Los Angeles Lakers assistant, Jud Buechler could be the newest assistant to join the New York Knicks and David Fizdale’s coaching staff.
According to reports from ESPN’s Ian Begley, Jud Buechler may be the newest assistant to join the New York Knicks and David Fizdale’s coaching staff. In addition to Buechler, Keith Smart is expected to be one of Fizdale’s right-hand men.
According to Begley, Buechler and the Knicks are “talking seriously” about bringing him in to possibly focus on player development. That seems to be a buzzword surrounding this Knicks team and more specifically, Fizdale’s staff.
Buechler won three titles as a player with the Chicago Bulls and played under former Knicks president Phil Jackson.
Buechler would be a nice addition—forgive the overuse—for player development considering the success the Lakers had at developing their young talent this season. For one, rookie Kyle Kuzma overperformed in a big way. Julius Randle was another player who saw huge improvements in his overall game—not to mention Randle is a restricted free agent that would fit alongside Kristaps Porzingis perfectly.
Setting themselves up as a possible destination for big-time free agents is one of the things that the Lakers did so well this past season. They did this by creating a strong nucleus of young players that a star could—in theory—want to play with. If the Knicks follow this same blueprint, the eventual re-addition of Porzingis, and a possible big-time free agent signing down the road could lead to something special in Madison Square Garden.
Now that the Knicks brain trust of Fizdale, Scott Perry, and Steve Mills are firmly in place, it’s vital that they surround themselves with the right guys. Buechler and Smart could be those guys.
