Former Bulls screamer Scott Skiles was hired today as Milwaukee’s new clipboard maestro, and the New York Post’s Marc Berman would have us believe Skiles failed to get a call from Knicks due to a poor relationship with a certain lumbering underachiever.
Skiles’ bid may have been damaged because two prominent Knicks starters, Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford, despised him with the Bulls. Skiles got them traded.
Curry indicated his distaste for Skiles when asked by The Post his reaction if Skiles was hired. “(I’m) speechless,” Curry said after a long pause. “We’ll see what happens.”
A friend of Skiles scoffed at any connection. “If Curry and Crawford despised him, then the Knicks should’ve hired Scott immediately,” Skiles’ friend said.
When Mark Jackson’s interviewed, the key for him will be to explain how he would fill out his coaching staff, considered vital by Donnie Walsh because of Jackson’s inexperience. Hiring a veteran top assistant is a must. If Jackson gets the job, he may consider former Knicks assistant Brendan Malone and/or Patrick Ewing.
Though Jeff Van Gundy dreams of one day returning to coaching, he acknowledged Saturday Jackson is best for the job now, calling it “a one-horse race.” Van Gundy might have inside knowledge, considering he worked on some playoff telecasts in San Antonio this weekend.
Walsh said he would put Van Gundy on the list. But a source said when a reporter asked if Van Gundy would be interviewed, Walsh made a gesture with a fake pen and pretended to write a name as he said, “Well, you just brought his name up. I’ll put him on the list. I’m compiling that list right now.”
“Man, he must be desperate,” Van Gundy said Saturday.