The New York Knicks now have the only vacant coaching position left, after the Phoenix Suns announced Wednesday that Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott would lead them next season. There’s obviously significant intrigue about whom the Knicks will hire, given that whoever takes over will inherit a roster that just made it to the Eastern Conference finals and is equipped to get back there next season.
Already, there have been rumors about who could be considered, from Cavaliers assistant Johnnie Bryant to former Villanova coach Jay Wright. Bryant is certainly an option after not landing the Suns gig, but Wright may already be off the table. CBS analyst Seth Davis recently posted on social media that it’s incredibly unlikely he’s interested in making the leap to the NBA.
Current NBA coaches Ime Udoka and Jason Kidd have been mentioned, though Houston isn’t interested in giving the Knicks permission to interview Udoka. As far as Kidd goes, it’s unclear where the Mavericks stand in giving New York permission, but according to an ESPN report, he “would not dismiss the possibility” of Dallas allowing him to interview for the job.
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Will Backus
Some coaches who currently don’t have jobs could be candidates for the position, like former Nuggets coach Michael Malone, Mike Budenholzer and Jeff Van Gundy. The New York Post reports that Luke Walton and Mike Brown are “two random names” floating around.
Walton is currently an assistant with the Pistons, and previously had coaching stints with the Lakers and Kings. Brown has an extensive coaching resume, most recently with the Kings, where he led Sacramento to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. He also spent time as the coach of the Cavaliers during LeBron James‘ first stint with the team and the Lakers.
Both Walton and Brown check one of the boxes the Knicks are trying to fill, which is finding a coach with experience, according to Bondy. Beyond that, though, neither of them seems like a significant upgrade to what Tom Thibodeau provided. And if we’re going by what Leon Rose said in his statement following Thibodeau’s dismissal, that “our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” then it’s safe to assume that New York isn’t looking to settle for a coach who can just get the team to the playoffs.
Fortunately, the Knicks have a lot of time to figure this out, and they plan on taking their time, per Bondy. The team is “comfortable” not having a coach until the Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, so there will surely be no shortage of names attached in some capacity to this coaching vacancy.
