While numerous rival NBA executives believed that the Knicks had a replacement lined up before firing Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, that’s not the case, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.
The Knicks have fostered the notion that this decision was made by team president Leon Rose but many of same executives are skeptical of that story line, considering Rose’s close ties to Thibodeau and the fact that Rose insisted on hiring him.
Meanwhile, numerous league observers acquainted with the inner workings of the Knicks organization believe owner James Dolan has been a “non-fan” of Thibodeau for a long time. Dolan reportedly sat in on post-season meetings with key players.
Two head coaches who are not currently available but said to interest the Knicks are the Mavericks’ Jason Kidd and Rockets’ Ime Udoka. However, Stein hears that Houston would deny any attempts by the Knicks to interview Udoka and the Mavs would likely do the same regarding Kidd, though Stein could not immediately confirm that.
Kidd, who played for the Knicks and interviewed for their head coaching job in 2020, has two seasons left on a contract extension he received during last season’s playoffs. He has also has close ties to Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom the Knicks are expected to pursue in trade talks if Milwaukee makes him available.
Among available coaches, former Villanova coach Jay Wright and Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant — a finalist for Phoenix’s head coaching job — are presumed to be likely candidates. Wright has repeatedly said in the past he’s not interested in coaching in the NBA, though several of his former players are key players for the Knicks.
Here’s more on the Knicks coaching situation:
- Numerous sources told Adam Zagoria (Twitter link) that it’s doubtful Wright would come out of retirement to coach the Knicks.
- Their search will include college coaches and not be limited to current assistants or former NBA head coaches, Kris Pursiainen of Clutch Points tweets.
- They better find their “Joe Torre,” who won multiple championship with the Yankees, otherwise the decision to dump Thibodeau makes no sense, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reiterates that former Nuggets coach Michael Malone is not a candidate.