Rodman makes pitch to Knicks: ‘I can coach…call me’
Dennis Rodman blows a kiss to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seated above in the stands, before an exhibition basketball game with US and North Korean players at an indoor stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. AP
It looks like “The Worm” has set his sights on a new goal: filling the head coaching vacancy in New York.
On the wake of Derek Fisher’s firing as the lead bench tactician for the Knicks, Dennis Rodman has announced his intention to reunite with former coach and now New York Knicks president Phil Jackson through his Twitter account @dennisrodman.
He wrote, “Hey @PhilJackson11 @nyknicks, I have a pretty decent resume on the court and I can coach; and I’m available. Call me. @nba”
READ: NBA: Slumping Knicks sack head coach Fisher
The 54-year-old rebounding machine, who was enshrined to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, was with Jackson for the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat from 1996 to 1998 alongside top dogs Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
The Knicks named former player of Jackson in Kurt Rambis as their interim coach.
Fisher was unceremoniously sacked after a paltry 40-96 slate in his two years of coaching in New York. He was in the middle of a four-year, $17 million head coaching deal.
Agent: Rodman did not accept North Korean money
The Knicks have fallen to a 23-31 record this season, 12th in the East, and have lost nine of their last 10 games despite having an improved roster with rookie Kristaps Porzingis, and veterans Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez joining Carmelo Anthony in New York.
One of the most colorful personalities in NBA history, Rodman became an ambassador of sorts in his numerous trips to North Korea, meeting up the nation’s leader Kim Jong-un.
His pitch to become the new head coach of the Knicks may have come as a surprise, but weirder things have happened in New York.
