If Knicks president Phil Jackson has his way, interim coach Kurt Rambis will have the "interim" removed from his title, ESPN.com reported, citing unidentified league sources.
Rambis, who was an assistant to Jackson in two stints with the Lakers, took over when Derek Fisher was fired Feb. 8.
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In 24 games, the Knicks are 8-16 under Rambis, who was 32-132 in two seasons with the Timberwolves from 2009-11 in his only non-interim stint as a head coach.
Still, ESPN's sources say that because Jackson, 70, feels he's not up to the daily demands of coaching in the NBA, he sees Rambis — with whom he has a close relationship — as a viable alternative to run the team as Jackson would, both on the court and off it.
Jackson, who has been at practice more since Fisher's departure, is pushing for a multiyear deal for Rambis, though it should be pointed out that Fisher was working under a five-year, $25 million deal when he was fired.
There's also the matter of how star Carmelo Anthony would react to elevating Rambis.
Jackson hasn't addressed the coaching situation publicly since last month, but Anthony has voiced a preference that Jackson, in addition to considering Rambis, would look at external candidates, including coaches with established NBA track records such as Mark Jackson, Tom Thibodeau and Jeff Van Gundy, all of whom are available and have ties to the Knicks.
