Mike Woodson voices desire to coach Knicks again: 'I'd love to be back'
The New York Knicks need to fill a coaching vacancy, and one former Knick hopes to get the call.
Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson, who served as New York's head coach from 2012-2014, publicly threw his name into the mix.
“I don’t want to hide the fact I’d love to be back,’’ Woodson told Marc Berman of The Post. “I’d like to finish what I started. At the end of the day, you want to come to New York, based on my body of work there. I want it to be mutual. I want them to want me. I hope they call me.’’
Shortly after his comments were published, a report emerged from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Knicks have received permission from the Clippers to interview Woodson.
Woodson led the Knicks to their last playoff appearance in 2013 with a pace-and-space brand of basketball that was ahead of the curve. The Knicks won 54 games, defeated the Boston Celtics in the first round, and pushed a strong Indiana Pacers team to six games.
However, they struggled through a disappointing 2013-14 campaign and Woodson was offered as a scapegoat. They replaced him with Derek Fisher, who was fired a year later for Jeff Hornacek, who has now also been dismissed.
New York's vacancy has been linked with the likes of Jerry Stackhouse, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and David Fizdale.