The New York Knicks are rumored to be heavily interested in Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd for their opening. They dismissed Tom Thibodeau after a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, and there are a few connections to Jason Kidd that make sense.
Kidd coached Jalen Brunson in Dallas, is close with the Knicks’ executive vice president of sports medicine Casey Smith, and ended his playing career with the Knicks in 2012-13. They’re expected to give the Mavericks a formal request to interview Kidd in the coming days since he is under contract. The question remained what the Mavericks would do with that request though.
READ MORE: Knicks planning to heavily pursue Mavericks’ Jason Kidd
NBA insider Marc Stein has reported the Mavericks are expected to deny the potential request for the Knicks to interview Kidd, if and when that request ever comes in. That will force the Knicks to shift focus to another coach. They were also showing interest in Houston’s Ime Udoka and Minnesota’s Chris Finch, but it’s hard to believe either of those teams would even entertain the idea of letting those coaches go.
It is a little intriguing that the Mavericks haven’t come out and said outright that Jason Kidd is their coach and they’re not letting him go anywhere. He seems extremely excited about the notion of adding Cooper Flagg to a team with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, and Davis and Irving want to play for Kidd.
For all of Kidd’s flaws as an Xs and Os coach, he’s done well managing personalities and stars, and this is a star-driven league. That’s probably why the Knicks are interested in Kidd, as they have a few big names between Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
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