David Blatt, the Israeli-American who was fired as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is reportedly under consideration to become the head coach of the New York Knicks.
ESPN reported Monday evening that Blatt is in the running for the job currently being filled by interim coach Kurt Rambis, citing unnamed league sources.
Blatt played college hoops with Knicks general manager Steve Mills at Princeton in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Several other coaches with NBA coaching experience are currently available, some with past ties to the Knicks.
Blatt said at the time of his firing that he planned to try to remain in the NBA, as opposed to returning to coaching in Israel and the European leagues, where he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to five national titles and the 2014 Euroleague championship and the Russian national team to a bronze medal during the 2012 London Olympics.
Blatt was fired in January as head coach of the Cavaliers, after leading them to the 2015 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. At the time of his firing, the Cavs had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Following his departure from the team, Israelis were (naturally) furious with the Cavs, specifically LeBron James.
Blatt is also reportedly being considered as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Post reported. The team is owned by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, who knows Blatt from his time as a coach in Moscow.
