When the New York Knicks shockingly decided to fire fifth-year head coach Tom Thibodeau, despite enjoying the best sustained run of team success the franchise has enjoyed this century, pundits expected the club had a serious plan for a successor.
Instead, New York has been casting a wide net, as the Knicks have allegedly been trying to secure conversations with the head coaches of several other teams.
New York's overtures to engage in talks with Houston Rockets head coach, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd (a former Knick), Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, and Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan have all been rejected.
New York Knicks logo
New York Knicks' court logo during the NBA Cup.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Although it may seem like the Knicks have contacted every good current coach in the NBA (and Billy Donovan), it appears that New York has exhibited at least a little restraint.
Per Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Knicks haven't contacted the head coaches of five top teams about their own vacancy just yet.
“I spent part of Wednesday evening trying to figure out which other current head coaches the Knicks might have attempted to contact," Amick writes. "And while there were no new names revealed, it’s worth sharing that league sources say the Knicks did not request permission to speak to this elite coaching crew: The Pacers’ Rick Carlisle, the Warriors’ Steve Kerr, the Bucks’ Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ Ty Lue and the Lakers’ JJ Redick.”
Kerr has appeared in six NBA Finals — winning four — since taking over from Mark Jackson as the head coach in Golden State. He is the second-longest tenured head coach in the league, behind Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. Carlisle, who won it all with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, has led the No. 4-seeded Pacers to a shocking 2-1 series lead against the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Rivers and Lue have both won titles at previous stops, while Redick won 50 games in his first year with Los Angeles amidst significant roster churn.
Adding a currently-employed head coach in recent years has required a trade.
It's important to note that Thibodeau enjoyed more playoff success than Rivers, Lue, Snyder, or certainly Donovan over his past five years with New York. During the stint, the 67-year-old guided the Knicks to a 226-174 combined regular season record (.565) and a 24-23 playoff record, including four playoff series wins. This season, he led the Knicks to a 51-win regular season and its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000.