Knicks that idea
Van Gundy doubts Zion will be making himself at home at MSG
If Zion Williamson winds up a Knick, Stan Van Gundy will have to see it to believe it.
In a candid interview about the Knicks’ 2021-22 downfall, the former Pelicans coach said he is always skeptical regarding hype surrounding stars “angling” to play for the Knicks.
“It’s always a plan that all these free agents want to come there,” Van Gundy told The Post. “And their fans think everybody wants to come to New York to play. But what is the example of that to use — the high-profile free agents who have come there? A lot of New Yorkers think everyone has New York at the top of their list and the Knicks are picking and choosing. That’s not the way it’s been working the last 20-plus years.”
Van Gundy, who will be in town to call Game 4 of the Nets-Celtics series Monday for TNT, recalls the comments made after the Pelicans’ Garden loss in April 2021 to the Knicks. Beaming like the bright lights of Broadway, Williamson touted Madison Square Garden as his favorite arena. But Van Gundy said people shouldn’t read too much into it.
“I don’t know a player who didn’t like going to the Garden,” Van Gundy said. “I never understood the allure of it myself. But the players think it’s a big deal to play [there], from everybody I coached. That doesn’t mean they want to play for the Knicks or live there.
“But everybody thinks this guy loves playing at the Garden: ‘Oh, s--t, he’s going to want to play for the Knicks.’ I don’t know if that holds up. Even if you want to go to New York, is the Knicks where you want to go to?”
With Williamson out for the season, the Pelicans netted the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, won two games in the play-in tournament to nail the final spot in the playoffs, then upset the Suns in Game 2. They pulled off another upset Sunday night, tying the series with a 118-103 victory.
Rumors Williamson will want out of the Big Easy could wane with the Pelicans proving they have an array of attractive pieces. On the flip side, Pelicans GM David Griffin might want less injuryprone players in a package for the player who reportedly weighed 330 pounds in December.
“They made a lot of moves [since I left],” Van Gundy said. “Would they deal Zion based on the success they’re having without him? Yeah, they’d be open to that but they’re not giving him away.
“Can Zion go there [to the Knicks]? Yeah, definitely could. But what are you giving them back? You’re going to give them a lot. You’re not giving them [Knicks center] Mitchell Robinson and a first-round pick for Zion. Of course you like that trade. It’s never going to happen.”
Van Gundy sees a likelier match with Dallas’ unrestricted free agent point guard Jalen Brunson, though the recent hoopla surrounding Rick Brunson’s son might be overblown.
“Jalen Brunson is a really, really good player and would be a fit anywhere,” Van Gundy said. “He’s very unselfish, high-character guy, everything you want in your organization. But looking at him as a franchise player, though, that’s not him.
“He’s really, really good. Is he potentially an All-Star? Hmm. I don’t know. That would be I think a bit of a stretch to think he’ll be an All-Star. So it depends on what people’s expectations are. If people’s expectations are, ‘We can get a really good player in Brunson?’ Yes. But if people are thinking, ‘We’re getting Brunson as a franchise guy?’ No.”
No surprise Van Gundy, whose brother Jeff is Tom Thibodeau’s closest ally, was disappointed many Knicks fans blamed Thibodeau for their fall from 41-31 to 37-45. Thibodeau won Coach of the Year in 2020-21.
According to Van Gundy, Julius Randle “coming back to the pack” after an “outlier” season in 2020-21 and Derrick Rose’s injury were the two biggest factors.
“They overachieved last year based on the talent and the East got better,” Van Gundy added. “Write the names of their guys one to nine. I don’t care if you’re the biggest Knicks fan in the world. You can’t think that talent matches up with the better teams in the East.”
A tumultuous season filled with one colossal challenge after another has come down to the clichés for Steve Nash and the Nets.
The road to their current predicament in a first-round playoff series against the Celtics has been filled with potholes — from Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19, to Kevin Durant’s midseason knee injury, to the February trade of James Harden and the continued absence of his replacement, Ben Simmons.
The Nets now must somehow overcome slumps by Durant and Irving and improbably attempt to become the first team in NBA history to climb out of an 0-3 hole in a best-of-7 playoff series beginning with Game 4 Monday night at Barclays Center.
“We go to Barclays to try and win a game and enjoy the heck out of it,” Nash said after a walk-through practice Sunday in Brooklyn. “That’s way better than not having this opportunity. I think for our group it’s trying to find that resolve and that belief.”
The first three games against the ball-hawking Celtics haven’t provided much reason to believe the Nets can win the proverbial “one game at a time” four separate times — including twice in Boston.
The numbers are daunting: Of the 143 teams to fall behind by three games in NBA playoff history, 89 were swept and zero came back to win their series.
Only five teams in professional sports — the 2004 Red Sox against the Yankees in the ALCS and four NHL teams (1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 Islanders, 2010 Flyers and 2014 Kings) — have accomplished the feat.
“I think you have to have perspective always in life,” Nash said. “It looks ominous, 0-3. … So you have to always remind yourselves that you can’t play three games in one. You play one, try to win the game. And try to find that belief and perspective that it is one game, we’ll play a good game and let the chips fall.”
Simmons had been targeting Game 4 for his first game of the season, but the Nets ruled him out Sunday on their official injury report due to the back injury the threetime All-Star has been dealing with since he was acquired Feb. 10 from Philadelphia in the Harden blockbuster.
Nash also declined to consider how the season might have played out differently had Irving gotten vaccinated for COVID-19. The seven-time All-Star began the season away from the team before returning to play only in road games in January. Irving didn’t make his home debut until Mayor Eric Adams authorized an exception for athletes and performers in late March.
“I don’t think about it,” Nash said. “That’s not realistic. It’s not a worthy exercise. We deal with what’s in front of us. We deal in reality. And our reality is the one we’re facing and if you don’t face that reality with honesty and presence you’re not going to get anywhere.”
The reality of the series for the Nets has been that Irving and Durant were held by Boston’s top-rated defense to a combined 8-for-30 shooting night in Game 2 and to 16 points apiece in Game 3.
Still, the Nets lost by one in Game 1 on a last-second drive by Jayson Tatum. They also blew a 17-point lead in Game 2 before losing by six at home on Saturday.
“We’ve lost three games by maybe a little over four points as an average. So it’s all possible and we just have to find the resolve,” Nash said. “It’s a tricky season for us. We’ve faced a million things, we’ve had no continuity and we’re a brand new group playing against a team that has had a lot of games together going back years. They’re playing their best basketball and have really evolved under [coach] Ime [Udoka] and we’re in a different position.
“We have to embrace it and we have to enjoy it and we have to take a swing at the game [Monday] night with the best spirit and attitude that we can muster.”