Patrick Ewing is a fan of Tom Thibodeau’s candidacy for the position of head coach of the New York Knicks.
The former Knicks star has seen Thibodeau’s job closely for years, first when Thibs was a New York City assistant during Ewing’s playing career and then when he joined Jeff Van Gundy’s staff with the Houston Rockets.
Speaking with the SiriusXM NBA Radio starting line, Ewing sang the coach’s praises.
“I think Tom is a great coach,” said Ewing (Ian Begley of H / t SNY.tv). “I had the opportunity to [play for him], being him on [Knicks] staff when I played and also working with him. He has been around for many years. He knows the game inside and out. He will do everything he has to do in terms of preparing his team to play every night. I think he would be a great candidate for that job. “
Thibodeau hasn’t trained since the Minnesota Timberwolves fired him in January 2019. Despite his failure in Minnesota, he still has a record overall win at 352-246 and led the Chicago Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 and the semifinals of the conferences in 2013 and 2015.
During his time in Chicago, the Bulls never closed below second place in the central division.
The 62-year-old has long been considered the front-runner for the job, but New York has done due diligence and interviewed a number of potential suitors.
Candidates Begley report that the Knicks have met or are planning to interview including Jason Kidd, Mike Brown, Mike Woodson, Kenny Atkinson, Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka, Orlando Magic assistant Pat Delany, assistant of bulls Chris Fleming, assistant of San Antonio Spurs Will Hardy, Dallas Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosely and current Knicks interim coach Mike Miller.