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The Knicks recently hired a pair of respected assistant coaches in Johnnie Bryant and Kenny Payne. But they still had some open spots on the bench, and head coach Tom Thibodeau had yet to pick any of his confidants. Also, former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson was long rumored to be a lock for the staff.
Well the dominoes are starting to fall, friends. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that Woodson, along with Thibs lieutenants Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto are headed for New York.
The Knicks are finalizing deals for Mike Woodson, Andy Greer and Dice Yoshimoto to join Tom Thibodeau’s staff as assistant coaches, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 28, 2020
Greer was an assistant coach under Thibs in Chicago and Minnesota, while Yoshimoto worked his way up from video coordinator in Chicago to special assistant with the Wolves. Yoshimoto had recently been working at the University of Georgia.
As for Woodson, he’s well known to Knicks fans. He’s a polarizing figure — the head coach for the team’s last playoff berth 2012-13 and also the raging tire fire that was 2013-14. Woodson has connections with president Leon Rose through CAA.
I’m very much not a Woody guy, and I was initially skeptical of bringing him on board. But Woody is a fun, agreeable guy, and now that the Knicks already have several quality coaches ahead of him to do the actual coaching, I’m cool with Woodson sitting back on the bench, cashing checks and making dank memes.
#MOOD pic.twitter.com/p7d8nwSO9d
— Knicks Fan TV (@KnicksFanTv) August 28, 2020