Mike Fratello coaches the Ukrainian national team during a game against the USA at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Bilbao, Spain. Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

NEW YORK (WFAN) — Mike Fratello says he wouldn’t mind being the Knicks’ next head coach.

The NBA coaching veteran told WFAN’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on Thursday that he would be glad to talk to Knicks president Phil Jackson about the opening.

“I just want one more big headache. How about that?” Fratello, 69, joked about a possible return to coaching.



Jackson has said he’s looking for a coach who will implement the triangle offense. Fratello, an analyst for the YES Network and NBA TV, said he wouldn’t be opposed to running the system.

“If you look at the offenses around the league — and it’s a lot of the better teams — they have all taken pieces of the triangle, because parts of the triangle are inherent to offensive basketball,” Fratello said. “We overload one side of the floor, and the other side of the floor is obviously the weak side of the floor. San Antonio does it. Golden State has incorporated it. There’s a number of teams that have parts of the triangle that they use. They just don’t use the same wording as Phil did and as his great assistant, Tex Winter, did over the years. So you can find a place for it in your offense.”

Fratello has spent parts of 16 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. He has a 667-548 record, but his teams have never advanced past the conference semifinals.

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The northern New Jersey native, who served as a Knicks assistant during the 1982-83 season, has not coached in the NBA since December 2006. He coached the Ukrainian national team from 2011-14.

The only known candidates for the Knicks job are Kurt Rambis, who served as the team’s interim head coach this past season, and former Cavaliers coach David Blatt. Knicks general manager Steve Mills also reportedly contacted the agent of ex-Pacers coach Frank Vogel, but it’s not clear if Jackson wants to pursue him.

To listen to the full interview with Fratello, click on the audio player above.