Will the Knicks be able to add one of the top assistants in college basketball to Tom Thibodeau’s staff?
Entering the weekend, some in the Knick organization were optimistic that Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne would choose to make the jump to the NBA, per sources.
Payne joined John Calipari’s coaching staff at Kentucky prior to the 2010-11 season and was promoted to associate coach in 2014. Prior to working at Kentucky, Payne served as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon. He also played four NBA seasons with the 76ers from 1989-1993. He’s considered one of the top assistant coaches in the NCAA and is certainly one of the highest-paid assistants in the sport.
If he joins the Knicks, Payne will likely work with former Knick head coach Mike Woodson on Thibodeau’s staff. There has been strong internal support to add Woodson and former interim head coach Mike Miller to Thibodeau’s staff.
If Payne, Woodson and Miller all join Thibodeau’s staff, the hierarchy of the group will be interesting.
You’d think Woodson has the strongest case to be the top assistant, but Payne would be leaving the top assistant job in college basketball.
Miller, of course, could make a case for a top assistant job based on the results he produced last season as New York’s interim.
Given Payne’s salary at Kentucky, it’s safe to assume that the Knicks would have to make a generous offer procure the coach. Would that set the market internally for what they’d have to pay other Thibodeau assistants?
That’s unclear, but something worth keeping in mind as the Knicks put a staff together.
Payne, as previously noted, has a close relationship with top Knicks executive William Wesley and has other ties to the Knicks organization. He has been known to coach big men at Kentucky, including Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
“KP is one of the best development coaches in the world,” Towns told The Athletic last year. “KP is the horse beneath the jockey driving Kentucky basketball.”
So it’s reasonable to assume that Payne could help the Knicks make a stronger case to a free agent that he has a relationship with.
Stadium reported Saturday that the Knicks had made a formal offer to Payne.
Payne told Kentucky.com on Saturday that he was considering the Knicks’ offer.
Former Villanova star and Bronx native Ed Pinckney has also drawn internal consideration for a role on Thibodeau’s staff.
In addition to filling out assistant coaching roles, the Knicks are planning to add a significant number of player development coaches under Tom Thibodeau. Any player development coaches would be hired in addition to assistant coaches who word serve on the bench under Thibodeau.
The New York Daily News first reported the Knicks’ interest in adding Payne as an assistant.