Could Scottie Pippen be working for the New York Knicks soon? This is what The New York Post’s Marc Berman touched on in his May 15 featured article:
“Knicks general manager Steve Mills huddled with Scottie Pippen for about 15 minutes Wednesday at the Bulls draft combine to gauge the legenardy Bull’s interest in possibly working for the organization in some capacity, possibly as an assistant coach, according to an NBA source.
“Knicks president Phil Jackson, stung by the Steve Kerr rejection, would have interest in Pippen in some capacity, pending whom his new head coach is. Pippen, master of the triangle, has the title of advisor with the Bulls.
“When asked by The Post about potentially working with Jackson, Pippen said: ‘I haven’t talked to Phil. I have to wait until that time comes. Right now nothing’s out there. I’m not going to say whther I’m interested or not until it happens.’
“Jackson was in Chicago, but stayed away from the gym where the draft continues conducted workouts. Pippen once called Steve Kerr his favorite teammate. Kerr was with Pippen for three of the Bulls’ championships.
“‘I was a little surprised,’ Pippen said of Kerr not taking the Knicks’ job. ‘I thought the familiarity working with Phil, able to run the offense, having Phil there to mentor him as much as possible made it a bit of a surprise. I think at the end of the day, Golden State is probably the better team. They have a lot more upside.'”
Kerr, who has been negotiating with the Knicks for their head coaching position for roughly two months, decided to take the Warriors’ offer on May 14 instead. Kerr was given a five-year, $25 million contract by Golden State, per Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. The New York Times’ Scott Cacciola explains why Kerr rejected the Knicks’ offer and what’s next in the coaching search for team president Phil Jackson.
“Kerr said it was difficult to say no to Jackson because of his great respect for him. But Kerr’s family lives in California, the Warriors have a ready-made roster for the playoffs, and he has solid relationships with several members of the Warriors’ front office. One more thing: Although his offense will be influenced by the triangle, Kerr said, the Warriors will not resemble the Bulls of the 1990s. Jackson appears to want someone who will operate as an extension of himself, someone familiar with the triangle, someone familiar with the triangle, perhaps someone he has coached. Someone young and fairly compliant would not hurt, either. Jackson, after all, is as much coach emeritus as team president. While there is no shortage of viable coaches who are available for work — Lionel Hollins and George Karl, to name two — Jackson’s pool appears a bit more shallow and more confined. He is considering at least three candidates he knows well, according to a person familiar with the search who requested anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak publicly about it. The three are Luke Walton, who played for Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers; Kurt Rambis, one of Jackson’s former assistants; and Brian Shaw, who played and coached for Jackson before becoming the coach of the Nuggets. Shaw is under contract with Denver, but the Knicks could try to pry him loose.”
Reporters Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne also identify former New York head coach Jeff Van Gundy and current Bulls head coach Tom Thiobdeau as other potential candidates to coach the Knicks. Pippen, a seven-time All-Star, eight-time All-Defensive First Team and three-time All-NBA First Team member, averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists during his 17-year NBA carer with the Bulls, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and was hired by the Bulls to be their senior advisor to president and COO Michael Reinsdorf two years later.