One year ago, the Knicks refused to allow Jeff Van Gundy to run the ballyhooed pre-draft workout for 7-6 phenom Yao Ming in Chicago. Now Van Gundy has the last laugh. No longer can the Knicks stop Van Gundy from turning Yao into a superstar.
Van Gundy will become the Rockets’ new coach after accepting their standing offer yesterday morning. The final details of the contract – believed to be in the five-year, $25 million range – were being hammered out yesterday.
As reported here two weeks ago, the Knicks will want compensation since they own Van Gundy’s contractual rights until July 31 and likely will ask for a future second-rounder. It is a small price to pay for the Rockets, who get the perfect coach to construct a low-post offense centered around Yao and orchestrated by point guard Steve Francis.
“It’s a great job, it’s very hard to fill the two positions – center and point guard,” Van Gundy said during his Houston visit Thursday. “And the Rockets have done a great job of getting that base. Those jobs, where you have a good center and point guard and a good nucleus of youth, that’s hard to find.”
Rockets GM Carroll Dawson said in a statement he was “jumping up and down” when Van Gundy accepted their standing offer. The Post reported last Thursday Dawson had selected Van Gundy as his top choice.
The Rockets, surprisingly, missed the playoffs, prompting Rudy Tomjanovich’s resignation, though Houston played it off as health-related.
“Rudy tried to respect the players and give them space,” a source close to Dawson said. “They want to go in a different direction and Jeff is about discipline.”
Van Gundy is expected to bring along his former Knick lieutenants Tom Thibodeau, Steve Clifford and Andy Greer, maybe even Patrick Ewing. Larry Smith, who replaced cancer-stricken Tomjanovich for the last 17 games, is not expected to be retained and Don Chaney, who coached him in Houston, has shown interest in Smith for the Knick assistant vacancy.
Van Gundy confidants say he realized the Cavs weren’t a good fit – showing patience with rookies was never his strong suit. Though Van Gundy was offered a tiny percentage of ownership in Washington, Van Gundy considers the competency of the majority owner more important. Abe Pollin? Please.
The Rockets were his clear No. 1 choice but he didn’t rush.
“His defensive plan is very good,” Dawson said. “We decided he was the best fit. I think we got a very good coach. I think it is going to be a good marriage.”