This month, The Athletic has taken a closer look at each of the candidates for the Knicks’ coaching vacancy and how each would fit in the job. We started with Tom Thibodeau, then focused on Kenny Atkinson and Mike Miller. In this installment, Ime Udoka gets the spotlight.
Age: 42
Current job: Sixers assistant coach
Resume
- Worked on the Spurs staff as an assistant under Gregg Popovich for seven seasons
- Ran the defense this season for the 76ers as the lead assistant for Brett Brown; Sixers have the sixth-best defensive rating in the league
- Played in 316 career NBA games over seven seasons
- Has interviewed for the head coaching job with Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando over the last few years
Knicks Ties
Played 114 minutes and in eight games for the Knicks during the 2005-06 season. He is the 440th-leading scorer in franchise history, tied with Kelvin Cato.
Strengths
• Comes from the Popovich coaching tree, which has produced Mike Budenholzer, Mike Brown, Brett Brown, Monty Williams and James Borrego to this point.
• Former NBA player, so should have a way to communicate with players.
Questions
• How will he be as a head coach?
References
“He’s a guy with a great all-around understanding of the game and knowledge of what it takes for a player to develop … I think role players develop through their personal characteristics and approach to the game and are not pushed or advised to become those type of players. That natural instinct is what usually extends to making them good coaches because they understand the wide range of skill sets required to make a good team, and they usually sit somewhere in the middle of that chart and possess a better ability to communicate from top to bottom.” — former NBA coach Sam Vincent in 2016 to Pounding The Rock
“If he has to get on you, he’ll get on you, but he knows how to talk to us, [he] knows how to handle players.” — Kyle Anderson to ESPN in 2018
“I think he’s gonna be a big-time head coach. He understands the game, he played, he’s kind of like Pop’s right hand man at times here. I think once he gets the opportunity, he’s gonna be great.” — LaMarcus Aldridge to ESPN
“He’s learned everything I have and more. He’s ready. Now it’s just a matter of him getting a call in my opinion.” — Mike Brown to the San Antonio Express-News in 2017
“Well respected, very knowledgeable, hard working. I couldn’t ask for anymore.” — Popovich to the San Antonio Express-News in 2017
In His Own Words
“The fact that I was a player and I can relate to them, talk to them, and (players) confide in me stuff that they wouldn’t other coaches, I think that’s definitely a strength. I think that’s one of the biggest things in the game today — how you can reach players. Anybody can draw up Xs and Os and put a guy through a workout, but it’s the other stuff that really gets you over the edge with these guys — being able to relate to them, talk to them, and figuring guys out.” — Udoka to The Athletic in 2019
“I did four coaching interviews last year, and that was a major point I would always emphasize in the meetings is, ‘I learned a ton under Pop and been blessed to see what he does, but I’m not Pop. I’m my own person.’ You have to stress that. The worst thing you can do is try to be somebody else and not be genuine with who you are. So, (Popovich has) always said that from Day 1. He said, ‘I brought you here to be yourself and be able to talk to guys and do what you do. They hear enough from me, so you got to be authentic in who you are.’” — Udoka to The Athletic in 2019
The Big Takeaway
Udoka would be a break with the way the Knicks have hired coaches over the last 20 years. Of all the head coaches the Knicks have hired since Jeff Van Gundy left, only Derek Fisher has gotten his first job in New York. Udoka has long been seen as a potential future head coach. He’s a former NBA journeyman and role player who apprenticed under Popovich, giving him the credentials and pedigree for the job. Udoka would bring new philosophies into the organization. Despite Popovich’s success, the Knicks haven’t hired any of his former assistants for their lead role, though they interviewed Borrego and Budenholzer in 2018, and do not have any former Spurs front office people working for them at high levels of basketball operations at the moment. Popovich criticized the Knicks pretty thoroughly after they fired David Fizdale in December, and if Udoka, one of his former assistants, gets the job it’s fair to think that the two had discussed the position and whatever concerns Popovich might have about the Knicks (or his midseason screed was just bluster from one coach supporting another).
How He’d Fit In New York
Udoka spent seven seasons working in San Antonio working for Popovich and for an organization constantly seeking championships. Although he may not know the bright lights of New York, he undoubtedly has felt pressure in the job. Udoka gained more responsibility as he went with the Spurs and then even more when he jumped to Philadelphia, where he was the Sixers’ de facto defensive coordinator. If anything, a focus on defense would serve the Knicks well. Despite the many bromides over the years of a return to the ’90s in New York, defense has been an ongoing weakness for nearly two decades. The 2011-12 Knicks are the only team to finish higher than 15th in defensive points per 100 possessions since the start of the 2003-04 season. The Knicks have essentially been sieves over the last four years. Udoka could bring a new voice to the organization and one that players respect; he has spoken often about communication being a strength and a necessity for him as a coach. He has had five head coaching interviews over the last two hiring cycles, and it does seem as if he is on the cusp of landing one somewhere. Although there might be concerns about hiring someone who has never been a head coach before, previous head coaching experience is no guarantee that someone will do well in the next job. It may be a leap of faith for the Knicks to hire a coach without a history, but it could also be the kind of move the organization needs to take as part of a top-down refurbishment.
This month, The Athletic has taken a closer look at each of the candidates for the Knicks’ coaching vacancy and how each would fit in the job. We started with Tom Thibodeau, then focused on Kenny Atkinson and Mike Miller. In this installment, Ime Udoka gets the spotlight.
Age: 42
Current job: Sixers assistant coach
Resume
- Worked on the Spurs staff as an assistant under Gregg Popovich for seven seasons
- Ran the defense this season for the 76ers as the lead assistant for Brett Brown; Sixers have the sixth-best defensive rating in the league
- Played in 316 career NBA games over seven seasons
- Has interviewed for the head coaching job with Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando over the last few years
Knicks Ties
Played 114 minutes and in eight games for the Knicks during the 2005-06 season. He is the 440th-leading scorer in franchise history, tied with Kelvin Cato.
Strengths
• Comes from the Popovich coaching tree, which has produced Mike Budenholzer, Mike Brown, Brett Brown, Monty Williams and James Borrego to this point.
• Former NBA player, so should have a way to communicate with players.
Questions
• How will he be as a head coach?
References
“He’s a guy with a great all-around understanding of the game and knowledge of what it takes for a player to develop … I think role players develop through their personal characteristics and approach to the game and are not pushed or advised to become those type of players. That natural instinct is what usually extends to making them good coaches because they understand the wide range of skill sets required to make a good team, and they usually sit somewhere in the middle of that chart and possess a better ability to communicate from top to bottom.” — former NBA coach Sam Vincent in 2016 to Pounding The Rock
“If he has to get on you, he’ll get on you, but he knows how to talk to us, [he] knows how to handle players.” — Kyle Anderson to ESPN in 2018
“I think he’s gonna be a big-time head coach. He understands the game, he played, he’s kind of like Pop’s right hand man at times here. I think once he gets the opportunity, he’s gonna be great.” — LaMarcus Aldridge to ESPN
“He’s learned everything I have and more. He’s ready. Now it’s just a matter of him getting a call in my opinion.” — Mike Brown to the San Antonio Express-News in 2017
“Well respected, very knowledgeable, hard working. I couldn’t ask for anymore.” — Popovich to the San Antonio Express-News in 2017
In His Own Words
“The fact that I was a player and I can relate to them, talk to them, and (players) confide in me stuff that they wouldn’t other coaches, I think that’s definitely a strength. I think that’s one of the biggest things in the game today — how you can reach players. Anybody can draw up Xs and Os and put a guy through a workout, but it’s the other stuff that really gets you over the edge with these guys — being able to relate to them, talk to them, and figuring guys out.” — Udoka to The Athletic in 2019
“I did four coaching interviews last year, and that was a major point I would always emphasize in the meetings is, ‘I learned a ton under Pop and been blessed to see what he does, but I’m not Pop. I’m my own person.’ You have to stress that. The worst thing you can do is try to be somebody else and not be genuine with who you are. So, (Popovich has) always said that from Day 1. He said, ‘I brought you here to be yourself and be able to talk to guys and do what you do. They hear enough from me, so you got to be authentic in who you are.’” — Udoka to The Athletic in 2019
The Big Takeaway
Udoka would be a break with the way the Knicks have hired coaches over the last 20 years. Of all the head coaches the Knicks have hired since Jeff Van Gundy left, only Derek Fisher has gotten his first job in New York. Udoka has long been seen as a potential future head coach. He’s a former NBA journeyman and role player who apprenticed under Popovich, giving him the credentials and pedigree for the job. Udoka would bring new philosophies into the organization. Despite Popovich’s success, the Knicks haven’t hired any of his former assistants for their lead role, though they interviewed Borrego and Budenholzer in 2018, and do not have any former Spurs front office people working for them at high levels of basketball operations at the moment. Popovich criticized the Knicks pretty thoroughly after they fired David Fizdale in December, and if Udoka, one of his former assistants, gets the job it’s fair to think that the two had discussed the position and whatever concerns Popovich might have about the Knicks (or his midseason screed was just bluster from one coach supporting another).
How He’d Fit In New York
Udoka spent seven seasons working in San Antonio working for Popovich and for an organization constantly seeking championships. Although he may not know the bright lights of New York, he undoubtedly has felt pressure in the job. Udoka gained more responsibility as he went with the Spurs and then even more when he jumped to Philadelphia, where he was the Sixers’ de facto defensive coordinator. If anything, a focus on defense would serve the Knicks well. Despite the many bromides over the years of a return to the ’90s in New York, defense has been an ongoing weakness for nearly two decades. The 2011-12 Knicks are the only team to finish higher than 15th in defensive points per 100 possessions since the start of the 2003-04 season. The Knicks have essentially been sieves over the last four years. Udoka could bring a new voice to the organization and one that players respect; he has spoken often about communication being a strength and a necessity for him as a coach. He has had five head coaching interviews over the last two hiring cycles, and it does seem as if he is on the cusp of landing one somewhere. Although there might be concerns about hiring someone who has never been a head coach before, previous head coaching experience is no guarantee that someone will do well in the next job. It may be a leap of faith for the Knicks to hire a coach without a history, but it could also be the kind of move the organization needs to take as part of a top-down refurbishment.
