The New York Knicks will interview the TNT analyst Kenny Smith as the head coaching search continues to expand.
According to reports from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a source is saying that the New York Knicks are going to interview New York native, Kenny Smith, who currently serves as an analyst for TNT. They are set to interview Smith on Friday.
Smith’s potential interview shows that Steve Mills and Scott Perry are thinking outside of the box with this head coaching search. Smith joins a growing list of candidates including, Mark Jackson, David Blatt, Jerry Stackhouse, David Fizdale, and Mike Woodson.
Kenny “The Jet” Smith went to high school at Archbishop Molloy in Queens. Smith was a two-time NBA Champion during his 10-year career. Smith has never coached in the NBA, but he interviewed with the Houston Rockets for the head coaching job in 2016. According to ESPN’s Calvin Watkins, Kenny Smith did well in his interview and impressed the Rockets despite ultimately losing out on the job.
Although Smith may be lacking head coaching experience, he has played for some incredible coaches throughout his career. He played under the legendary Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy who was well-known as one of the best high school coaches in the country. He also played for the great Dean Smith at North Carolina.
If nothing else, Smith has been around great people in the game of basketball and he knew how to win championships as a player. Sure, it might hurt his case that he has no head coaching experience, but I’m guessing the Knicks front office is just looking to do their due diligence by interviewing as many people as possible—unless that person is named Jeff Van Gundy.