The New York Knicks’ request to speak with Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and Chicago Bulls contemporary Billy Donovan was emphatically shut down this week. However, a new report opens the door to either coach still ending up in Gotham this offseason.
“So what happens now? For starters, sources said, there’s some belief that things could change in the cases of Kidd in Dallas and Donovan in Chicago,” ESPN NBA insiders Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst wrote. “Kidd has a long history of fiery departures from prior stops. Including in 2014, when he wound up getting permission to leave the Brooklyn Nets to join the Bucks.
“Kidd also has a lot of relationships in New York from his year playing there in 2012-13. “And has a relationship with Jalen Brunson from coaching him in Dallas before the guard came to New York three years ago as a free agent,” the report added. “Donovan, meanwhile, is a Long Island native who played 44 games with the 1987-88 Knicks after starring at Providence College. He would undoubtedly be the kind of hit the Knicks are looking for locally after moving on from Thibodeau.”
All indications are that Kidd is the Knicks’ No. 1 choice to replace fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. Along with a built-in relationship with Brunson, he knows how to deal with the New York media. After years in New Jersey and a season with the Knicks. Plus, he has a solid coaching resume that includes a trip to the NBA Finals last year — something Thibodeau has never done — and a pair of West Finals appearances.
Donovan is a legendary college basketball head coach who has had notable success in the pros. He has posted a 438-362 during stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls and guided them to the playoffs in six of those seasons.
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