TREVISO, ITALY - JUNE 11: Former NBA coach David Blatt attends the Adidas Eurocamp Day Two at La Ghirada sports center on June 11, 2016 in Treviso, Italy.
(Photo by Roberto Serra/Iguana Press/Getty Images for Adidas)

Once a candidate to become head coach of the New York Knicks, David Blatt is joining the team as a basketball operations consultant.

In a slightly different timeline, David Blatt could have become head coach of the New York Knicks. He was a legitimate candidate in 2018, but the job ultimately went to David Fizdale.

Fast forward to 2019 and Blatt is signing on with the Knicks as a basketball operations consultant. According to the team, it sounds like Blatt will focus on helping the front office with everything from scouting to development.

This doesn’t appear to be a situation where Blatt is coming aboard to eventually take over from interim head coach Mike Miller. Blatt was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis earlier this year and is officially retiring from coaching.

“I look forward to the next step in my career as I officially retire from coaching and pursue other opportunities in basketball,” Blatt said in a statement. “I’ve long been intrigued by working in a front office and thank Steve [Mills] and Scott [Perry] for the opportunity to be a resource to the basketball operations staff.”

Blatt has deep ties to the current Knicks front office, playing at Princeton with team president Steve Mills and VP of player development Craig Robinson. Mills and general manager Scott Perry released a joint statement on the hire:

“David Blatt is a great basketball mind and we look forward to adding him to the organization. He will be a great asset to our front office, G League team and international scouting.”

Although most NBA fans will remember Blatt from his short tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the basketball lifer has a wealth of experience at the international level. His resume speaks for itself.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.