Becky Hammon is reportedly interested in the New York Knicks’ head coaching position. On learning this my brain started going a mile a minute. So, so, so, many angles. Bear with me as I work through all my feels.
Best Case Scenario For Hammon
I remember hearing a quote once that said something to the effect that men only think to ask for women’s help with a problem when the situation is a complete and utter mess. Should Hammon end up as the Knicks head coach, it seems like this concept would be applicable.
Whether you think Fiz was a great coach or a terrible one, we can all agree that to say the New York Knicks organization is a disaster is putting it mildly. If the human being that is able to turn the Knicks around could be a woman it would be just so far beyond amazing for women in sports I don’t even have words.
Worst Case Scenario for Hammon
But let’s be realistic. That’s the Hallmark/fairytale/feel-good movies of the summer possible storyline. It’s a nice narrative but it’s not even remotely based in reality. We all know Dolan is the reason that the most valuable NBA franchise has experienced 20-years of basketball irrelevancy. Not to mention scandal after coach firing after roster dysfunction after front office turnover after sexual harassment lawsuit after horrible season after…
Okay, you get the point.
The news that Fiz had been released from the Knicks became public mid-way through The Jump yesterday. Before the news broke, Kendrick Perkins said that Fiz was put in a position to fail. The same would be true of Hammon. This is not a situation the right coach can turn around. This is a systematic, from the top, cluster of incompetence and ego.
The Knicks organization considers coaches to be completely expendable. Do we really have to be reminded of this? I mean, eight head coaches since D’Antoni left in the 2011-12 season kind of says it all. (That number includes interim coaches.) Or that the concept that team improvement doesn’t happen amidst a revolving door if coaches are apparently completely lost on them? How an organization expects to get any traction when everyone in the NBA world knows that the front office doesn’t have the coach’s back is beyond me.
Dr. Phil always says that the best indicator of a person’s future behaviour is their relevant past behaviour. James Dolan is the New York Knicks. His past behaviour doesn’t say anything good for anyone who is willing to take on coaching for the Knicks.
And yes, the reports say Hammon would only be willing to take the position if it were a long-term deal. But Dolan has so much money, he doesn’t care about the deal. If Dolan wants a coach gone he’s willing to spend whatever it costs to get them gone. If this was about making money for Hammon I’d say go for it. It’s way more reliable than playing the lottery.
Questions Hammon Should Consider
To be clear, I in no way think considering this opportunity is about money for Hammon. That said, I’ve got a couple of different trains of thought on it. On the one hand, as a woman in a male-dominated industry, I understand the feeling that you have to take the open shot. And few head coaching shots will ever be more open than for the Knicks. I get that.
But is this open shot the right open shot? Hammon has had to display a certain level of excellence to land a seat beside Gregg Popovich I’d be wary of whether that excellence would be valued in an organization like the Knicks. Or if she would even get the chance to really display it. In order for this situation to work out, Hammon would have to have to other-worldly, Jedi mind-tricky, Poison Ivy-like powers to reign in James Dolan. I have mad respect for Hammon, but she’s still only human.
So, here are the questions I’d be asking myself if I were her.
- Do I really believe this is the best opportunity to show my talents and skills?
- The Knicks fire coaches more often than they have winning seasons. Will this situation really be different for me?
- If I leave my current position and get fired, what then?
- Will it mean having to take a step back to stay within the NBA?
- Will there even be a job in the NBA available in that possible eventuality?
All My Feels
I think of you’re good enough for an assistant coaching job with the Spurs you’re better than a head coaching job with the Knicks. Hell. If you’re good enough for an assistant position with most NBA teams, any job with the Knicks is below you.
I understand that the big story here is that taking this position is about Hammon being the only female head coach in the NBA. I totally get that. But as I woman, I have to wonder. Would I want to take a head coaching job that no man with any industry respectability is likely to want to even get near? Or would I want to wait for a position where I’m being evaluated against men for a job that is being sought after in an organization that is highly regarded and well respected?
For instance, some people believe that the Bucks have a championship-level team but possibly a coach that can’t get it done in the playoffs. What if the Bucks don’t get where they want to be in the upcoming postseason and the organization decides to part ways with coach Budenholzer? That’s the kind of job I’d like to see Hammon go after. Open threes are great, but landing a job like that would be like a posterizing dunk. It would be like this Vince Carter Olympic arguably GOAT dunk. It would make Hammon a legend.
I think I would be partial to the latter scenario. But on the other hand, there’s the possibility that this scenario never materializes. What I know for sure is that taking the position would be a huge risk that could very well pay off monetarily in a big way. Professionally, though, I don’t like the odds.
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