Philc1 wrote:Remember when Scott Layden chose Don Chaney over Thibs 24 years ago? Fun times.
Yeah, the guy who took over when JVG bailed mid season cuz the team sucked?
He had one full season to coach a team that failed from its starphuched owner who was enthralled with his recent independence from alcohol and wanted to be Vin Bakers savior, and had in that one full season had Antonio McDyess benched due to blowing out his knee in another brilliant starphuch move by dolan who was hard up to get a star.
How did Dolan digest this? He had a brain virus in his head called Isiah Thomas who was bought in the next season because Neophyte Layden pushed back on the stupidity of bringing in Marbury. Look it up. Now, Im not going into revisionist piece meal to say It was Layden who decided to get the 100mm contract of Dyess and not draft either Nene or Amare but we all know the owner then and what he liked to do.
Chaney was a long term assistant and a good dude. Thibs left to join JVG in Houstan and then with Doc in Boston for 7 years before getting the head coach job in Chicago.
Do you think he was fully prepared to be a head coach over Don Chaney at the time it was done? Chaney was overseeing a team in decline who had a bloated salary structure and need to expire some contracts obtained via the ewing trade. Layden took over a team in transition that had gone to the finals the year before and nearly fired JVG but instead moved Earnie. The team won 50 games the next year with Layden as the new GM and JVG at the helm. From what I recall Ewing went into decline bigtime and only H20 was the allstar on that team. Camby started only 11 games that year as JVG remained loyal to ewing who played 62 games at age 37. BTW, Spree avg'd 40min a game and H20 38.6min per!!
Larry Johnson was a year from retirement. This was Ewings last year before he requested a trade and was moved to Sonics.
JVG was the wrong coach for what Earie was trying to do. Layden did not have the presence to stand up to Dolan who wanted what he wanted. Im not saying Layden contributed to the 50 game win season but recall cap rule were coming into play and if knicks had done few things different we 'd have suffered far less. 1st was to have let Don Nelson do his thing which was let the team run. Ewing was a pending FA and Dolan panicked. Shaq was a pending FA and maybe we sign him? Doubt it as he was lined up for Lakerland and its too easy to say "let Pat Walk" in hindsight. But Nellie was spot on with being on front of the new game that was evolving. That done. we get to finals in 99'. Team finally wakes up. JVG gets a big extension his agent negotiated if they make finals. Earnie built the team to run and JVG to paid, and who fires a coach after a trip to the finals? I sure loved JVG too then!!!! Instead Ewing returns to some form after his broken wrist, and JVG does what he does. Ewing wants out given the hand writing is on the wall. Rest is bad times.
In hindsight Thibs would have been stupid to take the job as he would have been doomed to fail given all that happened.
Layden was the Wunderkind from Utah but a total neophyte patsy whom followed the owners instructions. He too was doomed to fail.
That one full season by Chaney was messed up by the Dyess injury and expiring contracts to create the room Isiah used to epic proportions. Never had a GM spend so much for so little in return.
5/8/2025 12:25 AM