“I Would Love to See That”: Legendary NBA Coach George Karl Offers a Sound Advice to New York Knicks

The search for a new head coach has not yielded any results yet for the New York Knicks. Since December 2019, they have had an interim coach in Mike Miller after they fired former head coach David Fizdale. The shortlist for a new coach now has one more name, and it is endorsed by legendary coach George Karl himself.

Jamahl Mosley, currently an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks, was given his first job in the NBA by Karl. Back in 2006, Karl appointed Mosley for Player Development during his time with the Denver Nuggets.

While speaking to the New York Post, Karl said, “I thought he had a great connection with today’s player. He was hungry, big in player development, then toward the end of his time, we gave him scouting reports, game-plan responsibilities. He was really good with basketball intellect and really good with players. That’s the combo you need in today’s world and changing attitudes of the young players.” 

Will the New York Knicks go with Coach Karl’s recommendation?

After being an assistant for almost 15 years now, Karl believes Mosley is due for a promotion. “It was his daily enthusiasm and desire to put in the time to be a really good coach,’’ said Karl. “He reminds me a lot of coach [Dwane] Casey when I had him in Seattle and Terry Stotts [Karl’s assistant in Seattle and Milwaukee]. They both went on to be very good head coaches, and like them, Jamahl is defensive-minded.’’ 

Mosley was also praised by his current head coach at the Mavs, Rick Carlisle. Last week, while speaking to a Dallas radio station, Carlisle also agreed that Mosley was ready for the next level. “He’s a young man that’s worked extremely hard to build up his reputation as a great young coach, great communicator. I don’t think he’s going to be with us much longer. This guy is going to be a head coach sooner than later. The opportunity to talk to the Knicks is one that he’s earned.”

It remains to see whether the Knicks will follow the recommendation of these two coaches. Their last five coaches have not lasted more than two years. They need to appoint someone they can trust for the long term because the coaching instability is also a reason for their poor performance.