The New York Knicks are in a rough place right now with the franchise in the midst of a rebuild. The Carmelo Anthony era of the Knicks has come and gone, and now they're looking at developing young guys with a mix of veteran leadership.
On Wednesday night, after the Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in their season finale, the franchise fired head coach Jeff Hornacek after two seasons with the organization.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, recently fired Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel has inquired and shown interest in the Knicks' vacant coaching job.
No surprise, Frank Vogel has expressed interest in the Knicks job, according to an NBA source.
According to a source, the Knicks’ brass have had internal discussions about Vogel. Team officials will meet this weekend after exit interviews to compile a more official candidate list that is expected to be lengthy, a source said.
Vogel cached the Magic to a 54-110 record over the last two seasons, but was relieved of his duties this past summer along with Hornacek and former Hornets coach Steve Clifford. He had a successful six year run with the Indiana Pacers, coaching them to a 25-181 record, including two Eastern Conference Finals appearances. In both seasons, however, his team fell to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.
As Berman noted in his report, current Knicks' president Steve Mills was also the Magic's assistant General Manager back when Orlando hired Vogel in 2016, playing a part in the hiring. It's important to note that Hornacek was a hiring of former President Phil Jackson. Vogel expresses his surprise when the Knicks didn't interview him back in 2016.
“I was surprised when I wasn’t,” Vogel said. “I interviewed with Phil Jackson and Steve Mills, we had a good couple days together. They said they had one more person they wanted to talk to before they wrapped up the process, and they met with Jeff [Hornacek], and Jeff must’ve blown them away.”
The fact that Mills is leading the Knicks' coaching search could bode well for Vogel, but the Knicks are determined to find the right coach to lead their young group.
Follow Us
Subscribe