Tom Thibodeau, Knicks
Getty
The betting favorite to succeed Tom Thibodeau as the New York Knicks' next coach is his former assistant.
The New York Knicks were eyeing Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan as one of their targeted replacements for Tom Thibodeau, per multiple insiders.
On June 15, the Knicks were dealt some bad news, with reports suggesting that Donovan and the Bulls were nearing terms on a contract extension.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bulls are “in the process of extending” Donovan’s contract to keep him in the Windy City for the foreseeable future.
Donovan, who won multiple championships at the NCAA level, signed a contract extension with the Bulls ahead of the 2022-23 season. Stein noted that his current deal is said to have “one year remaining,” and a contract extension wasn’t exactly imminent until the Knicks showed interest in the 60-year-old New York native.
Stein noted that the Knicks’ reported interest in Donovan “helped spark” a new, lucrative deal for him with the Bulls.
Knicks Tried To Lure Donovan Again
After being initially shot down, the Knicks reportedly tried to convince the Bulls to interview Donovan, a New York native.
“There are some whispers out there in the league tonight that the Knicks could circle back,” K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network said on June 13. “They don’t really believe that it’s a firm no. There might be some wiggle room…the Bulls did initially deny permission because they are in love with the job Billy Donovan is doing for them.”
Bulls on CHSN
“There are some whispers out there in the league tonight that the Knicks could circle back.”
@KCJHoop joins @camronsmith and @DavidHaugh on The Chicago Lead with the latest on the Bulls denying the Knicks’ request to interview Billy Donovan.
Shortly thereafter, Johnson confirmed that the Bulls had no interest in letting Donovan go to New York.
Reported this last night because at the time there sounded like there could be fluidity to story, even as Knicks, like multiple outlets and we reported, are now focusing on unemployed candidates. But Donovan isn’t going anywhere. He’s in Chicago to stay. https://t.co/AdVABj1nh0
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) June 13, 2025
After being rejected by the Bulls (Donovan), the Atlanta Hawks (Quin Snyder), Dallas Mavericks (Jason Kidd), Minnesota Timberwolves (Chris Finch) and Houston Rockets (Ime Udoka), the Knicks are expected to turn their attention to former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown and Memphis Grizzlies Taylor Jenkins.
Knicks To Begin Interview Process
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Knicks will interview both Brown and Jenkins in the fourth week of June.
Charania further reported that teams were “hanging up” on the Knicks when they called about interviewing their head coaches.
“Out of the five rejections, some of the scenarios that I heard was, you know, teams would just hang up,” he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” on June 14.
“They would say no, and hang up,” Charania added. “Teams would have maybe some profanity, maybe there is some ‘[Explective] no before hanging up.”
The Knicks have been widely ridiculed for mishandling their coaching search, speficailly for not having a plan after dismissing Thibodeau.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” Hall of Famer Charles Barkley told NBA TV. “You don’t fire a good coach like that and don’t have a plan. I mean, Thibs did a hell of a job, obviously something’s going on there.”
Ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Knicks are the only team with a head-coaching vacancy. Other teams, such as the Grizzlies (Tuomas Iisalo), Denver Nuggets (David Adelman), Phoenix Suns (Jordan Ott), and Kings (Doug Christie), named replacements for their fired coaches shortly after the 2024-25 NBA season.