Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka shouldn’t want Knicks’ job.
It was recently reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic that Philadelphia 76ers assistant Ime Udoka will be interviewed for the New York Knicks head coaching job. While there are only a handful of head coaching positions available per offseason, it would be wise of Udoka to turn down the Knicks’ opening if they aren’t his only option.
The reasons why.
The Knicks aren’t the only team interested in Udoka as a candidate for a head coaching vacancy. If the Chicago Bulls move on from head coach Jim Boylen, Udoka is the lead candidate for that position. With New York, it appears that Tom Thibodeau is the lead candidate, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN, tip of the hat to RealGM.
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Udoka’s currently not at the tops of the Knicks list but is for the Bulls. Going to a place that wants you more is important, however, the Knicks are a much more unattractive job versus the Bulls at this point.
Beyond a plethora of draft picks, the Knicks don’t have much of a solid young core outside RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith Jr., and Frank Ntilikina all appear to be bust at this point.
The Bulls’ young core is much more promising. Coby White, Zach LaVine, Wendell Carter Jr., and Lauri Markkanen should have bright futures in the NBA. The Bulls are only a player or two away from developing into a promising young team, whereas the Knicks are still in the early stages of their rebuild.
This isn’t even including the fact that Chicago has a stronger structure and they honestly better reputation than the Knicks. New York’s owner James Dolan has failed multiple times in his role both putting a product on the court and how he handles situations off of it. Bulls ownership has a much better track record.
Both teams have new front offices, but they differ as the Knicks have a former agent Leon Rose running things and the Bulls have basketball people in their front office like Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley taking charge. Udoka should want a front office that has experience putting together a roster and Chicago has that.
If Udoka has to end up choosing between the Knicks’ and the Bulls’ head coaching jobs, the Philadelphia 76ers’ assistant would be wise to pick Chicago as it’s clearly the better gig.