Hornacek is a disciple of Hall of Fame NBA coach Jerry Sloan, whom he played for and coached under with the Utah Jazz.
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The Knicks hiring of Jeff Hornacek as their next head coach, especially by a team president married to an offensive system his new coach has zero experience with, seems weird. “It’s ‘as close as humanly possible, ‘ per source, [though] not official”. While the Suns were a smaller franchise, Hornacek still found a way to keep them competitive (injuries played a big role in this season’s downfall and his eventual ousting).
Hornacek led the Suns to a 48-34 record in his first season at the helm, leading a young team to the cusp of the postseason in an ultra competitive Western Conference.
As the New York Knicks continue on their coaching search, rumors indicate that it is now a wide-open race and certainly not Kurt Rambis’ job to lose.
The Knicks finished 32-50 last season, their third straight season out of the playoffs.
A top assistant post in Golden State would have made for a nice consolation prize, but now Hornacek has the opportunity to be regarded as a potential savior under Phil Jackson for an ever so hungry and anxious fan base.
According to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, the Knicks have chosen Jeff Hornacek over those three heavily-rumored candidates.
“He pitched himself to Jackson as a defensive-minded coach who, while playing collegiately at Princeton, was reared on the joy of a deliberate, five-man offense and therefore amenable to embracing Jackson’s beloved triangle”. After his last coaching hire, Jackson never really got comfortable with Fisher, and things ended poorly there. It was thought that Rambis would receive serious consideration for removing the interim tag, as team president Phil Jackson publicly stated he wanted the next coach to be “comfortable” running his beloved Triangle offense.
TRIANO TO SUNS: Canadian national team coach Jay Triano is moving from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Phoenix Suns.
The intelligent Hornacek believes in systems, too, just at a much-faster pace than the triangle sets with more pick-and-rolls and 3-point shots.
This will be Hornacek’s second National Basketball Association head coaching gig. Rambis and Hornacek have mutual respect for each other, sources say, having been teammates for three seasons with the Suns. Jackson in the past tends to hire guys he knows personally. Hornacek and a different system can only mean positive things for Anthony’s immediate future in NY.
With Phoenix, Hornacek had a guard-heavy roster, at one point employing point guards Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas on the court together.
Anthony led the team again this season with an average of 21.8 points per game. Jackson won 11 championships coaching the triangle with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and later with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Rumors saying the Anthony will be waiving his ‘no-trade clause are fueled after the news spread that Jackson already picked Rambis for the head coach vacancy.
