching candidates for the New York Knicks. The team is starting to improve, and the former Syracuse Orange star knows how important the next phase is going to be, so the right head coach is very much needed. With him being 31 years old now, Anthony wants to be more involved with the team because he doesn’t have a lot of years left in the NBA.

Long known as a selfish player, it shows a lot of maturity that Carmelo Anthony is thinking about Kristaps Porzingis when it comes to the next head coach of the New York Knicks. The candidate needs to know the NBA, so he can help the veterans win more games than the 32 victories the Knicks notched this season. The head coach also needs to be able to develop Porzingis, which makes David Blatt a good candidate because of his career in Europe.

New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis
Kristaps Porzingis [Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]
Since he is still adamant about the New York Knicks running the Triangle Offense, it will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson would actually hire David Blatt. The latter is not a part of the coaching tree of the former. Jackson and Blatt more than likely discussed the offensive system that the Knicks will be using next season, which means that Blatt has probably agreed to use principles of Jackson’s scheme.

Phil Jackson marches to the beat of his own drum, so he’s going to hire a new head coach for the New York Knicks whenever he’s ready. Much to the chagrin of Carmelo Anthony, Jackson is probably very much unlikely to see feedback from his star player. This might be what convinces Anthony to waive his no-trade clause.

[Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images]

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