Kenny Payne

New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau and Kevin Knox in getting-to-know-you phase

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New York Knicks, Kevin Knox

The New York Knicks have moved to their own version of the “The Delete 8 Bubble” in the second phase of the league-mandated organized team activities. And new head coach Tom Thibodeau has started to acquaint himself with his new team, particularly his young players.

Thibodeau is inheriting a young roster with underachieving former lottery picks. One of them is former Kentucky Wildcat Kevin Knox, who is coming off an underwhelming sophomore season and whose name has been floated around in trade rumors.

“Kevin’s come in and he’s done quite a bit of work. I’m getting to know him and he’s getting to know me and it will take some time. But I like what he’s done so far,” Thibodeau said during yesterday’s zoom call with New York media.

Knox regressed in his second year after a promising rookie season. His scoring dropped from 12.8 to 6.4 points. He played sporadically during the Knicks’ tumultuous season, which saw David Fizdale getting fired, that led to a major organizational revamp.

Under new team president Leon Rose‘s leadership, the Knicks have plucked Kenny Payne out of Kentucky to join the team as an assistant coach and help revive Knox’s career.

“Yeah, and not just with Kevin, but with all the players,’’ Thibodeau said of Payne’s role. “I’ve known John Calipari a long time and every year I would get Kenny’s input on all the draft candidates. I always thought he was very insightful and he knew the players extremely well. So I thought when we had the opportunity to get him, that just made a lot of sense on a lot of different levels.”

Thibodeau and the Knicks hope Payne could parlay those relationships into on-court success.

Payne has built a reputation as a player’s whisperer back in Kentucky.  Under his guidance, Kentucky was able to produce future NBA top picks and future league stars in Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, and Tyler Herro, among others.

“Kenny is someone I’ve always talked to over the years about the upcoming draft, but I never really saw him teaching on the floor, but I had heard great things about him,” Thibodeau added.

Now that Thibodeau saw first-hand how Payne teaches in great detail, there’s a prevailing hope that Knox would be able to turn the corner in his make-or-break third season in the league. But he was quick to temper any unwarranted expectations that he and his staff would unlock Knox’s potential or anyone from the team overnight.

“There’s no magic formula where you gonna get everything done in one day. I think it’s about establishing and building the right habits to be successful. So you put in the foundation of an offensive and defensive system and how are you gonna go about your business. I think it’s all about building the right habits so the team can improve and get better as time goes on,” Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau assembles well-rounded coaching staff; Knicks director of performance resigns

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New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau

The New York Knicks have reshaped their coaching staff in the hopes of bringing back their glory years.

The Knicks officially announced on Friday the return of Mike Woodson along with the additions of associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and Tom Thibodeau’s trusted guys Andy Greer and Dice Yashimoto.

“With these hires, we have added a wealth of basketball experience and knowledge that will be of great service to our players and our organization,” Thibodeau said in a statement. “All of our coaches have had a high level of success in college, the NBA or internationally. We are assembling a hard-working and well-rounded coaching staff that will embody everything we want to be about: accountability, development, teaching and a winning culture.”

Woodson brings accountability and winning culture to the table being the most accomplished coach in the Knicks franchise history in the last two decades.  He is returning to Madison Square Garden after spending three seasons with the franchise from 2012-2014 before getting unceremouniously fired by Phil Jackson.

Woodson took over from Mike D’Antoni as interim coach late in the 2011-12 where the Knicks went 18-6 to finish the season strong that led to his promotion as head coach.  He went on to guide the Knicks to their first Atlantic Divition title since the 1993-94 season with a 54-28 record in 2013. The 54 wins were the most by any Knicks team since the 1996-97 season. They beat the Boston Celtics, 4-2, in the first round of the playoffs to make it to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2000.  Their phenomenal run ended in the next round with a 4-2 series loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Beset by injuries the following season, the Knicks fell short of the playoffs, finishing 37-45, that led to his ouster.  He ended up with the third-best winning percentage in franchise history (.580) and the seventh-most victories (109-79) by a head coach.

Greer and Yashimoto, meanwhile, were with Thibodeau in his last two stops in Chicago and Minnesota helping him reach post-season success.

Greer has previously served as scout for the Knicks and worked with Thibodeau in Jeff Van Gundy and later on Don Chaney’s coaching staff from 2001-03. He has also spent some time with the USA Basketball, first serving as one of Gregg Popovich’s scout in the 2019 USA World Cup team. He was also an assistant coach under Mike Fratello in the 2020 AmeriCup Qualifying team.

Marc Berman of New York The Post reported that Andy Greer’s younger brother, Larry, has a good chance of reuniting with the group. Larry Greer was also with Thibodeau in Minnesota and most recently served as one of Monty Williams’ assistant coach in Phoenix.

Yashimoto, meanwhile, will reprise his role as Thibodeau’s right hand man. He will serve as assistant to the head coach. Previously, he served Thibodeau as Special Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations in Minnesota.  Yashimoto most recently held the position of Director of Basketball Strategy and Video at University of Georgia, bringing with him an intel on Anthony Edwards, one of the top rookie prospects in this year’s Draft.  Empire Sports Media has learned from a source inside University of Georgia that Yashimoto’s contract with the Bulldogs expires today.

Bryant along with Kenny Payne have built a strong reputation as solid skills and player developmental coaches and players’ whisperers.

In the midst of reshaping the Knicks organization, the team’s long-time Director of Performance Mubarak Malik has stepped down from his post.

Malik has recently announced his emotional yet intriguing resignation on a lengthy Instagram post.


View this post on Instagram

 

Today marks the end of a chapter for me.. I resigned from my dream job. Truthfully, the only job I ever wanted since high school.. I could write a dissertation about how much the last 7 seasons meant to me and how much I’ve grown by working with one of the most prestigious sports teams in the world.. but you know what?? NO ONE can question my tireless work ethic, my daily pursuit of excellence to be the best I could be, so that I could best serve the team or take away the impact I’ve made in the NBA in such a short period time.. and that’s why I’m at peace with my decision. Forever grateful to the Knicks for believing in me and allowing me the freedom to reach a life goal… and to the amazing players I worked with and got to know personally(all of you) THANK YOU. ❤️💪🏽💯 #OnceAKnickAlwaysAKnick #NYC #NewYorkorNoWhere

A post shared by BAR (@mubarakmalik) on Aug 31, 2020 at 12:15pm PDT

 

Malik joins Craig Robinson, the former Vice President of Player Development and Minor League Operations, as the latest members of the Knicks organization who held critical roles in player development to leave.

Robinson, the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, left the team in July and has since accepted a post to become the chief of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Malik, meanwhile, has been with the Knicks since 2012-13 season starting out as strength and conditioning coordinator before getting promoted in 2014. He was heavily involved with on-court player development and sports science. Prior to joining the Knicks, he worked with MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates for six years as strength and conditioning coach for both the major league club and throughout its minor league system.  He holds Master’s degree in Movement Sciences from Arizona University.

New York Knicks add Tom Thibodeau’s trusted assistants and Mike Woodson (report)

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New york Knicks, Mike Woodson

The New York Knicks are on the verge of adding Tom Thibodeau’s most trusted guys Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto, along with former Knicks coach Mike Woodson according to multiple reports.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news.

Greer and Yoshimoto are no strangers to Thibodeau.  They have been with him since his first head coaching gig in Chicago.

Greer, who recently served as Mike Fratello’s assistant on the USA Olympic Qualifying Team, has been Thibodeau’s defensive coordinator in both Chicago and Minnesota.

Greer and Thibodeau have gone a long way since working together under Jeff Van Gundy’s staff and later on under Don Chaney in New York in the early 2000s.

Greer served as Thibodeau’s defensive coordinator in his last two stops while Yoshimoto has been a “swiss knife” starting out as video coordinator in Chicago and later on becoming a special assistant to the president of basketball operations in Minnesota.  Yoshimoto has also been involved with the University of Georgia as director of basketball strategy and video.

Woodson, meanwhile, has interviewed for the head coaching post, which eventually went to Thibodeau. He’s built a reputation in New York as a modern offensive coach who demanded accountability.  He’s been the last successful Knicks coach in almost two decades.

During the Knicks’ run to the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2012-13 season, he guided the team to the third-best offensive rating at 111.1. He was also ahead of the curve as he relied on 3-point shooting to surround Carmelo Anthony. They led the league in both attempts and made 3-pointers per game while ranking fifth in percentage.

After being fired by Phil Jackson the following year, he went on to serve as an assistant coach in the Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-2018.  Prior to coaching the Knicks, he was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010, guiding the team to three consecutive playoff appearances.

The three new assistants will join Kenny Payne and associate head coach Jonnie Bryant under Thibodeau in New York.

New York Knicks: Kevin Knox, Julius Randle react to Kenny Payne hire

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New York Knicks, Kevin Knox

The New York Knicks are assembling a coaching staff for their new head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Tuesday morning the team announced it hired Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne to join Thibodeau’s staff. Payne is the first official hire for Thibodeau’s coaching staff.

Payne was an assistant for the Oregon Ducks under head coach Ernie Kent from 2004-09. He joined John Calipari’s coaching staff at Kentucky in 2010, where he spent 10 seasons. Payne coached a plethora of lottery selections at Kentucky who panned out to be reliable NBA starters and/or All-Stars.

Some players who worked with Payne include but aren’t limited to: Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyler Herro. Meanwhile, the Knicks have two players who played at Kentucky under Payne: Kevin Knox and Julius Randle.

Knox and Randle tweeted positively about Payne in the wake of him joining the organization on Tuesday.

Knox played for the Wildcats in the 2017-18 college basketball season. He averaged 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, which helped him get selected ninth by the Knicks in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The forward is two years into his NBA career. Last season he averaged 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Randle played for the Wildcats in the 2013-14 college basketball season. He averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, which helped him get selected seventh by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The big man is entering the second season of a three-year, $62 million deal with the Knicks. Last season he averaged 19.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson and 2020 interim head coach Mike Miller are reported candidates to join Thibodeau’s coaching staff.

The Knicks own two first-round draft picks and their own second rounder in the upcoming NBA Draft and could carry as much as $60 million in cap space into free agency.

New York Knicks: Kentucky assistant thinks Kevin Knox can succeed with new coaching staff

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New York Knicks, Kevin Knox

Kevin Knox has been in and out of the New York Knicks’ starting lineup over his first two years in the NBA, starting 61 of a possible 140 games. Subsequently, Knox, selected by the Knicks with the ninth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has struggled to get into a groove.

However, Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne feels Knox, his former player, can get on the right track with a new coaching staff per an interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post.

“No question, I think a new staff comes in and can evaluate what the kid is and tell him what he needs him to do,’’ Payne said. “He’s starting with a clean slate. There’s no prejudging of who he is. He can go out and feel comfortable and do the things to help the team win. I think he’s coming back with a new and different fire. With a little adversity, you can attain greatness. And he’s been through it.”

New York is currently in search of a head coach for the 2020-21 NBA season.

Payne says being comfortable is pivotal in Knox turning a corner.

“He’s had people question his desire, question his toughness, question his defense, question his shooting,’’ Payne said. “In my opinion, great players, good players in the NBA, it’s not can he shoot, defend, rebound. It’s about if he’s secure and comfortable doing it, getting him more comfortable. Getting him in a more aggressive mindset to do it is more important.’’ 

Payne doesn’t think talent is the issue for Knox.

“Things changed this year where they were going to hold him a little more accountable,’’ Payne said. “The first year was ‘Let’s feature him, get comfortable and let him play though his mistakes.’ Sometimes young players like Kevin have to feel comfortable. I personally don’t think it’s about his talent. He’s talented enough. It’s about how he digests the game. How he feels about himself. Is he in rhythm playing basketball or playing with a team that is playing a little selfish and the ball is not moving as much? Or the system and schemes offensively and defensively is where he’s not secure.”

Payne feels Knox is in store for a productive season.

“He’s a great kid and high-character person. I’m curious to see what the next year brings for him. I think this year will be a good year for him.”

Knox is averaging 9.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from beyond the arc across his two years in the NBA.