Bill Laimbeer, one of the “Bad Boys’’ of the Pistons in the 1980s and early 1990s, has been hired to be coach and general manager of the Liberty.
Laimbeer, who won three WNBA titles as coach of the Detroit Shock from 2002-2009, had just been hired last month as a Timberwolves assistant coach under Kurt Rambis.
Former Knicks president Isiah Thomas met last month with Garden owner James Dolan during a business meeting at a Midtown hotel, The Post reported. It’s unclear if Thomas and Dolan spoke about the possibility of Thomas taking over the Liberty, who are run by the Garden, or if Laimbeer’s name came up. At the time, Thomas was strongly in the running for an ESPN studio analyst role but he didn’t get it.
Thomas interviewed Laimbeer, his Pistons teammate, in 2005 for the Knicks’ head-coaching job. Laimbeer nearly got it, until the club learned Larry Brown would be interested after the Pistons’ playoff run.
“We’re excited to have Bill Laimbeer join the New York Liberty as our general manager and head coach,” Knicks’ assistant GM Allan Houston, who oversees the Liberty, said in a press release. “He has brought his winning pedigree and passion to the WNBA and I believe he will play a large role in bringing a championship to the Liberty.’’
Laimbeer replaces John Whisenant, who went 34-34 in his two seasons as head coach. The Liberty missed the playoffs last year and were knocked out in Round 1 this past season.