Stan Van Gundy Goes To Bat for Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing has made it perfectly clear that he wants to be a head coach. His contract with the Magic expires at the end of this season, and he wants a shot at the big-time. And Stan Van Gundy believes that his former team owes him that shot.
Van Gundy went to bat for his assistant, whom he thinks gets the love he deserves from the fans, but not from the Knicks organization.
“With Patrick, the one thing I’ve said, and I’m not trying to tell them their business,” Van Gundy said. “They honor the guy every year. They honor him, but while they have a lot of ex-players in the organization, they’ve never moved to try to hire him.
“He was not only the face of the franchise, he was their best player, the hardest worker and gave them a chance to be great. But when it’s time to put up or shut up, they do nothing, and it’s been amazing and our good fortune in Orlando.
“It’s sort of back and forth,” he added. “The fans certainly love him. The organization, the guy can’t get an interview. The organization sort of pretends to appreciate him.”
Last night was Legend Night at MSG, presumably scheduled against the Magic because it would fit into Patrick’s schedule. That’s their responsibility – to celebrate his career in a Knicks jersey. But they have no obligation to bring him back in as a coach because he was one of the greatest players in the organization’s history. I understand Van Gundy wanting to get his guy a prime job, but what does he think can come of those comments? Is Donnie Walsh going to can Mike D’Antoni and turn the reigns over to Ewing? Come on, Stan.
Source: Real GM
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March 24th, 2009 at 10:34 am
KnicksFan84 says:
Nets might be looking for a coach… what has Lawerence Frank done honestly…. get that leprechaun outta there! Shoot Stan, if you’re not too careful, Ewing might take your job at end of season! That would be funny.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:36 am
KnicksFan84 says:
Oh yeah, and Dime, yall just so not right about using that pic. Always tryna catch a player slippin!
March 24th, 2009 at 10:40 am
freshouttatime says:
knicksfan dont think you saw the commercial yet. hilarious its like the ncaa/jordan commericals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBF1lsZUlUI
dime’s right about the organizations obligations… heck they gave his boy a shot on the roster. stan can say whatever the hell he wants, just like shaq can and it doesnt mean a thing unless theyre the decision makers
March 24th, 2009 at 10:51 am
BillyB says:
Anyone else see Ewing attempt to be Ahmad Rashad’s co-host on Ahmad’s NBATV show a year or two ago? He was really bad…the kind of bad that you feel sorry for, had trouble getting coherent sentences out. Don’t know if he was just nervous or what, but I can’t imagine he would interview well…
I think Ewing might be one of those “lead-by-example” guys, which doesn’t translate well to coaching.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Raj S says:
If the Knicks got a legitimate big man for him to help develop, they would have a lot more reason to hire him than the weak “the Knicks owe him” argument (Patrick Ewing won NO individual awards during his career, and he led his team to the Finals ONCE and lost).
March 24th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Heckler...formerly 'yallallreadyknow' says:
Raj S…
correct yourself. Pat won rookie of the year. and was a staple as an eastern all-star. and his teams went to the finals twice (’94, ’99). gold medal winner. knicks all time leader in: scoring, rebounding, steals, blocks, minutes, games, free throw attempts, free throw makes etc…
he will never be a head coach. patrick ewing is gonna be the new next kareem abdul jabbar
March 24th, 2009 at 11:43 am
nerditry says:
@heckler : Co-sign. For a team with a storied tradition, the Knicks don’t seem to be up on promoting or developing that with the players that have come through in the last 20 years.
Looking at their team directory, only names I can recognize are John Starks (Alumni Relations & Fan Development Advisor), Allan Houston (Assistant to the President for Basketball Operations) and the great Dick McGuire (Senior Basketball Consultant).
I would have thought to see a lot more familiar names in that list.
March 24th, 2009 at 11:45 am
KnicksFan84 says:
freshouttatime says:
knicksfan dont think you saw the commercial yet. hilarious its like the ncaa/jordan commericals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBF1lsZUlUI
dime’s right about the organizations obligations… heck they gave his boy a shot on the roster. stan can say whatever the hell he wants, just like shaq can and it doesnt mean a thing unless theyre the decision makers
Yeah I saw video above. Was hilarious. Still, to pause it, screenshot it and crop it and make it an Image was O.D. by dime. They could have did him way better than that. But it’s still funny.
You know who doesn’t get respect and he should… Anthony Mason. Like wow, this dude was even an allstar in 2001. In fact the saddest thing about the knicks… look at list of all former players who Knicks had that played in that game:
Allan Houston
Latrell Sprewell
Antonio McDysse
Stephon Marbury
Anthony Mason
Dikembe Moutumbo
Antonio Davis
March 24th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
bobbys says:
i like ewing. give him a shot knicks!
March 24th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
dagwaller says:
I looove that instead of using a picture of him in a suit, or a picture of him dominating a game, or even his NBA.com picture, you had some Dime intern pause the Patrick Chewing video. Classic. Love you guys!
March 24th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
POPPI GEE says:
I like the Master P-Nut joint too haha.
I would take Mark Jackson first as a coach, but I think Pat is right where he needs to be as an assistant. I think if he tries the coaching deal he will be out before the All-Star game.
March 24th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
bsteezy3 says:
Patrick Chewing!!! LOL Probably not going to happen in NY since 2010 is coming up, but sure, why can’t Pat Ewing get a coaching job? I’d like to see what he can do…
March 24th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
K Dizzle says:
NOBODY needs Ewing more than Eddy Curry and Jerome James….at least as an assistant
March 24th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Ian says:
nah the knicks dont owe him anything, did patrick play for free or something? hell if someone owes someone its the other way around ewing wouldnt be considered that great if he hadnt played in NY. now i would like to see ewing get a coaching job.
poppi i agree
March 24th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Big Island says:
Ewing is my favorite player of all time, but the Knicks don’t owe him a coaching job. However, I am at least happy dime didn’t take a screenshot from about 7 seconds later in the commercial when you get to see how big his ass is and how it’s only about 16 inches from the back of his neck. WTF