Report: Mike Woodson Could Be Fired Before Trade Deadline
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Are Mike Woodson's days in New York numbered?
It's beginning to look that way.
After winning four straight games, the Knicks have lost two in a row. After falling to the mighty Heat on Saturday night, the disappointing 'Bockers inexplicably lost to the Bucks -- the worst team in the NBA -- on Monday night.
A league source has told The Record's Steve Popper that New York's head coach could be relieved of his duties ahead of the February 20 trade deadline.
But some of Popper's tweets painted an even stronger picture about Woodson's fate.
Record column: League source said desperate Knicks pushing to oust Woodson before trade deadline: http://t.co/6qZQOM64Sf
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) February 5, 2014
@BrettHosen - Interesting - you're right about that. Not sure of timeline here - pieces I hear being put in place, recruiting replacement(s)
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) February 5, 2014
Popper also reported that Woodson has lost the locker room, which could be the last straw for Knicks chairman James Dolan.
The Knicks, who won 54 games last year and ran away with the Atlantic Division, are 19-29 this season. Carmelo Anthony's squad is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference -- two games behind the Bobcats for the final playoff spot -- and in third place in the Atlantic, seven games behind the first-place Raptors.
The schedule doesn't get much easier, as New York will square off with the 34-14 Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The Knicks will host the Nuggets on Friday before attempting to upset the uber-talented Thunder on the road on Sunday.
"If things had gotten off to the way we thought they should have at the beginning of the year we probably wouldn't be having this conversation," Woodson said, according to NorthJersey.com. "Again, we've had our struggles. With the injuries and inconsistent play in terms of our different rotations it's just been a combination of things.
"My job as the coach is to get these guys over the hump. We're still in position. It's not like it's the last week or two weeks of the season where we don't have a shot in making the playoffs. We still have a legitimate shot to make it. Until it's over I'm going to continue to push guys to understand that come April we want to still be playing basketball, not watching it on TV."
Since being named interim head coach in 2012 following Mike D'Antoni's resignation, Woodson is 91-63 with the Knicks.
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