In an appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show,” former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy called out the New York Knicks organization for their ‘arrogance’ as a franchise.
Amid rumors of Zion Williamson’s interest in playing for the team, Van Gundy explained why fans shouldn’t put much stock in whispers of any player being attracted to the Orange and Blue.
“It’s possible,” said Van Gundy, per The New York Post. “But listen. The Knicks have this thing and it’s amazing. No matter how many times people have proven they don’t want to play for the Knicks, the Knicks have this idea that everybody in the league wants to play for the Knicks. Now what is the last time it actually happened that somebody came and tried to get their way to New York? Like, never in the last 20 years? But still the Knicks and Knicks fans think everybody is trying to get to the Knicks. I’m not saying [Zion] won’t end up there — there’s all kinds of ways people can end up somewhere — but this idea that everybody wants to be a New York Knick, I mean if that were the case, then they wouldn’t be as bad as they’ve been for the last 20 years.”
This season, it’s Zion. Last season, it was Gordon Hayward. Before then, it was Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Every year, the Knicks seem to be at the center of free agency rumors only to get burned in the end.
For Van Gundy, the narrative that the Knicks have done anything to deserve top-tier free agents borders on nonsensical.
“No one yet has passed on signing the extension,” Van Gundy said. “No one yet. It’s too lucrative. So he’s first got to sign. And then it normally takes a year or two before people are forcing themselves somewhere else. So I think we’re a little premature on all of this. And I don’t know what the Knicks would have that New Orleans would jump at right now. I just don’t. Who would they want? Evan Fournier?”
“The Knicks’ arrogance as an organization has astounded me the entire time I’ve been in the league. You would think this is a perennial champion, this great organization that everyone wants to play for. Please. C’mon. Can we stop it? Just because the Knicks fans want a player doesn’t mean everyone is trying to get there.”
After showing growth and promise last season, there were rumblings that the Knicks had remade themselves into a desirable location for star players.
After some relatively minor signings over the summer, the Knicks slid back into their old habits, becoming the dysfunctional mess we’ve known them to be for the past few years.
It remains to be seen how much longer the team will go without a top-tier player. But, for now, they will continue to grasp at straws and hope for a hero to rescue their franchise.
