Despite leading the New York Knicks to their best campaign of the century, Tom Thibodeau was fired following the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, with the Phoenix Suns having hired former Cleveland assistant Jordan Ott, the Knicks are now the only NBA team currently without a head coach.
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The Knicks have been reported to have an incredibly wide search range, including not just assistant coaches or past head coaches, but also those in college and those already with head positions in the NBA.
ESPN’s Jay Williams threw out an unexpected candidate in Ime Udoka, who has already proven to be one of the league’s best head coaches in his short career. Considering Udoka is locked in with the Houston Rockets, who had an impressive turnaround in 2024-25, though, it seems unlikely that he would leave his rising squad.
Meanwhile, Tim McMahon pitched a fascinating name for New York while joining Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective. The veteran sportswriter explained why Jason Kidd could be a good fit for the team, citing his ability to build relationships and the ones he has already established.
“So [New York] has to bring in a relationships guy,” McMahon said. “One of the names that’s been thrown out there, a man who’s under contract with another team, but definitely a guy who has relationships not just with Jalen Brunson, but with a lot of people in that organization, and that’s Jason Kidd … I would not dismiss that possibility.”
If the Knicks are, in fact, looking for a coach already under contract, though, Windy believes the opportunity would intrigue several Western Conference coaches. “If you’re a Western Conference coach, and you’re not head over heels in love with your situation for whatever reason, and the Knicks job is open, you may not slam the phone down if it rings,” Windhorst said.
Coaching a historic sports franchise like the Knicks is also quite the lucrative position, McMahon pointed out. “Here’s the other thing about the Knicks job. The Knicks job will pay you a lot of money,” he said. “There’s plenty of very fair criticisms of Jim Dolan in his time running the Knicks. The one thing you can never criticize him for is an unwillingness to spend.”
While initial reports have made it known that New York doesn’t plan on pursuing an unemployed head coach, there are still several respected candidates who could be up for the job. Windhorst named three recently fired coaches, Mike Brown, Michael Malone, and Taylor Jenkins, as intriguing names for the job.
Boasting a complete roster in a historic basketball city, the New York Knicks have a premium position open this summer. After moving on from the coach who has been with them for half a decade, this will likely be an extensive search. New York’s decision could be the difference between building on this season and failing miserably to live up to expectations.
