http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketba...knicks_job.html <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">Scott Skiles fits profile for Knicks job </span> BY FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Updated Wednesday, April 9th 2008, 10:58 AM AUBURN HILLS - Scott Skiles' days as an unemployed coach will be ending soon. According to a source close to the former Chicago Bulls coach, Skiles already has been contacted by several teams and is eager to return to work. It is unclear if the Knicks are one of the teams that has expressed interest in Skiles. Newly appointed Knicks president Donnie Walsh thinks highly of Skiles, who along with Rick Carlisle and Jeff Van Gundy are among a small group of experienced coaches available. But Skiles and former Knick Mark Jackson have emerged as the top candidates to replace Isiah Thomas once Walsh makes the much-anticipated change. Walsh is expected to meet with Thomas before tonight's home game against Charlotte. Walsh said last week that Thomas would coach the Knicks' remaining games and hinted that Thomas could be demoted to another position in the organization. Out of respect for Thomas, Walsh has not commented on a potential coaching search. He is expected to meet the media before tonight's game, presumably after meeting with Thomas. But a source close to Walsh maintains that it is a foregone conclusion that he will hire a new coach and that a move could come quickly. Jackson is highly regarded around the league but lacks experience. However, Walsh has a history of hiring first-time coaches; he gave Larry Bird and Thomas their first coaching jobs with the Pacers. There is also talk about moving Jackson, who interviewed for the Memphis Grizzlies' job last summer, into a front-office role, perhaps general manager. Skiles has also been mentioned as a possible successor to Pat Riley in Miami when Riley moves to the front office. If Walsh decides to look for a more proven candidate, he may turn to Skiles, who has coached Phoenix and Chicago. At his press conference last week, Walsh talked about his initial goal of making the Knicks a competitive team, which would seem to imply that Walsh may want his first major hire in New York to be an experienced coach. The Knicks, Milwaukee, Charlotte and perhaps Atlanta could be in the market for a new coach. According to a source, Skiles is reluctant to negotiate with any club that still has a coach in place. His adviser, Keith Glass, declined to comment but said that Skiles was adamant about not campaigning for a job through the media. "In other words, no comment," Glass said before hanging up. Skiles, 44, would give the Knicks instant credibility and would bring back the concepts of defense and accountability. He can be brutally honest, a trait that is not always appreciated by his players, but Skiles also gets results. The Bulls reached the second round of the playoffs last year only to be one of the NBA's more disappointing teams this season. Reports of a trade for Kobe Bryant and contract problems with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon helped to undermine the Bulls' season. Skiles was fired in late December. "He's one of the best in business," says one NBA coach. "He'll get the Knicks to do something they haven't done in years - play hard."
Skiles would be a good hire for them in my opinion. As a tactician (and I know Denny will disagree), Skiles is a very good coach. I think what's going to be important for the team that hires him is to know when to listen to him and when to tune him out when it comes to who can play, and to put a system in place that will give players means of developing. Skiles is about winning games, and I don't think he give's a rat's ass about developing guys' skills. That might work if the guy in charge of Skiles also puts in place a good developmental system and keeps the pressure on him to keep trying guys in new things.
The only reason to hire Skiles in New York is if Walsh wants to increase the trade value of Jared Jeffries and Mardy Collins. Both would get 30+ MPG.
