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Knicks Rumors: Mike Woodson, More Finalizing Contracts to Join Thibodeau's Staff
August 28, 2020
The New York Knicks are nearing agreements with Mike Woodson, Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto to join head coach Tom Thibodeau's staff, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Marc Berman of the New York Post confirmed the additions Friday.
The Knicks are under new management after hiring ex-CAA agent Leon Rose as its president of basketball operations in March.
He hired Thibodeau in July to replace David Fizdale, who was fired after 22 games. Mike Miller took over as the interim coach for the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season.
Woodson is a familiar face for Knicks fans. Not only is the 62-year-old the last coach to lead the Knicks to the playoffs, but he also is the only one this century to have guided New York to (a) a playoff series win and (b) 50 or more regular-season victories.
Both happened in 2012-13, when the 54-28 Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They last achieved those feats in 1999-00.
Woodson's Knicks went 37-45 in 2013-14, and the team went in a different direction after the campaign. New York has not won more than 32 games in a single season since.
Woodson's most recent coaching stop was as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
The 58-year-old Greer was an assistant head coach in the NBA from 2001 to '18. He helped coach seven NBA teams during that span, starting with the Knicks in 2001 and ending with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018.
Greer has worked under Thibodeau twice when the coach was guiding the Chicago Bulls and Timberwolves.
He also has head coaching experience, guiding the United States Merchant Marine Academy from 1993 to '97 and serving as Northern Illinois' interim coach in 2000-01.
Like Greer, Yoshimoto worked with Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota. Berman called Yoshimoto the "ultimate utility guy who is Thibs' right-hand man." Yoshimoto most recently worked as Georgia's director of basketball strategy and video.
The trio will join associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant coach Kenny Payne under Thibodeau.