When surprising word came down last week that Glen Grunwald was out and Steve Mills was in as president and general manager of the Knicks, one of the first questions was what does this mean for the future of coach Mike Woodson?
Grunwald and Woodson were college teammates and friends. New GMs like their own guy in that chair. So…
The Knicks tried to squelch that talk by picking up Woodson’s option for the 2014-15 season, something the team announced Monday.
“I have long respected Mike and think he has done a remarkable job since becoming the head coach of the Knicks,” Mills said in a released statement. “After spending time with him recently, it is clear that picking up his option is an easy decision.”
Woodson has done some good things as coach of the Knicks, most notably getting Carmelo Anthony to agree to play the four spot, which really opens up the Knicks offense. New York won 54 games last season and was the two seed in the East, then advanced to the second round — that was the franchise’s best showing in more than a decade. Woodson is doing something right.
His return next season as coach really hinges on one thing — does Carmelo Anthony want him back? The Knicks offseason priority is keeping Anthony (which is not a slam dunk) and if he wants a coaching change then he would get it.
I doubt he does — Anthony and Woodson have a good relationship. Things can certainly change, but it seems unlikely that is Woodson’s downfall.
Not getting the Knicks to play better defense this season, that could be a bigger potential stumbling block.