After announcing the hiring of former Hawks head coach Mike Woodson as his top assistant yesterday, Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni acknowledged the tenuous state of his job security as he enters what might be a lame-duck season without the man who hired him, Donnie Walsh.
D’Antoni pointed out the hiring of Woodson was not made only to shore up the team’s defense, but give the club another strong voice with head-coaching experience because of the potential of a lockout-induced, short training camp.
Unsolicited, D’Antoni referred to his status with one year left on his contract. If he does not make it through the season, Woodson would be the only Knicks assistant who has NBA head-coaching experience.
When Walsh backed out of a verbal agreement to return next season, D’Antoni’s status appeared in trouble. But owner Jim Dolan agreed to bring D’Antoni back, but without an extension, as the Knicks still don’t have a permanent president in place.
Glen Grunwald, a college teammate of Woodson’s at Indiana, is interim president, and recommended Woodson to D’Antoni.
“I think all coaches are on a one-year deal,” D’Antoni said on a conference call. “It’s whether you get a paid vacation, but we all have to do something to earn another year, especially with the Knicks.
“It’s not like they have to keep [you] around because they’re financially strapped. We have to produce. Whether it’s one or 10, it doesn’t matter. It’s going to come down to next year.”
Explaining the Woodson move, D’Antoni admitted the expectations are the Knicks must do better than last season when they were swept by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.
“I’m on a one-year deal, and we could have a quick turnaround,” D’Antoni said, referring to free agency and training camp. “It’s a special type situation. We got the best of everything. Head-coaching experience was very important to have the respect of the players. We got to have a better team next year. It’s good to have someone who’s been through it already, knowing what I need.”
As first reported by The Post, Woodson and D’Antoni met in New York on Aug. 1, and the former Hawks coach became the top candidate.
Woodson also downplayed the notion he is joining the Knicks as a defensive coordinator.
“I look what Mike’s done over the years, he’s an excellent offensive coach,” Woodson said. “I think he’s proven that over his tenure. I just want to add defense and I think I can help him offensively and I can help him with coaching players, continuing to develop young players. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m just a defensive coach.”
Because of the lockout, team employees face $1 million fines if they discuss their players, making for an awkward situation when Woodson was asked about the current club.
“I see a veteran team headed in the right direction,” Woodson said. “Mike and his staff did great once the [Carmelo Anthony] trade was made. There’s always room for improvement, plenty of room for improvement with this ballclub. I like the three pieces — oh, I can’t talk about players. But I like the makeup of the team. What I bring to the table is experience. [I’m] not going to sit here and say I’m just a defensive coach.”
Woodson, who coached Atlanta from 2004 to 2010, was a key assistant on Larry Brown’s staff during the Pistons’ 2003-2004 NBA championship run.
A former Knicks first-round pick, Woodson is regarded as having good defensive principles, having learned at the lap of Brown and Bobby Knight at Indiana. Woodson played for Red Holzman in 1980-81.
D’Antoni long opposed hiring a defensive assistant when it was suggested in Phoenix, but Knicks management convinced him after the team struggled on the defensive end the past three years.
“It’s not that we ‘need’ another voice,” D’Antoni said. “We have great assistant coaches. We made the playoffs. We add a very talented coach to the group and we’ll come out a better staff.”