New York Knicks struggling to find their new head coach

After firing Tom Thibodeau in early June, the New York Knicks are struggling to find their new head coach. Their interview requests to several NBA franchises are met with categorical refusals, complicating their recruitment process.

The Knicks officially requested permission to interview Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, but were firmly denied according to Marc Stein. Shams Charania of ESPN confirmed this information and revealed that New York was also denied access to Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets; and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jason Kidd remains the priority despite Mavericks’ refusal

Kidd seemed to be the top candidate on New York’s wishlist. Brian Windhorst of ESPN stated Tuesday that the Knicks « absolutely » wanted to hire the 52-year-old former point guard. Despite the Mavericks’ « firm » refusal according to Charania, James Edwards III of The Athletic suggests that the Jason Kidd pursuit « might not be over ».

A Hall of Fame player, Jason Kidd has considerable experience with a 362-339 record in nine seasons as head coach between Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Dallas. With the Mavericks, he holds a 179-149 record over four seasons, leading the team to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA finals in 2024.

Teams saying « F*** no » to Knicks’ requests

The extent of rejections faced by the Knicks was revealed by Charania on The Pat McAfee Show. The ESPN journalist explained that the words « F*** no » were even heard by Knicks executives when requesting permission to talk to other teams’ coaches.

An embarrassing situation for New York that comes after firing Thibodeau, who had led the team to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000. In five seasons, Thibodeau had compiled a 226-174 record, and qualified the Knicks for the playoffs four times.

The Knicks will now have to turn to other options, particularly currently unemployed coaches like Mike Brown, Michael Malone, Darvin Ham, or Taylor Jenkins. This difficult search illustrates the challenges facing the New York franchise in attracting the best available talent.