ESPN on Monday reported that former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt is one of the names being considered to coach the NY Knicks, who for the time being are using interim coach Kurt Rambis. Blatt took Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2015, but didn’t get along, apparently, with team star LeBron James, and was fired even as the Cavaliers were leading the Eastern division with 30-11. Blatt went down in history as the NBA coach who was fired with the highest winning percentage — .732.
By the way, in the four years the American-born Israeli Blatt coached Maccabi Tel Aviv, he compiled a 225–55 win-loss record, and was named the Euroleague Coach of the Year in 2014, while Cavs in 2010-11 tied the league’s record for the longest losing streak in major American professional sports with 26.
According to ESPN, Blatt has a bit of a leg up on the competition — Brian Shaw, Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson — since the Knicks general manager Steve Mills played with him at Princeton (Blatt was an usher at Mills’ wedding in 1984). There are rumors Patrick Ewing also asked to be interviewed for the position.