Carmelo Anthony Says He Wants Input in Knicks Head Coach Search

The New York Knicks will be in the business of finding a head coach this offseason, and star player Carmelo Anthony wants his voice heard in the impending search.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com reported Anthony has not spoken to team president Phil Jackson about the coaching vacancy but said he would like to have some input on the eventual decision:

"

I think you have to. I think you have to have some type of input, whether it's input or dialogue, whatever word that you want to use. I think you have to have that. I think at this point it needs to be some type of connection, some type of communication. Especially if we want to right this ship, there definitely needs to be some type of communication.

"

This comes after Marc Stein and Begley cited sources and reported the Knicks were strongly considering giving Rambis the full-time coaching position.

Rambis took over as the interim coach following Derek Fisher’s firing on Feb. 8. Stein and Begley said Jackson prefers Rambis and is “pushing for a new multiyear deal” for the former Los Angeles Laker, even though the Knicks dropped to 8-17 since Rambis took over with Wednesday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Rambis helped Jackson win four championships as one of his assistant coaches with the Lakers and is reportedly close with the Knicks president. Stein and Begley noted Jackson has frequently appeared at New York practices since Rambis took the interim job and sees his former assistant as someone who can run the triangle offense he made famous with the Chicago Bulls and Lakers.

If Rambis got the job, it wouldn't be his first attempt as a full-time head coach. He was the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and racked up an abysmal 32-132 record.

Perhaps with that in mind, Anthony recently said he would like to see Jackson consider more than just Rambis for the position with marquee names such as Mark Jackson, Tom Thibodeau and Jeff Van Gundy potentially available, per Stein and Begley.

Begley shared some more of Anthony’s thoughts on the subject: 

"

I like Kurt. I thought he was kind of thrown into a tough situation with the firing of [Fisher] and kind of gathering the troops, getting guys to play and finish the season up. As far as what's going to happen this summer, this offseason and next year, who's going to be in that spot, I have no idea. I haven't had any conversations with anybody about that. I'm pretty sure they'll address that when the offseason comes.

I would love to have some type of input when it comes to that. But like I said, nobody has had a conversation about that yet.

"

There is a school of thought that Rambis would be something of a puppet for Jackson if he were given the full-time position, especially since the latter likely couldn’t handle the day-to-day rigors of coaching at age 70. Rambis responded to that criticism, per Begley:

"I grew up playing basketball a certain way, and it's very consistent with what Phil believes and thinks. So I don't consider myself a puppet of his. It's just a mindset of how we think the game should be played.”

The impending coaching decision is an important one for a once-proud franchise that hasn’t reached the postseason since the 2012-13 campaign. Although the 31-48 Knicks have shown some improvement from last season’s dreadful 17-65 mark, they are still a long way from competing with the likes of the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers for championships.

As for Anthony, he was averaging 22 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, as of Wednesday, and made his ninth All-Star Game of his career this season. There has never been much doubt that he is a talented individual and one of the NBA's best scorers, especially since he has averaged more than 20 points per night every season of his career since he entered the league in 2003.

However, he is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and others he has played against with championship rings. He may recognize at age 31 that he needs at least one title to bolster his resume before his eventual retirement.

He just wants to help choose the coach that will lead him there.