The New York Knicks’ coaching search to replace Tom Thibodeau is ongoing, with the club having already pivoted to its secondary options after being turned down by top targets. While a hire isn’t imminent, there appear to be two favorites to become New York’s next basketball coach.
According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown “appear to be the front-runners” as of now to become the next Knicks coach. However, New York is considering a pursuit of New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego.
Importantly, per Edwards, the door isn’t completely closed on Jason Kidd. While the Dallas Mavericks have been adamant about not granting New York permission to interview Kidd, the absence of a contract extension means there’s at least a possibility of Kidd considering other options.
“While a long shot to join New York, Kidd — who is under contract for two more years and the Mavericks, per league sources, have shown no interest to this point in allowing their coach to leave — still hasn’t agreed to an extension like other currently-employed head coaches who the Knicks showed interest in during the first stage of their search.”
James L. Edwards of The Athletic on Jason Kidd and the New York Knicks coaching search
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When New York pursued Ime Udoka and Billy Donovan, the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls rejected the interview requests and then quickly signed their head coaches to contract extensions. While the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t do the same with Chris Finch, he has expressed no interest in leaving.
Kidd, however, reportedly does want a new deal that would make him one of the highest-paid NBA coaches. The Mavericks’ organization already knows that it will select Cooper Flagg with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, so a renegotiated deal for Kidd should seemingly be a priority.
Related: Insider contradicts past rumors about Knicks coaching search, Jason Kidd
As for Borrego, he came up as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich (2003-2010) and then spent time as an assistant with New Orleans and the Orlando Magic. He landed his first NBA head-coaching job with the Charlotte Hornets, posting a 148-183 record in five seasons.
Taylor Jenkins posted a .539 winning percentage in six seasons as the Memphis Grizzlies coach, before being fired in March with a 44-29 record. Mike Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year winner with a career .599 winning percentage in the regular season and a 50-40 record in the NBA Playoffs.
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NFL, MLB & college football writer for Sportsnaut. Graduated from San Diego State University with BA in Journalism, 2019. ... More about Matt Johnson