The New York Knicks have reportedly sought permission to interview Ime Udoka, head coach of the Houston Rockets, and Chris Finch, head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, but both requests were declined.
SNY’s Ian Begley first broke the news about the Rockets’ decision, while former New York sports radio host Mike Francesa, now a BetRivers podcast host, shared details on the Timberwolves’ response.
Adding to the coaching buzz, Shams Charania of ESPN highlighted a rumor suggesting “mutual” interest between Jason Kidd, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, and the Knicks, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post.
The Knicks find themselves in search of a new head coach after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau, who had been at the helm for five seasons. Under his leadership, the team had its best performance in 25 years, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. The Knicks secured 51 wins last season but were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers, falling just two victories short of the NBA Finals.
Even with this recent success, the organization decided to move on from Thibodeau, who led the Knicks to the playoffs in four out of his five seasons. To put this into perspective, the Knicks only made it to the postseason four times from the 2001-02 season through 2019-20, prior to Thibodeau’s arrival.
Currently, Kidd appears to be the frontrunner for the coaching position, though there are complications, as noted by James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “The Knicks have interest in Jason Kidd, per league sources. The problem? Kidd, the coach of the Dallas Mavericks, has two years left on his contract. The Knicks, while they might be preparing to ask for permission to interview Kidd for their vacancy, have not yet made a formal request.”
As of Monday morning, there has reportedly been no contact between the two teams, and sources from the Mavericks anticipate that any future request to interview Kidd will be denied.