A few notes on Kenny Payne taking the head coaching job at the University of Louisville:
Part of the plan?
Not much has gone well for the Knicks this season. But Payne’s hiring at Louisville was a rare win.
That may seem counterintuitive. Normally, NBA teams hate to lose talented coaches.
But Payne’s hiring at Louisville is a bit different.
The Knicks persuaded Payne to come to New York, in part, because they said it would give him a great opportunity to land a head coaching job, per sources familiar with the matter.
Payne was one of the best assistant coaches in college basketball before he joined the Knicks. So he wasn’t going to leave his position at Kentucky for any NBA job.
But the opportunity in New York — to work with close friends Leon Rose and William Wesley — came at the right time.
Grateful to Dolan, Rose and Wesley
Payne thanked the Knicks and governor James Dolan at the beginning of his introductory press conference in Louisville on Friday.
“That organization was unbelievable to me and for me to walk away from (the job) and for (Dolan) to give me his blessing, that was not easy; it was not easy,” Payne said.
Rose, Wesley and Payne cried together 6-7 times a day in recent days as Payne was making his decision, he said.
“To leave my bothers Leon Rose and William Wesley was not easy,” he said.
Impact on Randle
Payne’s departure will leave a void with the Knicks.
Several people in the organization cited Payne’s approach with Julius Randle as an important factor in Randle’s success last season.
“What he did for us in general, the Knicks, is incredible,” Randle said after the Knicks’ win over Washington on Friday. “From player development to managing personalities and talking to people and stuff like that.
“For me, personally, it goes a lot deeper, man. You talk about a young kid from Dallas. Me and my mother were like this growing up. And a 17-year-old kid, he came in my house — I wanted to go to Kentucky, but my mom, obviously, sending me away, me being her only boy; it’s just me, her and my sister. He came to my house and told my mom, ‘I got you. You got nothing to worry about.’ And that’s exactly what it was, man. I went to Kentucky. I had nothing to worry about. He took me in like I was his own kid and really looked after me, kept me focused, kept me on the right track, whether it was school, whether it was class or in the gym.
“I call him ‘Unc’ because that’s really what he is. To me, he’s like a father figure, like an uncle to me. Transfer that to going to the NBA, and I’m talking to this man consistently. He’s seen me at my highest of highs; he’s seen me at my lowest of lows, and he’s always been there for me. That’s my personal experience.
“He came here, and it’s the same thing. It’s bigger than basketball when it comes to KP and that’s why he’s so special, and that’s why he has so many great relationships around the league with so many players, because he’s gonna push you on the court, but everything he does is out of love. Everything he does is because he cares about you as an individual. He cares about your family. He cares about my wife. He cares about my sons.
“He always talks about how my son mimics everything I do on the court, watching everything I do. So, he always reminds me of that and keeps me locked in. Whether I’m arguing with officials or whatever it is, I just think about my son.
“KP, man, that dude is incredible, bro, and he’s gonna have a tremendous amount of success over there at Louisville, even though it’s the red school. I still bleed blue, but I love that man to death, bro, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to help him have success, because you talk about somebody that deserves it, it’s him.”
Payne vs. Cal?
Randle alluded to an interesting dynamic for Payne at Louisville. He’ll be coaching and recruiting against in-state rival Kentucky.
One of the top players in the class of 2023 will provide an early litmus test.
Guard DJ Wagner has ties to both Payne and Kentucky.
Milt Wagner, a close friend of Payne’s and his former teammate at Louisville, is DJ Wagner’s grandfather. DJ Wagner’s father, Dajuan, played for John Calipari at Memphis.
So the recruiting competition for Wagner will be interesting. (If I were creating odds, I’d put Louisville and Payne as the favorite among college programs).
Payne replacement?
Payne was one of the highest paid assistants in the NBA, per a source. He is the second Knicks assistant to leave for a head coaching opportunity in the NCAA. Thibodeau assistant Mike Woodson took the head coaching job at Indiana last season.
Assistant coach Darren Erman will move up to the front of the bench to replace Payne.
Thibodeau said the Knicks have several young coaches on staff who are ready to be promoted to assistant coach.
“We have guys like Darren Erman , Andy Greer (and younger coaches like) Scott (King), (Dice Yoshimoto) Ike (Azotam) and Gabe (Snider), that are ready to be assistant coaches,” Thibodeau said.
“And then we have two interns that are really good so you hope you keep your pipeline full. You’re always trying to work on developing them, knowing that there’s going to be opportunities for other guys to get head coaching jobs and that sort of thing. So if you hire good people you anticipate that those things will happen.”
One other name to keep an eye on as a potential Knick assistant?
Rick Brunson, who has coached with Thibodeau in the past and was one of Leon Rose’s first NBA clients.
Brunson, the father of Jalen Brunson, is currently coaching DJ Wagner at Camden HS.
